Exploring the Concept and Institution of Contemporary Chinese Art Museums in Shanghai from 2000 to 2023: Case Studies of Rockbund Art Museum and Power Station of Art

This thesis explores the evolution and institutional characteristics of Contemporary Chinese Art Museums (CCAMs) in Shanghai from 2000 to 2023. It focuses on three key perspectives: concept and critiques, categories and history, 'software' and 'hardware’; and two case studies in Shanghai: the non-state-owned, Minfei institution, the Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) and the state-owned art museum, the Power Station of Art (PSA). This thesis demonstrates the necessity of reinterpreting the Chinese concept of the art museum, ‘Meishuguan’, based on China’s emerging ‘New Art Museum Studies’, integrating insights from both academic discourse and practical experiences in the art museum sector. It identifies three key concepts of the New Art Museum Studies: ‘Knowledge Production’, ‘Public Nature’ and ‘Institutional Identity’. By analysing RAM and PSA as case studies, this thesis highlights the characteristics and challenges of different types of CCAMs and contends that the rise and development of CCAMs have been significantly influenced by government policies and the burgeoning real estate economy in China since the 1990s. It argues that the essence of a CCAM, or the so-called 'Meishuguan', goes beyond mere material collections or architectural structures. Rather, its primary mission is to foster knowledge production, explore the nuances of public nature or ‘publicness’, and shape institutional identity.