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| Is It Time To Boycott The British Museum and The V&A? Posted: 27 May 2011 04:59 AM PDT A vast majority of artists must know of the plight of Ai Weiwei. Arrested and imprisoned without recourse or trial by the Chinese governmental authorities for the crime of free expression, it seems that asides the occasional poster campaign or news report, not much is being done to pressure China. The backlashes mainly stem from the London, NYC and German arts communities where there have been public protests. But if the free world really wants to shift the focus on to Ai Weiwei's treatment then perhaps the best way to go is to pressure those major arts institutions that continue to conduct cultural exchanges with China, including many major museums, galleries and on going exhibitions. After the inspiring actions of the 1001 Chairs worldwide sit-in it and various other protests across Europe and America it seems right to take a look at the progress, if any, the arts community have made in gathering official, governmental, and state support for the freeing of Chinese dissidents including Ai Weiwei and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo. I've come across a couple of recent eye-opening articles at The Art Newspaper that truly reveal a range of concerns expressed (or not) by respected institutions in regards to the human rights of artists and dissidents in general living in the Chinese Communist state. Postive actions: German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said that he expected the artist to be released “without delay” and stressed that while in Beijing for the opening he had spoken about the importance of freedom of speech. Although Berlin, Munich and Dresden state museums still work with the authoritarian regime. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego staged an overnight sit-in. A group of directors including Richard Armstrong of the Guggenheim, Glenn Lowry of the Museum of Modern Art, Michael Govan of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Nicholas Serota of the Tate and Chris Dercon of Tate Modern [See Negative actions], have joined artists, curators and dealers to issue statements and sign petitions calling for his release from detention. “As his detention lengthens, we grow more concerned for Ai’s welfare and want to make a collective gesture in support of his release,” said Hugh Davies, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Alexandra Munroe, the senior curator of Asian art at the Guggenheim, said that before launching its online petition: “We checked with those close to Ai’s extralegal case, including the US department of state, and were encouraged that our action ‘couldn’t hurt and might help’.” Negative actions: Martin Roth, the director of the Dresden State Art Collections, and director designate of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, appeared to downplay the matter, saying: “There are hundreds of artists like Ai Weiwei, but no one talks about them, because they are not pop stars.” WTF? The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum will be lending 150 masterpieces of Chinese ceramics, for a show that is due to open in 2012. The V&A seems to be the worst culprit, having planned to send two more exhibitions to China, including “British Design 1948-2012” at the Shanghai Art Museum. Last November Dave "Big Society" Cameron the British PM headed up a trade mission to China, accompanied by the directors of both UK museums. Ai Weiwei took called on Cameron to speak out against China’s human rights record saying “For anyone doing big business with China not to mention those universal values is putting money and short term profit before very important values. It’s shameful…”. Weiwei can no longer speak out about human rights, for one elected representative at least, money comes before freedom. The directors of the V&A and BM declined to be interviewed about the issues raised by Ai’s arrest. A spokeswoman for the BM said: “The British Museum stands for cultural dialogue and exchange even when the political situation may be difficult.” A spokeswoman for the V&A said: “We remain committed to our international programme.” A spokeswoman told The Art Newspaper: “[The] Tate does not comment on the political opinions or legal activities of artists." last December when Weiwei was put under house arrest however they have backtracked lately. Most museums with links to China intend to continue with shows and loans. A 1,000 sq. m hall in the National Museum of China is due to host exhibitions drawing on the collections of Italy’s museums, part of a co-operation deal signed last year by the then Italian culture minister and his Chinese counterpart. It seems to me that those with power and influence are using the argument that by continuing to culturally exchange with China we can show, by example, the illegitimacy of the imprisonment of artists like Ai Weiwei. Which is really convenient, because China has become a massive money earner for many cultural institutions around the world, as long as they leave their human rights' concerns at the door. Perhaps it's time to boycott, starting with The British Museum and The V&A, the directors of which should both be asking themselves right now, 'what would they have to show if artistic expression had been smothered and quashed throughout the West's history in the same way that say the Soviet Union had done so in the past and China does to this day. If you'd like to help protest against the Chinese Government's actions against free artistic expression, visit the Free Ai Weiwei page at Facebook. |
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