Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art Beijing seeks new owner

The Belgian collector Guy Ullens has announced plans to sell his Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing “to a new benefactor and owner”. Ullens also plans to sell the remainder of his collection of Chinese contemporary art, which is held separately from the gallery.

“We are looking to make an agreement with the right buyer to secure the future of UCCA for the years to come,” a spokesman for Ullens and his centre tells The Art Newspaper. "UCCA will continue to function, presenting exhibitions.” he added. The decision to sell aims to secure the long-term future of the organisation “with a new patron taking over Guy Ullens’ role as benefactor and owner,” he said. One option would be to create a UCCA Foundation to provide long-term financing, our sister publication The Art Newspaper China reports.

UCCA is one of the oldest and most respected private museums in China. Its founding in 2007 in Beijing’s 798 art zone foreshadowed China’s private museum boom; its exhibitions have facilitated the internationalisation of the country’s contemporary art scene and attracted some four million visitors. The UCCA director’s Philip Tinari and the US-based Rauschenberg Foundation have co-organised the current show, Rauschenberg in China (until August 21). “The current management team will remain in place, and they will be continuing to organise some of the best exhibitions in China,” Ullens and the UCCA spokesman said.

The chief executive of the UCCA, May Xue, released last year the gallery’s annual operating costs of around Rmb41m ($6m), 25% from Ullens, 25% from corporate sponsorship, 20% from their charity auction, 10% from individual donors, and 20% generated by the centre.

News of the sale was first broken on Thursday (30 June) by the anonymous art blogger Route 66. The post sent the Chinese art world into a frenzy of speculation on social media, with laments that the institution might lose its integrity or might shut down entirely. “UCCA is not closing,” the spokesman stressed.

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Guy Ullens, collector and founder of Beijing’s Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, has announced that he is looking to hand over ownership of the UCCA to someone who can continue to support and develop the institution in the years to come.

In a joint statement from the UCCA and the Guy and Myriam Ullens Foundation, the organizations confirmed that the center will still run under its current leadership. The Ullens will also be selling their art collection of more than two thousand works through private sales and at auction later this year.

“I have been a patron of the arts in China for over thirty years and have found this a hugely interesting and fascinating experience,” Guy Ullens said. “I’m now in my eighties and need to look at how to hand over the stewardship of the UCCA and my art collection to younger patrons of the arts.” Until a new benefactor is found, Guy Ullens said he will continue to support the UCCA and its team.

CEO May Xue said that the center respects his decision and is grateful for his support these past nine years, and that it “will stand strong and uphold our core values of highlighting artists from Chins and beyond.”

The center, which encompasses four main exhibitions spaces—more than 26,000 square feet—has welcomed more than three million visitors since it was established in 2007. Each year, the UCCA hosts around fifteen exhibitions and offers a wide range of programming that focuses on recent developments and historical movements in Chinese contemporary art.

Guy Ullens, whose father was a diplomat in China, was involved in various successful business endeavors in sugar and other food-related companies, including Weight Watchers. Since the 1980s, he has regularly traveled to China for his family’s firm.

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