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    Christie’s Education To Offer Chinese Contemporary Art Course In Hong Kong

    With the number of new Chinese art collectors growing rapidly over the last two years, educators are increasingly looking to cater to this important but still relatively undereducated group.
    Jing DailyAuthor
      Published   in Finance

    Designed To Keep Up With Demand From New Chinese Collectors#

    The new short course will take place at the same time as the Christie's Spring Auctions (Image: Christie's)

    With the number of new Chinese art collectors growing rapidly over the last two years, a development that Jing Daily has previously noted has completely reshaped the Chinese contemporary art market, educators are increasingly looking to cater to this important but still relatively undereducated group. Among these educators, the academic wings of auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's have been quick to offer short courses in Hong Kong designed to give a quick but thorough introduction to the world of Chinese art, art appreciation, and art collecting. Next month, Christie's Hong Kong will roll out its latest short course, “Introduction to the Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art Market,” a new three-day course that explores and explains the development and intricacies of the booming Chinese art market.

    Coinciding with the upcoming Christie's Hong Kong Spring Auctions (May 27-June 1) -- which should see the city become a hive of activity, if the recent Sotheby's Spring Auctions were any indication -- the short course is designed for active as well as aspiring collectors, and is aimed at helping these individuals learn best practices to navigate the complicated contemporary art market. Lectures will be delivered by guest speakers from all areas of the art world, and additional activities at the Christie's Spring Auctions and elsewhere in Hong Kong will complement the classroom portion of the program.

    Reflecting the key role played by mainland Chinese collectors in this predominantly Cantonese-speaking city, the course will be offered in Mandarin between Wednesday, May 25 and Friday, May 27, then in English on the three consecutive Saturdays of May 14th, 21st, and 28th. As Elaine Kwok, Hong Kong Course Director noted, Christie's made the decision to lean more heavily towards mainland Chinese collectors following the popularity of the auction house's short course last autumn. Said Kwok, “We have further refined the program content and format to suit the needs of participants in Asia, including presenting the course in Mandarin. With the rich offering of art activities in Hong Kong in the month of May, participants will benefit from a myriad of learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom.”

    “Education is a core part of Christie’s mission," said François Curiel, President of Christie’s Asia, adding that this Hong Kong short course fits into the company's long-term educational goals. Added Curiel, "In addition to sourcing, researching and presenting the world’s finest artworks at our auctions, we see our role as being the conduit to knowledge about art from our highly trained specialists. The goal is to educate new generations of collectors about art history, the development of the market and the importance of provenance.” With Chinese collectors now dominating the contemporary Chinese art market, and more new collectors hoping to diversify their assets in a time of rising inflation in mainland China, it's no surprise that this emerging demographic now features so heavily in the educational efforts at Christie's.

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