“平行视角”：疫情下的纽约华人艺术社群图鉴NY Chinese art community under the pandemic

Original CAFA ART INFO 中央美院艺讯网 2021-10-27

当新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情在中国得到了有效控制而西方世界逐渐成为疫情的重灾区，大量关于美术馆闭馆，画廊停业，艺术学生要求学院退还学费，艺术学院财政出现危机等信息开始充斥在各大艺术新闻平台上。当大多数媒体报导的关注点都落在了主流的西方机构的时候，海外华人艺术群体在疫情中所遭受的影响既未被英文媒体覆盖，也未受中文媒体关照。因此央美艺讯网特别采访了四位以纽约为“根据地”的华人艺术从业者，借此了解由他们负责的中小型画廊、非营利艺术空间和线上组织在这次疫情中受到的影响，以及他们将如何利用这段时间整合原有的运营模式、长线计划，并邀请他们分享了自身作为海外艺术工作者在疫情中获得的启示。

Just as China has managed to bring the COVID-19 under control, the western world has gradually become the hardest hit area from the outbreak. At this critical moment when news about the closure of museums and galleries has surfaced, there is a petition signed by art students for the refund of tuition fees and the financial crisis faced by several art schools begin to flood influential news outlets. When most of the media focuses on the reporting of mainstream western institutions, the COVID-19’s impact on overseas Chinese art groups in the pandemic was neither covered by the western media nor by the domestic media. Therefore, CAFA ART INFO specially interviewed four Chinese art practitioners based in New York to learn about the COVID-19’s impact on the small and medium-sized galleries, non-profit art spaces and online organizations led by them. Besides, the interviewees also shared how they are going to adjust the original operating model and develop long-term plans during the outbreak and how the pandemic inspires them to reflect on their roles and practices.

Beth Campbell, Shifting, 2020, Anne Mosseri-Marilio, Basel

初期防疫对策和后期展览活动所受影响

How exhibitions and programs were affected regardless of the prevention of the pandemic.

由于新型冠状病毒的疫情今年年初首先在中国爆发，纽约的华人群体相较于其他族裔的群体更早地意识到此次疫情的严峻，也预料到了这一场“灾难”很快会辐射到纽约，因此也更早地开始准备相关的防疫工作。

As the COVID-19 outbreak started in China at the beginning of this year, Chinese communities in New York realized the severity of the epidemic ahead of other ethnic groups. Knowing that the “disaster” would soon strike New York, they started to work on pandemic prevention relatively early on.

《吾庐记》展览现场。摄影：黄静瑶。致谢秋萌画廊。

A Room of One’s Own installation view. Photograph by Huang Jingyao. Courtesy of Fu Qiumeng Fine Art.

《空集∅》展览现场。摄影：黄静瑶。致谢秋萌画廊。

The Null Set ∅ installation view. Photograph by Huang Jingyao.©Feng Mingqiu, courtesy of Fu Qiumeng Fine Art.

秋萌画廊主要代理中国当代水墨艺术，其创始人付秋萌在接受艺讯网采访时透露，画廊很早接收到了中国疫情爆发的信号，因而早早将三月份的一场中国当代水墨艺术的群展设计成了预约性质的观赏，并没有安排开幕。“画廊这一场群展本身配合的是纽约亚洲艺术周的档期（3月12日至19日），”秋萌在解释之所以在策划初期就没有考虑为这次展览设计公共项目时说道，“考虑到我们面向的客户群都是和中国有很深关系的，他们必定有很多近期刚从中国出差回来的。”

Fu Qiumeng, the founder of Fu Qiumeng Fine Art (a New York-based gallery that primarily represents Chinese contemporary ink art), revealed in an interview with CAFA ART INFO that the COVID-19 outbreak in China had allowed her to foresee the upcoming pandemic in New York and plan ahead of time: there was no opening scheduled for the group exhibition on the Chinese contemporary ink art in March, and the show can only be viewed by appointment. “The group exhibition was in line with the schedule of Asian Art Week in New York (March 12-19),” Qiumeng explained why she did not include any public events accompanying the exhibition during the early preparation stages. “Consideration has been given to our customers who all have a deep relationship with China, we believe that many people must have returned from a recent business trip to China."

秋萌原本计划让观众和艺术家以“雅集”的方式进行互动，以两到三人的小型分享会代替产生较大流量的开幕。“这种观赏方式也恰好符合我们本身所探讨的当代和古代的关系，” 秋萌说道，“当代人看作品都是在公共空间，而中国文人流传下来的观看方式是很私密性的。”

Qiumeng originally planned to have the artists interact with spectators in the form of an "elegant gathering", replacing a crowded art opening with several small-scale sharing sessions, with two or three people entering each time. "This type of viewing experience would align with our interest in exploring the relationship between the present and the past," Qiumeng said. "While contemporary audiences view artworks in public spaces, Chinese literati viewed art privately."

即使这一谨慎周道的预约制观展方式本身已经考虑到了要最小化人群聚集，最后也并没有得以实施。随着世界卫生组织在3月11日正式将新型冠状病毒引发的疫情定为全球性流行病，以大都会博物馆为首的各大美术馆陆续闭馆，各大画廊也暂停营业。“我们的整个的艺术社群都全面停工了，”秋萌在解释为何决定取消预约制时说道，“我也不想让艺术家们暴露在风险之中。”

Even though this cautious and thoughtful appointment-based exhibition viewing had taken into account the need to minimize crowding, it was not implemented. After the World Health Organization (WHO) officially announced the COVID-19 outbreak a worldwide pandemic on March 11, the Metropolitan Museum of Art together with other major art institutions and galleries shut down one by one. “Our entire art community has stopped working," Qiumeng explained why she decided to cancel the appointment-based exhibition viewing. “Also, I don't want to expose artists to risks.”

疫情下的收支困境

Financial dilemma caused by the pandemic

面对新冠疫情，秋萌坦言自己的画廊因为做的是一级市场，所以销售量所受到的影响势必会比那些做二级市场的画廊来得更直接。“我们不销售KAWS这类已经在由拍卖行引领的二级市场里非常有名的艺术家，我们更多的要通过面对面的沟通来让美术馆的策展人们和藏家们知道我们的艺术家在艺术史中的重要性，从而为自己代理的这一批艺术家在业内争取到话语权，”秋萌将藏家们在一级市场中的收藏行为理解为一个经验的消费，“然而现在没有办法再去和人产生这样直接的互动。”

Qiumeng admitted the sales volume of the primary market gallery that she runs will be affected more directly by COVID-19 pandemic than those dealing with the secondary market. “We do not represent artists such as KAWS, who has been already very well-known in the secondary market led by big auction houses. We have to educate museum curators and collectors about the historical significance of our artists through face-to-face communication, and thus help them to land high-profile positions in the industry.” Qiumeng considers collectors’ behaviors in the primary market as experience consumption, “Now there is no way to have such direct interaction with people. "

在纽约佩斯画廊有十年工作经验并同时身为否画廊的创始人何雨也接受了艺讯网采访。在被问及资金周转问题时何雨的态度相对乐观：“否画廊一直以比较安静的方式运转，并没有采用大型商业运营模式，所以对于我们来说收紧一点预算，并灵活地做出改变就可以了。”

Echo He, who has worked for Pace Gallery in New York for ten years and founded Fou Gallery in 2013, also accepted an interview with CAFA ART INFO. When being asked to talk about the capital turnover, Echo's attitude was relatively optimistic: "Fou Gallery has always been operating in a low-key fashion and does not follow a large-scale commercial operation. Things would be fine if we tightened our budget a little bit and adapted flexibly to changes. "

SLEEPCENTER布鲁克林空间。致谢SLEEPCENTER。

SLEEPCENTER’s new space in Brooklyn. Courtesy of SLEEPCENTER.

除了画廊面临的销售量下降，很多非营利艺术空间也取消或延期了本能够带来收入以支持空间运营的项目。在纽约开办了五年非营利艺术空间SLEEPCENTER的林锐向央美艺讯网透露，原定于2020年展开的一系列由SLEEPCENTER协助完成的社会企业项目皆受到影响，包括在北京的地点创生（废弃空间活化），以及几间来自亚洲地区的画廊在纽约的项目落地。为这些项目提供了咨询服务后得报酬，本可以促使SLEEPCENTER实现资金运营模式的转型。“我们意识到在这个年代，纯粹靠补助金和赞助人作为非营利机构的主要收入来源是不可能的，”林锐解释道，“我们想要摆脱这种单一且不可持续的模式。”然而由于只有等项目落地才有资金回报，疫情的发生大大减慢了这一转型的发生。“从2019年年末大家就已经开始计划推迟很多东西了，”林锐说道，“而目前来看这个影响可能要持续到五六月。”

Except for the decline in sales that galleries are facing, many non-profit art spaces have also cancelled or postponed projects that could have generated revenue to support space operations. Lin Rui, who has run SLEEPCENTER a non-profit art space in New York for five years, revealed to CAFA ART INFO that a series of social enterprise projects planned to be launched in 2020 with the support of SLEEPCENTER has been affected severely by the COVID, including a project of place-making (activation of abandoned space) in Beijing, and several Asian galleries’ landing projects in New York. The consultation fee earned from these projects could have funded SLEEPCENTER to transform its operational model. “We realize that in this era, it is impossible for a non-profit organization to rely solely on grants and patrons as the main source of income," explained Lin Rui. "We want to go beyond this unsustainable model.” However, as the space can only be funded after the completion of those projects, the COVID-19 has greatly slowed down this transition. “We have started planning to postpone many projects since the end of 2019," Lin Rui said. "Taking into account the current situation, this impact may last until May and June.”

在艺术空间无法正常实现收入的情况下，纽约高昂的租金是这一些负责人面前最棘手的问题。面对这一问题，林锐的做法是加入了参议院代表在线上发起的减免租金的请愿，并直接积极地与房东协商近期租金的价格。

As revenue drops, how to cover the high rents in New York becomes the biggest challenge for those who run art spaces. Faced with this problem, Lin Rui joined an online petition asking for rent suspension initiated by the Senate Deputy Leader while actively negotiating acceptable rents with his landlord.

SLEEPCENTER华埠空间。致谢SLEEPCENTER。

SLEEPCENTER’s space in Chinatown. Courtesy of SLEEPCENTER.

画廊业作为小型商业的一个分支，似乎比非营利空间多一种解决问题的方式，即是申请下小型商业补助计划。然而何雨向央美艺讯网解释道，艺术行业很难符合申请小型商业政府补助金的要求。何雨早前加入的新艺术商联盟近期也在呼吁纽约政府根据艺术从业人员的需求做出资助计划的调整，包括减免租金和直接资助。“艺术行业与餐饮、零售业很不一样，如果按照一刀切的方式来进行审核，很少能有画廊申请到这些基金，”何雨说道，“而艺术行业反倒又是受冲击最大的行业之一。”

As a particular type of small business, galleries seem to have another solution which cannot be adopted by non-profit space, namely to apply for subsidy grants and emergency funding for small business. However, Echo explained to CAFA ART INFO that it is difficult for the art industry to meet the application requirements of government subsidies for small businesses. The New Art Dealers Alliance, which Echo joined earlier, calls on the government of New York to adjust the funding scheme to the needs of art practitioners, including rent reduction and direct funding. “The art industry is very different from the catering and retail industries. If examined under a one-size-fits-all standard, few galleries can get these funds," Echo said. “Notwithstanding, the art industry is one of those most severely affected.”

线上平台打造和文献数字化工作终于得以推进

Time to build online platform and digital archives

当代艺术世界近几年对线上展览一直有所动势，而画廊、美术馆、艺博会对实体展览和活动的大量投入，使得他们无法集中精力去孵化一个更优良的数字化平台。这次疫情显然迫使了整个艺术行业去寻找一个更多样的、有效的方式让艺术在虚拟世界中被感知，使得线上展览不再是一个空泛的概念。

Although the contemporary art world has been enthusiastic about online exhibitions in recent years, the huge amount of time and effort required by physical exhibitions and programs has prevented galleries, museums, and art fairs from incubating a better platform for digital presentation. This pandemic has obviously propelled the entire art industry to look for a more diverse and effective way for art to be felt in the virtual world, rather than treating online exhibitions as a vague concept.

在线上销售这方面，否画廊及时地做出了反应。据何雨介绍，虽然过去有很多交易在线上进行，但手段较为传统且机械：藏家通常根据画廊工作人员在微信或邮件上发送的图录来决定所要收藏的作品。正在展出的Wendy Letven的两件作品就以这种方式销售了出去。而在画廊空间关闭后，否画廊的合伙人兼艺术总监海良设计并发布了一款提供浸入式体验的在线画廊。

In terms of online selling, Fou Gallery has responded in a timely manner. According to Echo, although many previous transactions were conducted online, the method was rather traditional and mechanical: collectors usually made their decisions according to the catalogs that gallery staff sent out through WeChat or email. Two of Wendy Letven's works on display were sold this way. After the gallery space closed, Fou Gallery’s partner and art director Lynn Hai designed and released an online gallery providing an immersive experience.

《温迪·勒特文：交会之际》展览现场。摄影：海良 ©温迪·勒特文，致谢否画廊

Wendy Letven: Lines Falling Together in Time installation view. Photograph by Lynn Hai.©Wendy Letven, courtesy Fou Gallery.

林锐在采访中表示，此前艺术机构、画廊在网站呈现的内容没有足够有效地帮助普罗大众增强对艺术的了解。考虑到非营利艺术机构经常涉及到的文献整理和研究记录，林锐认为当网上有更多的资料提供，大众将获得更好的学习经验。“现在这个口子开了，我希望它不要因为疫情过去又合上，”林锐说，“线上展示非常体现机构、画廊的实力，需要时间去沉淀。”

Lin Rui said in the interview that the content placed by art institutions and galleries on their websites had not been effective enough in terms of enhancing the general public’s understanding about art. Considering archiving and researching projects that non-profit art organizations often deal with, Lin Rui believes that the public will have a better learning experience when more information is available online. “Now there is an opening, I don’t want to see it close after the pandemic passes," Lin Rui said. “The online presentation reflects the actual strength of institutions and galleries, and it takes time to optimize."

对停止了一切画廊活动的秋萌来说，终于有时间整理学术档案，并开启一项计划已久的项目：将国内媒体对画廊所代理的艺术家的报导整合成藏家所订阅的画廊新闻，让藏家们了解中国的艺术生态。秋萌认为这一些涉及书写和存档的工作，长期来看是能够增加艺术品价值的。

For Qiumeng, who temporarily stopped all gallery activities, she finally gets the time to organize academic archives and begin a long-planned project: Integrate the domestic media's coverage of artists represented by the gallery into its own newsletter, and help collectors to understand the art ecology of China. Qiumeng believes that this type of work that involves writing and documenting can increase the value of artwork in the long run.

在采访了以上三位在纽约拥有实体艺术空间的负责人之余，央美艺讯网还了解到一个名为“触发（Trigger）”的非营利学术社群近期也在线上进行中美艺术家对谈的活动。“触发”由留美艺术家、艺术学生群体发起，是纽约华人艺术生态中重要的构成部分。创始人蔡星洋在采访中向央美艺讯网介绍道，“触发”早前已经开始利用线上工具去解决个别受邀加入对谈的中国当代艺术家无法亲临现场的问题。

After interviewing the three art practitioners who run physical art spaces in New York, CAFA ART INFO also learned that a non-profit academic community named “Trigger” has been conducting online panel discussions between Chinese artists and American artists. As an important part of the Chinese art community in New York, “Trigger” was initiated by art students, artists, and a halo of interested parties with similar educational backgrounds in the United States. Cai Xingyang, the founder of “Trigger”, told CAFA ART INFO during the interview that online tools had already been used at times when Chinese contemporary artists were invited to join the conversation who cannot pay a visit to NY.

倪有鱼分享会现场。致谢触发。

Ni Youyu’s artist talk at School of Visual Art. Courtesy of Trigger.

蔡星洋表示，当活动从半线下半线上的形式转变为全面在线上进行，参与体验反而提高了。“我感觉现在人跟人之间的距离变得更近了，”蔡星洋说道，“不再有现场嘉宾坐在前面，然后观众坐在下面的这种区分。”蔡星洋对此类线上艺术活动的未来持积极态度。对此他解释道：“线上活动不像现场活动形式感那么强，它提供了一种更加轻巧的，也令人更清醒的交流方式。”

Xingyang suggested that the participation experience improved after the events switched from being semi-offline and semi-online to being completely online. “I feel that we have now drawn closer," Xingyang said, “it is no longer that divisive, like the guests are staged while audiences are sitting at the back.” Xingyang expressed his optimism about the future of such online art events. He explained: “Online events do not have the rigid form that live events always keep. Instead, it creates a form of communication which is light and handy, and thus helps participants to stay sober.”

触发线上活动。致谢触发。

Screenshot of Trigger’s artist panel held on Zoom. Courtesy of Trigger.

突破圈层的合作与对话：世界从未如此紧密相连

Breaking through the cultural strata through cooperation and dialogue: the world has never been so connected

这一场新冠疫情在让全人类都陷入危机的同时，也为纽约的华人艺术群体提供了机遇去突破原有的圈层划分，真正参与到了美国的社会服务和公共讨论之中。

While the COVID-19 pandemic has created a human crisis, it also provides an opportunity for the Chinese art community in New York to break through its original cultural strata and truly participate in local social and public discussions happening here.

何雨向央美艺讯网介绍了一个由在纽约华人艺术从业者们率先发起的筹款小组“N95 FOR NYC”。这一小组通过向各大画廊的藏家群体和纽约其他艺术从业者筹集资金，向值得信赖的中国供应商采购防护物资，并配送到纽约各个医院。何雨透露第一批采购的一万个N95口罩和两万个普通医务口罩和350套防护服预计在四月初抵达纽约。“这几天我扫除了很多医疗的知识盲点，”何雨表示自己一直在积极地了解捐赠的每一个环节的实施，“比如向医院捐赠时我们要签哪些协议，哪一家供应商最合适，如何保证将物资真的落到一线医务人员手中。”何雨还向建议道，未来小量的捐赠最好直接配送到小诊所，因为小诊所通常争取不到大医院可以获得的资源。

Echo told CAFA ART INFO about N95 FOR NYC, a mutual aid group initiated by several Chinese art practitioners based in New York. This group collected funds from collectors of major galleries, as well as other art practitioners in New York, purchased personal protective equipment (PPE) from trusted suppliers in China and distributed them to various hospitals in New York. Echo revealed that the first batch of PPE that had been purchased included 10,000 N95 respirator masks, 20,000 general surgical masks and 350 medical protective overalls and they would arrive in New York in early April. “In the past few days, I have cleared away a lot of blind spots in medical knowledge," said Echo, who has been actively learning about each implementation section of the donation. “There are questions such as what kind of documents we need to sign when donating to hospitals, which supplier is the best option, and how to ensure that the supplies can be delivered to the hands of frontline healthcare professionals without too many bureaucratic layers.” Echo also suggested that in the future, it is better to send small-scale donations directly to small clinics, which often cannot compete with large hospitals in terms of seeking resources.

当中国在疫情发展的过程中多次成为西方主流媒体报导的核心，纽约的华人艺术群体也从未如此热烈地追踪美国媒体对一个事件从头到尾的报导，并因此更深入理解美国媒体的操作，以及美国政治舆论和医疗社保系统的弊病。对此，林锐在采访中表示他希望通过这一件事件，使现处于事业中期的或者更年轻的华人艺术群体获得一个“更平行的视角”来看待这个世界，理解不同国家政体和文化间的差异，与同辈的美国艺术家们有一个更平等的交流。“希望我们不再因曾经的陌生遥远而仰视，”林锐说道，“因为当我们用更开阔和平和的心态去浸淫和研修，收获得也许更多。”

As China has been at the center of Western mainstream media coverage since the COVID-19 outbreak started, the Chinese art community in New York has never been so enthusiastic about tracking the US media coverage of one particular event from beginning to end and therefore has a deeper understanding of strategies behind the US media operation, as well as the drawbacks of the public opinion environment and the medical social security system of the United States. In this regard, Lin Rui said in the interview that he hopes that through this incident, the mid-career Chinese artists, as well as the younger generation, could have a "parallel perspective" to look at the world, understand the differences between countries and have more equal communication with American peers. “I hope that we no longer look up to (everything in the United States) with strangeness and distance,” Lin Rui said. “If we approach culture here with a more open and peaceful mentality, we may get more.”

《李巨川：武汉会馆》展览现场。致谢SLEEPCENTER。

Juchuan Li: Wuhan Club installation view. Courtesy of SLEEPCENTER.

在全球各大展览都因为新型冠状病毒疫情而取消之际，否画廊近期参与策划的艺术家林延在日本市原湖畔美术馆的展览《云卷云舒》奇迹般地顺利落地了。何雨介绍到，这次展览从一月份开始计划，但因为疫情，中国和纽约的策展团队都取消了旅行计划，并在隔离的状态下借助微信群进行建筑草图修改、作品运输安排、图录设计等工作的对接，最后由日本团队根据翻译成日文的方案来做材料采购和现场施工。

As the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the cancellation of major exhibitions around the world, Lin Yan, an artist represented by Fou Gallery, recently brought a large installation to “Clouds Gathering and Unfolding”, an exhibition held by Lakeside Art Museum in Japan. According to Echo, the planning of the exhibition started in January, but the outbreak prevented the curatorial teams in China and New York from traveling. Under quarantine, they used WeChat groups to communicate about the modification of layout sketches, the shipping arrangement, the design of the catalog, and so on. In the end, the Japanese team purchased material and installed the work according to the proposal given to them which had been translated into Japanese.

这一题为《希望重生》全球项目早前已在石家庄万营美术馆落地，当时林延用几百张悬挂的宣纸围筑了一个迷宫。何雨读出了林延当时写下的自述，以表达自己近期的感悟：“路很窄，伴随着身边纸的声音只身前行，仰望便可以看见一线天。隔离之下，仍然共享着同一片天空和水。”

The global series "Regeneration of Hope" had already landed in Wanying Art Museum (Shijiangzhuang) earlier, where Lin Yan constructed a maze with hundreds of rice paper hanging from the ceiling. Echo read out the artist statement written by Lin Yan at that time to express her recent feelings: "The path is very narrow. As you walk forward, the sound of the paper will follow. Look up, you can see a line of sky. Isolated, we still share the same sky and water. "

此次艺讯网的其他受访对象也都提到了全球的碳排放量下降的现象，认为疫情也许是地球自我保护的一种方式。何雨在采访的最后坦言，这次疫情使她对自己和其他合伙人所制定的否画廊十五年计划更加坚定：“我们会继续去探索一个更加去中心化的状态，打造一个远离大城市的，让自然和艺术更好融合的空间。”

The rest of interviewees also mentioned the decrease in global carbon emissions, believing that the pandemic may be a form of self-protection for the planet. At the end of the interview, Echo said that the pandemic made her and her partners more determined about the 15-year plan for the gallery: “We will continue to explore a more decentralized state of being, build an art space far from the hustle and bustle, and integrate art with nature.”

Installation view of Lin Yan’s work at Lakeside Art Museum, Japan. Courtesy of Fou Gallery.

文、图／吴佩悦

Text and Image by Peiyue Wu

编辑／Sue

Edited by Sue

WeChat typeset by Emily

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