Colin Chinnery

It was the kind of story that people love to watch unfold, a cliffhanger with a countdown to the finale. In January of this year, just after economies worldwide spiraled dramatically downward and the contemporary art market threatened to take a nosedive, ShContemporary, the Shanghai art fair then in its third edition, appointed Colin Chinnery as its new director.

Born in Scotland to a Scottish father and Chinese mother, Chinnery began spending time in China as a child, eventually settling in Beijing. There he worked as chief curator and deputy director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (where we once worked together), and, an artist himself, was a founding member of the artist collective Complete Art Experience Project, which includes high-profile Chinese artists such as Qiu Zhijie and Liu Wei.

When Chinnery joined ShContemporary, it was facing stiff competition from other fairs in China — most notably the highly successful Art HK — and a financial atmosphere that was far from congenial. All eyes were on Chinnery as the fair’s opening date neared, and the survival of the fair (or at least its success) seemed to hang in the balance. As it turns out, it was a lot of fuss about nothing. With more than 30,000 visitors at this year’s fair (held Sept. 10–13), participating galleries reporting decent sales, and largely positive critical reception of new fair programs, the drama has passed, and ShContemporary is clearly more resilient than some had imagined. Now that the numbers are in, I talked with Chinnery — already hard at work on next year’s fair — about the challenges and opportunities he faced in 2009, his plans for the 2010 edition of ShContemporary, and that elusive white whale, the Chinese collector.

The initial panic regarding the contemporary art market that followed the economic crisis of 2008 seems to have subsided. As you begin working on ShContemporary for 2010, do you feel an increased optimism?

The panic was understandable when the economy seemed to be in free fall, especially when there was a clear analogy (and connection) between the phantom wealth conjured by Wall Street and easy money bloating the art market. Everyone knew that something like this was around the corner, and when we finally hit that corner we had no choice but to do the necessary work in order to readjust. With ShContemporary, we have perhaps turned another corner. The 2009 edition saw a lot of optimism return to the market, and that makes life easier for 2010. The playing field is different because the number of players in the art market increased exponentially during the boom years, and now there are more mouths to feed, so to speak. As an art fair whose job is to fulfill these increased expectations, we have to prove ourselves every year, not just for one year. I don’t think the pressure will relent for many years to come, and that is a good thing. It keeps people at the top of their game.

The contemporary Chinese art market has experienced a significant downturn. How does this lack of confidence in contemporary Chinese art impact the fair?

ShContemporary includes art from all over Asia and beyond, so the slowdown in demand for certain Chinese artists’ works didn’t affect us at all. Certain galleries are very sensitive to the current demand, and bring the right works. Sales were good among Chinese galleries this year at ShContemporary. Those who visited the fair will have noticed that there were very few works by top-priced Chinese artists; the prices and the kind of work on offer represented a change in attitude. Now that the market is shifting [its] attitude, I think it’s an opportunity for different voices to be heard, which was very evident at the fair.

Given ShContemporary’s location and history, how much of next year’s edition do you expect will be focused on Asia, as opposed to having a more global perspective?

The fair as a whole does have a regional focus on Asia, and that is reflected in the participating galleries and the kinds of work being shown and sold; in 2010 it will have an Asia Pacific perspective whilst presenting work from Europe, the U.S., and other regions. The market should always help to mix up the regional DNA as much as possible. How much that is possible will increase each year.

How would you position ShContemporary in relation to the other fairs in China, including Art Hong Kong (ART HK)? What makes ShContemporary unique for dealers and collectors?

We want to create a fair that is thinking about the future in all kinds of ways, from artistic values to the structure of the market. I feel that can be reflected by the two new initiatives that were launched this year. On the artistic side there is the Discoveries section, a thematic exhibition and lecture series dealing with the topic, “What is contemporary art?” Instead of being a special section a side attraction peripheral to the fair, it became a central feature. It also deliberately included challenging work not necessarily suitable for the market, but necessary for the exhibition to make sense thematically. The exhibition dealt with issues relating to the term “contemporary” from different perspectives, ranging from pioneers such as Joseph Kosuth, Martha Rosler, and Marina Abramovic to social-historical perspectives such as Anri Sala, Liu Wei, and Shi Qing, and emerging Chinese and Japanese artists. As the first thing that visitors saw at the fair, it left a deep impression on collectors, curators, artists, and other guests, and seemed to define the fair’s identity.

This question of what constitutes the contemporary is now being discussed among critics around the world with increasing urgency, but is equally relevant for new audiences and collectors of contemporary art in China. Ten speakers, including Boris Groys, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Martha Rosler, and Gao Shiming, presented papers addressing the same question. The reason we did this was to show an attitude we have concerning art and the market, and to address a certain cynicism concerning the relationship between art and the market that has been prevalent in China. Artistic and commercial values need to constantly find common ground and relate to each other. In a way, that’s what the art world is all about: approximating value — artistic and commercial. This got perverted rather seriously by the bubble years, and the art market therefore needs to get its dignity back. That was the attitude of Discoveries — it addressed a theme, but it also addressed a state of affairs.

On the commercial side, on the other hand, we started the Collectors Development Program, which is a brand-new initiative and concept designed to develop a new generation of collectors in China. These collectors are essential for the market in China, and are perhaps more than any other factor the key to the health of the future market here. For me, this is the central issue to be addressed, and also the perfect time to address it.

Our goal is not to make ShContemporary different from other fairs, but rather to be looking at what is necessary at this point in time for an art fair in China, and to address those issues.

Can you describe the Collectors Development Program in more detail? Who are these new Chinese collectors, and how do you plan to work with them?

Domestic collectors are going to be the driving force and backbone of the art market in China. Since there is no government support or structure for arts foundations and nonprofits, the current market in China is still too dependent on factors outside of China for its own survival. There are around 600,000 people in China with over a million U.S. dollars in assets, and that’s a lot of wealthy people. Many of these people now want to know more about art, to become more sophisticated, and need a way to express this. They need a way into art, but have no idea how this can be achieved other than buying expensive works at auction, which is becoming less and less attractive for them. This need can only become stronger as more wealthy people require different ways to express themselves. What these people lack is not money — it’s trust. It’s a way into the market without being taken advantage of.

Coming out of the financial crisis, when speculation is at its lowest, is the best time to address this issue. So we’re creating a year-round program for potential collectors to be introduced into the art of collecting art. We have created a three-step approach. This begins with the “Knowledge” stage, which involves classes and simple seminars where people are introduced to the basics of art, art history, and the art market; the second step is intended to get them “Inspired,” which involves new collectors meeting artists, gallerists, and, most importantly, experienced collectors, to get them inspired by what’s possible; and finally we focus on “Practice,” which gives new collectors various ways of entering the market: through art fairs, galleries, or auctions. We have partnerships with major corporations and individual members, and we’re creating programs with all of them. We hope if this model becomes successful that others can replicate it all over the country in the future.