Art from Asia has enjoyed increased global interest in the past few decades, which has brought major changes to the way in which the art scene now views this hitherto neglected region. In a special symposium, "How is the World Engaging with Contemporary Asian Art?," at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo on Feb. 17, directors of a number of the world's most renowned art museums explained, through short individual presentations and a discussion forum, how Asian art is being reflected through their institutions' programming and acquisitions, and what further work needs to be done.
As members of the Mori Art Museum's International Advisory Committee, established in 1999 with the aim of exchanging ideas and collaborating on exhibition projects, all the guests at the symposium have worked closely with the museum, as well as with each other.
China, currently experiencing an unprecedented art boom, was of course high on the agenda. A number of panelists stressed that while contemporary Chinese artworks are fashionable, the role of museums is to provide a "critical perspective" on whether the resulting high prices of such works are valid. David Elliot, founding director of the Mori Art Museum and more recently Artistic Director for the 17th Biennale of Sydney, pointed out that despite the current fad for Chinese art, there is still limited knowledge in the West of the history of China's art production before and during the Cultural Revolution.
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