A Chongqing Contemporary Artist’s Road to Excellence | Story

Chongqing - Huang Zhonghua has a goatee, just like a typical artist. In recent years, the Galaxy Museum of Contemporary Art, founded by him, has become famous among local artists. After gaining success in his business career, he wants to do something for his hometown, in his own words, to improve the art quality of Chongqing and attract talents to the city.

Love for art as the origin

When he was a child, Huang Zhonghua developed an interest in painting, encouraged by his teacher. After the college entrance examination, he was admitted to the Central Academy of Arts and Design (now the Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University) and majored in Environmental Art Design. Graduating in 1991, Huang Zhonghua went to Zhuhai, a coastal city in Guangdong province, and served as the general manager of the Zhuhai Branch of CAAD Interior Design Engineering Company. Living and working on the south coast, he witnessed the country's rapid development under reform and opening up. His efforts empowered great opportunities of the time and yielded career success. In 2000, he and his wife returned to their hometown, Chongqing.

His priority is no longer moneymaking, he said. Art is where his true passion lies, as he always keeps creating abstract paintings in his spare time. Running an art museum is one of his ways of self-fulfillment.

In 2006, Huang went to the Politecnico di Milano in Italy to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree. In the cradle of the Renaissance, he was greatly impressed by the splendid art and culture of Europe and the presence of art museums in most cities, big or small. Later, the story of an artist friend back in his hometown also influenced him. The friend, not quite rich, opened a contemporary art space purely out of his love for art a dozen years ago. Huang admired him.

"But there was something else that had a bigger impact on me," Huang said.

Huang went to the Central Academy of Fine Arts for further studies in 2014. In the bookstore outside the school, he noticed Merchants and Masterpieces, which tells the story of how businessmen in New York in the 19th century founded the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As more business people joined and sponsored, the museum turned from a small office into a museum that became one of the most well-known art palaces in the world today based on merchants' reputation, personal influence, and donations. Previously oriented on industry and commerce, New York City has been infused with cultural profoundness. Besides the Metropolitan Museum, the city now also boasts the Museum of Modern Art, founded with the support of the Rockefeller family, and the Guggenheim Museum, owned by the Guggenheim Foundation.

"The book made me very exciting. It gave me the idea of launching art programs for the public good in my hometown," Huang said.

The pioneering days

On the second floor of the Galaxy Museum of Contemporary Art, Huang has a tea room for welcoming guests. The balcony overlooks Zhaomu Mountain, one of the richest quarters in Chongqing. His books and published exhibition albums are stacked in the corner, with personal collections and his calligraphic works hanging on the wall.

"I felt although Chongqing has its unique culture, the city lacks high-end culture and art. I've been to Shanghai. There are at least 100 private art museums in Shanghai, but no more than 5 in Chongqing. I believe in the idea that art spreads the truth, the good, and the beautiful, and it makes life better. I want to contribute to elevating the culture and art of Chongqing to a new height."

In 2016, Huang Zhonghua learned at a meeting that Chongqing Liangjiang New Area and China High-tech Group wanted to build an art museum. It happened to coincide with his idea. He got the job of establishing the Galaxy Museum of Contemporary Art after advising the government.

In China, running an art museum is a costly undertaking. Bound by state regulation, art museums' responsibility lies in public welfare instead of profits. Unlike commercial institutions such as galleries and art stores, art museums need continuous funds from investors or patrons to survive without sufficient social donations.

In the early days after its establishment, Huang and his team did not encounter too many barriers with the help of his personal connections and other resources long accumulated in the art field and supported by the local government. But long-term operation needs money, which is still the biggest problem.

"It is widely known in the industry that a lot of people had opened art museums in recent years but had to give up within one to two years because it's really hard. I'm proud that the Galaxy Museum has been there for seven years," he said.

Huang insists that an art museum should be "international" and about "contemporary art." He believed that an international museum of contemporary art represents youth and vitality and demonstrates the charm of a city. He has been reaching international artists to solicit international art displays to realize that. The Galaxy Museum of Contemporary Art has held 43 exhibitions since its establishment, including Still/Life: Contemporary Dutch Photography Exhibition and Discrete: Austrian Secrets, which cooperates with embassies, consulates, and international curators.

"We are holding exhibitions during the pandemic," Huang said, "even if there is no visitor, but I want to tell people that the pandemic will be over eventually and life should always be colorful."

Nurturing the next generation for the city

Back in Chongqing, after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, Nie Lisha is eager for opportunities to hold exhibitions. She stayed abroad for a long time and knew little about the domestic art industry - a problem for all artists that returned from abroad.

Nie Lisha has been seeking opportunities to hold exhibitions outside Chongqing. She said quite frankly that Chongqing has great artists because of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, but few people know how to appreciate the works or collect artworks, leaving local artists a narrow space to show talents.

Huang and the curator Li Yong got in touch with her in a WeChat group that brings together locals in the art circle and invited her to join in the "Returnee Support Program" launched by the museum. They wanted to hold an exhibition for her at the museum. Nie Lisha recalled: "The Galaxy Museum gave me the freedom to create. I was not asked to do anything, and my ideas were respected." At the moment, she chooses to stay in Chongqing and creates works in her studio. "I am able to meet more people in the circle via holding more exhibitions, and I will be approached by more opportunities."

Huang keeps in contact with various artists, but the "Returnee Support Program" he initiated is aimed at artists who returned from abroad. He said that the program attempts to retain more talent with an international vision for Chongqing and improve the international level of art museums and art industry in the city.

"We are still in the learning stage for contemporary art," he said, "also, I was a returnee and desired the support from my hometown. I think I can help local returnees. I want to hold exhibitions for them, which might do good for their career. What's more important is that they will feel the warmth of their hometown, and they may be more willing to stay and pursue their careers in this city. Chongqing will see greater development if we have more talent willing to stay."

In Huang's view, the high-quality development of the city cannot be divorced from art. "Skyscrapers are beautiful, and the night view is appealing, but after all, the splendid culture makes a city memorable. A city with great art will be a great city," Huang said.