Times Art Center Berlin, first Chinese-backed Western art center, to close amid funding and political challenges

The Times Art Center Berlin, established in 2018 in the Mitte district as an overseas branch of the Guangdong Times Museum, is shutting down. Artistic director Bei Xi cited socio-political turbulences affecting all aspects of life, making management untenable. According to the South China Morning Post, political instability led to funding issues, with growing hostility between nations and cultures and the looming end of globalization contributing to the closure. Backed by the Hong Kong-listed Times China property company, controlled by Shum Chiu-hung and Li Yiping, whose fortune fell by $1 billion from Forbes' 2021 valuation this year, the center was noted for introducing Western audiences to art from the Pearl River Delta region in southern China. It featured many Hong Kong artists, including Wong Ping in its most recent exhibition, and claimed to be the first parallel institution set up overseas by an Asian art museum. The closure marks the end of a bold attempt at meaningful art dialogue.