{"id":4898,"date":"2025-04-29T21:49:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T21:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/philip-tinari-on-uccas-expansion-and-legacy-in-chinas-art-scene\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T21:49:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T21:49:35","slug":"philip-tinari-on-uccas-expansion-and-legacy-in-chinas-art-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/philip-tinari-on-uccas-expansion-and-legacy-in-chinas-art-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"Philip Tinari On UCCA\u2019s Expansion and Legacy in China\u2019s Art Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"
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UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. OMA Architects<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since its founding in 2007, Beijing\u2019s UCCA Center for Contemporary Art has played a pivotal role in amplifying the international recognition of Chinese artists while raising awareness of global artistic practices within China. One of the country\u2019s first private contemporary art museums, UCCA was established in Beijing\u2019s 798 Art District by late Belgian collector, philanthropist and patron Baron Guy Ullens<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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After retiring, Ullens\u2014together with his second wife, Miriam\u2014dedicated himself fully to the arts and philanthropic work. A passionate supporter of the post-1989 generation of Chinese artists who emerged in the wake of the Tiananmen Square protests, Ullens championed the conceptually rigorous, politically engaged work of figures such as Zeng Fanzhi<\/a>, Huang Yong Ping<\/a> and Wang Guangyi<\/a>. His holdings of this early avant-garde formed the backbone of what became the Ullens Center, an institution that would steadily evolve into a multi-location platform known for its intellectually ambitious and carefully curated exhibitions.<\/p>\n

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SEE ALSO: Observer\u2019s 2025 May Art Fair Calendar <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Although the Ullens family handed over leadership of UCCA in 2017, Baron Guy Ullens remained deeply committed to the museum\u2019s development and to expanding the vision he had originally seeded. Several weeks ago, UCCA announced his passing; in an Instagram post, the institution wrote: \u201cWe remember him with deep respect and gratitude. His legacy endures\u2014in the institution he founded, the artists he championed, and the communities he helped build\u2014and will continue to shape and inspire UCCA\u2019s work and mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the announcement of his passing, and ahead of Beijing Gallery Weekend (May 25-June 11), Observer revisits the legacy of the institution he created, speaking with current director Philip Tinari<\/a> about UCCA\u2019s evolution and its enduring role in shaping China\u2019s contemporary art scene.<\/p>\n

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Guy Ullens with UCCA director Philip Tinari at the 2018 UCCA Gala. Courtesy UCCA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today, the growing network of UCCA museums is led by a corporate entity, the UCCA Group, which has scaled up significantly from Ullens\u2019s original vision\u2014particularly after 2018, when UCCA formally received museum accreditation and became a licensed nonprofit foundation registered with both the Beijing Bureau of Civil Affairs and the Hong Kong government.<\/p>\n

That same year, UCCA expanded with a second location: UCCA Dune in Beidaihe, carved discreetly into the Aranya Gold Coast\u2019s sand dunes to create a contemplative setting for contemporary art. Then in 2021, UCCA Edge opened in Shanghai\u2019s Jing\u2019an District, occupying three floors of the EDGE Tower\u2014an unmistakably corporate environment that, Tinari acknowledged, presents particular challenges for audience engagement.<\/p>\n

UCCA Edge launched with \u201cCity on the Edge: Art and Shanghai at the Turn of the Millennium,\u201d a sweeping group exhibition curated by Tinari that examined the city\u2019s rapid cultural transformation through the work of twenty-six prominent Chinese and international artists.<\/p>\n

And just last year, the UCCA network unveiled its newest museum location, UCCA Clay<\/a>, a striking architectural statement by Kengo Kuma<\/a> that has already become a cultural landmark in Yixing, Jiangsu province\u2014China\u2019s storied \u201cCity of Ceramics.\u201d Designed to help revitalize the area and draw new audiences, the opening marked another ambitious step in UCCA\u2019s evolution. Simultaneously, the institution\u2019s umbrella has grown to encompass several specialized branches: UCCA Kids, an educational initiative aimed at cultivating the next generation of art-goers; UCCA Store, its retail arm; and UCCA Lab, a hub for collaborative and experimental projects. Supplementing this already diverse portfolio is \u201cUCCA Offsite,\u201d a flexible platform for temporary exhibitions and cross-city partnerships that further extend the institution\u2019s geographic and conceptual reach.<\/p>\n

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UCCA Clay takes inspiration from Yixing\u2019s unique cultural heritage and millennia-long history of ceramic manufacture. Zhu Di \/ AGENT PAY<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cNext year marks two decades since UCCA\u2019s opening,\u201d Tinari reflected during our conversation at Art Basel Hong Kong<\/a>. \u201cThe museum\u2019s growth has mirrored the evolution of China\u2019s contemporary art scene\u2014sometimes pushing it forward.\u201d The Chinese art world, he added, has matured. \u201cIt\u2019s not the emerging scene it once was. The audience for contemporary art here has been built over many years. No matter the economy or real estate market, many people feel the need to have art in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally from Philadelphia, Tinari arrived in China in 2001 on a Fulbright fellowship to study at Peking University, just as the country was beginning to open outward and embrace the rapid modernization that would reshape its society, economy and culture. Since assuming directorship of UCCA in late 2011, he has overseen its transformation from a museum rooted in a private collection to a corporate-run institution with an increasingly public-facing mission.<\/p>\n

Guy Ullens, he said, believed in the power of art to enrich lives and foster cross-cultural understanding. \u201cBy founding an art institution in China, he put that belief into action, doing something wildly original and generous. UCCA, which he conceived and nurtured through its first decade, has highlighted hundreds of artists, inspired millions of visitors, and launched countless careers.\u201d He remembers Ullens with deep gratitude\u2014for his kindness, his passion and his expansive, cosmopolitan vision\u2014as they continue to carry forward the project he began.<\/p>\n

Over the past two decades, UCCA has remained committed to curatorial excellence while investing in outreach and education to broaden access and deepen engagement. Building and sustaining an audience, Tinari told us, remains both the greatest challenge and the central goal. \u201cIt always comes back to the question: how do you expand the audience and make the experience meaningful?\u201d But he\u2019s confident that demand is growing. \u201cThere\u2019s just a lot of hunger for art and creativity in China, and we\u2019re well-positioned to serve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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UCCA Edge in Shanghai. Courtesy of UCCA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The audience for contemporary art in China has also evolved. It is, according to Tinari, far more mature and internationalized than the first generation that supported UCCA in its early days. \u201cThey were people who\u2019d been through a lot, often built their own businesses and wealth, but also lived through dramatic historical periods, and they were maybe learning about art later in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

While UCCA has benefited from a deeply committed group of founding patrons, it has also drawn a new generation into the fold\u2014a promising development for the broader Chinese art ecosystem. The younger generation of supporters grew up in a China that was mobilizing and opening up. \u201cThey\u2019ve studied abroad, lived globally, and even as the country retreats, they remain fiercely protective of the openness they grew up with.\u201d For them, contemporary art isn\u2019t just culture; it\u2019s a defense of open thinking.<\/p>\n

Today, more than 100 active members support UCCA\u2019s national network of institutions. Many of these new patrons are younger professionals who returned to China during the pandemic after years of living abroad, where they came to see contemporary art as an integral part of urban life. \u201cThere\u2019s a group effect,\u201d Tinari said. \u201cThey bring friends, and they find a community through UCCA.\u201d<\/p>\n

This shift in audience has enabled the institution to internationalize its programming further, placing contemporary Chinese artists in dialogue with globally recognized names. Most recently, UCCA\u2019s flagship Beijing location opened a major solo exhibition of visionary Korean-American artist Anicka Yi<\/a>, following its debut last fall at the Leeum Museum in Seoul. The exhibition also marked a milestone in international collaboration: the two museums co-organized and co-produced the show, sharing curatorial expertise and operational resources. \u201cWe each brought our strengths to it, and shared the costs,\u201d Tinari explained, noting that such international partnerships are a key priority for UCCA\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

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An installation view of \u201cAnicka Yi: There Exists Another Evolution, But In This One\u201d at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. Photograph by Sun Shi, courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the Anicka Yi show, UCCA Beijing will open another major solo exhibition in July\u2014this time devoted to internationally acclaimed Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist<\/a>. In her first institutional show in China, Rist will reimagine the spatial dynamics of UCCA\u2019s Great Hall with newly commissioned work, transforming the entire museum into one of her mesmerizing \u201ctotal works of art,\u201d a fluid and immersive sensory choreography of video, installation and sculpture.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, coinciding with Anicka Yi\u2019s exhibition, UCCA Beijing is hosting a solo show by British artist Lubaina Himid<\/a>, recipient of the 2023 Maria Lassnig Award and the first woman of color to win the Turner Prize. On view through the end of April, the exhibition will be followed by solo presentations from Chinese painter Chen Ke<\/a>, sculptor Liao Fei<\/a> and Japanese artist Koki Tanaka<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Beijing will close out the year with its most comprehensive institutional exhibition of Chinese artist Yang Fudong<\/a> to date. Known for his dreamlike, cinematic language, Yang blends China\u2019s past and future in evocative, often surreal gestures that explore national identity and cultural heritage with poetic complexity\u2014his visual vocabulary shaped in part by his rural upbringing on the city\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n

In Shanghai, UCCA Edge is presenting a solo exhibition of Saudi artist Ahmed Mater<\/a>, on view through June in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Culture. The show marks the first large-scale institutional solo exhibition by a Saudi contemporary artist in China.<\/p>\n

UCCA\u2019s expansion into new locations has been fueled by strategic partnerships with real estate developers or local governments, each recognizing the institution\u2019s ability to draw audiences and deliver impact. UCCA Dune grew out of a cultural initiative linked to a beachside development, while UCCA Clay was born from a civic push to revitalize Yixing\u2019s cultural identity, specifically its famed purple clay tradition. Kengo Kuma\u2019s design for UCCA Clay even integrates the material into the building itself. \u201cThey look to us because we bring international visibility,\u201d Tinari said. \u201cBut more importantly, they want our expertise in delivering programs\u2014on time, on budget, with impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

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An installation view of Ahmed Mater\u2019s \u201cAntenna\u201d at UCCA Edge. Courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tinari doesn\u2019t rule out the possibility of further expansion into new locations to reach wider audiences. \u201cWe believe that there\u2019s just a lot of appetite for art and creativity in China, and we\u2019re well-positioned today to serve it,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you look at China and the number of cities with one to five million people that still don\u2019t have a proper institution, it\u2019s massive.\u201d At the same time, he stresses that finding the right partner is critical to maintaining UCCA\u2019s curatorial integrity. \u201cWe only want to enter into a partnership if we can be sure that we will be able to deliver the level of content and curatorial sensibility UCCA is known for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps most significantly, UCCA has also helped professionalize China\u2019s contemporary art field, training many who now lead top local galleries, curate at major museums or advise some of the country\u2019s leading collectors. \u201cIt became an incubator for a new generation of art professionals. If you walk around Art Basel Hong Kong, you\u2019ll see our alumni everywhere\u2014from blue-chip galleries to academic posts.\u201d<\/p>\n

What emerges from this conversation is a portrait of an institution that has learned to evolve with the times, shifting its management and funding models to expand its reach as art becomes more deeply woven into the fabric of lifestyle. In a moment when even the most established international museums have begun to think like brands and behave like businesses in order to innovate and stay relevant, UCCA has adjusted to a rapidly evolving China without losing sight of its founding purpose. What Tinari makes clear, however, is that the cultural mission\u2014and the caliber of the program\u2014must remain the institution\u2019s non-negotiable priority. And that mission must be Guy Ullens\u2019: to \u201cbring the best in art to wider audiences\u201d and to deepen China\u2019s engagement in the global art dialogue.<\/p>\n

In a comment to Observer, UCCA Foundation co-chairs Jerry Mao and Derek Sulger said that the passing of Guy Ullens invites reflection on the remarkable legacy he leaves behind, describing him as a singular figure in the history of contemporary art in China\u2014not only an avid collector and patron who built lasting bridges between China and the world, but also a founder whose passion expanded the very possibilities of what an art institution could be. \u201cEvery step in UCCA\u2019s journey carries the imprint of his vision,\u201d they said, adding that when UCCA underwent its leadership transition in 2017, Guy Ullens passed the torch to them. \u201cHe entrusted us with a dream he had set in motion; one that he hoped would grow beyond any individual and evolve into a shared cultural force.\u201d<\/p>\n

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An installation view of \u201cThe Jealous Potter\u201d at UCCA Clay. Courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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