British V&A museum builds cultural bridge to China

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A prestigious London museum has opened a gallery in southern China in a joint project with a local partner that is being seen as a move toward a new model of international cooperation.

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and China Merchants Shekou Holdings (CMSK) inaugurated the V&A Gallery at Design Society in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province on Saturday.

Luisa Mengoni, head of the new centre, said it was the first project of its kind between V&A and a Chinese partner.

"The gallery has been developed after research undertaken in China, especially in Shenzhen, to ensure that the project would be truly relevant and significant in the context of this city," Mengoni told Xinhua on Saturday.

"The V&A has been engaging with China since its foundation, but this is the first project of this scale and ambition, and it comes from a strong interest in further strengthening the museum's relationship with China and developing a new model of international collaboration."

The new gallery marks a milestone in the V&A's relationship with China, according to Mengoni.

British V&A museum builds cultural bridge to China with design exhibition. /Photo via ThePaper

Through its partnership with CMSK, the V&A, one of Britain's prestigious museums, has given professional advice, consultancy and provided training to help establish a new cultural area in Shenzhen called "Design Society."

The V&A Gallery in Design Society opened with an exhibition "Values of Design," which includes objects from China and around the world.

One object from Shenzhen which will be immediately recognizable to any modern Chinese is the version of WeChat (Weixin), a widely used social platform in China.

"The interest in Shenzhen is also due to the unique context of the city, for decades a manufacturing center of huge importance and global relevance and now with the potential of becoming a global player in the design world. The transition from 'made in China' to 'create in China' will most likely unfold there," Mengoni said.

"Some sections like the one devoted to copies may help countries outside China to rethink stereotypical concepts about copying, while the use of critical pairing can be a useful tool in the China context to raise awareness about design and design practices."

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency