For years, many of mainland China’s art students dreamed of working or studying in Europe. After hours spent poring over the works of the continent’s masters as part of their degree requirements, living where their pieces are preserved, displayed and appreciated would seem a natural fit.
But with funding and hiring freezes striking numerous overseas art programmes and museums, that path grows less appealing by the day.
Now, rather than relocate to a new continent to further their studies, more of the mainland’s graduates are opting for a shorter trip: to Hong Kong, a city where budding artists and traders can gain a more expansive glimpse of Western culture without losing sight of the place in which they hope to eventually work.
Art trader Chen Zixin is one of them. He recently put his antique jade business in the eastern province of Zhejiang on hold to return to academia, but knew he wanted to stay closer to home.
“Unlike others who may have applied for art courses at multiple universities outside mainland China, I picked Hong Kong and looked no further,” Chen said.
Since arriving in September, the entrepreneur has networked and toured art venues across the city – an experience he feels has only vindicated his decision.
As enthusiasm for art surges in mainland China and Hong Kong seeks to diversify its economy beyond trading floors into galleries and museums, expectations of quick profits are running high.
But not every art student has been adequately trained to seize the opportunities as they present themselves.
As with Chen, many art students on the mainland feel unprepared for their career paths after graduation, with a number heading to Hong Kong.
“There is a ‘study art, pick HK’ trend,” said John Yu, founder of Westgate, a Shanghai- and Zhejiang-based overseas study consultancy.
“Mainland art graduates, anxious about their ‘skills homogenisation’ and ‘unemployability’ and China’s overall bleak job market, are on the lookout for a postgraduate degree or another diploma outside the mainland,” he said.
“Courses offered by prestigious institutions, like those in Hong Kong, are usually on their radar, especially for those with a keen interest in Chinese art but who want to gain some international exposure.”
While the mainland has seen a glut of art graduates in recent years, job opportunities in the field are comparatively scarce – a phenomenon affecting new degree holders across many sectors.
In 2002, China saw its first surge in art entrance exam applications, with 32,000 students registering. By 2013, the number exceeded 1 million and has hovered above that level ever since, according to figures from education authorities.
In a tacit admission of the oversupply, China’s Ministry of Education in November 2023 ordered tertiary institutions to “optimise the structure of art majors and courses and downsize enrolment plans”. But about half a million art graduates across the country still joined the hunt for jobs in 2024, official statistics show.
For those looking to “upskill” and gain a crucial advantage amid the fierce competition, Hong Kong can help immerse learners in knowledge and perspectives that are harder to encounter at home.
Miranda Yin, an art professional who was among the first graduates of the museum studies programme at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), said her education straddled many cultures and disciplines.
“We were able to learn a wide spectrum of mainstream Western theories and methodology about art and museums and apply them to the research of Chinese and other Asian art,” Yin said. “There is a blend of West and East in our day-to-day learning and class discussions.”
By comparison, she said, museum and art courses in mainland China may lack exposure to and exchanges with the West.
Chen, meanwhile, said he enjoyed collaborating with professors on projects that are the results of brainstorming rather than part of a rigid syllabus.
“In some old-fashioned schools on the mainland, much learning is by rote, but teachers here never inculcate an idea upon students, no matter how outstanding they are in their respective fields.”
Yu, the education consultant, said applicants with experiences beyond the mainland could get a leg up in landing ideal jobs amid China’s art boom.
“A degree or diploma from [Hong Kong] may help you beat the competition ... It’s the passport to enter a public museum or art institution in mainland China.”
Joost Schokkenbroek, professor of museology at HKU, said mainland China’s potential is beckoning many competitive graduates back home.
“There is a solid demand for well-trained talent when new museums open and art deals are set to rise, and that – with courses and internships offered in Hong Kong – students have the skills and connections to excel,” he said.
The university’s master’s programme in museum studies currently has a cohort of 82 students, mostly from mainland China.
Spurred by a nationwide culture craze and museum-building spree, many of China’s families see a museum visit as a must and are sending children to the country’s most popular attractions, from the Palace Museum in Beijing to the Sanxingdui site of Bronze Age culture in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, by the end of 2024, China had more than 7,000 museums and public galleries featuring a range of themes, styles and artists, with 213 openings that year. Total annual visitor numbers to these facilities also reached 1.5 billion, more than the country’s population.
Including transactions in Hong Kong, China became the world’s third-largest art market after the US and the United Kingdom in 2024, according to data aggregated by ArtTactic. The American art market analysis firm also noted China’s share in the global art market doubled from 7 per cent in 2015 to 14 per cent in 2024. An anticipated recovery in deals in 2025 is expected to help China reclaim runner-up position.
Schokkenbroek, a Dutch academic with an art career spanning three decades on as many continents, said Asia, especially China, now offers more job opportunities than the West.
Yin, the HKU art graduate who also spent time at University College London, said the art market in Europe could be saturated.
“Though Britain has a very mature and well-established art market, some museums and art organisations there are freezing staff headcount or outsourcing work to external contractors amid limited state funding or support,” she said.
“But there could be more museum openings in China than elsewhere, meaning that potential remains not fully tapped for well-trained professionals.”
More art and cultural facilities are in the planning pipeline across China, including an expansion plan to upgrade provincial-level museums through billions of yuan in funding. Culture and art have also been identified as areas in which to spur domestic consumption as Beijing drafts its comprehensive development plan for the next five years.
Hong Kong’s art students could be well prepared to take advantage of that window as they relocated from a nearby place in the middle of its own artistic renaissance.
Most notably, construction continues on expansions to the city’s already sprawling West Kowloon Cultural District, where numerous museums, galleries and performance venues attract visitors.
Art student Cloris He, who hails from the eastern province of Shandong, was effusive when speaking on Hong Kong’s unique advantages.
“It is among the few places where essential elements – finance, art education, art infrastructure, appreciation, auction, trading and connectivity – all get rolled into one compact, convenient package.”
A complete education for an aspiring art professional also includes a survey of the commercial side of the industry, another area for which Hong Kong is well suited. It is the only city in Asia to host Art Basel, the prestigious contemporary art fair, and it is home to the Asian headquarters of leading auction houses such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips.
In addition to expansive rounds of new funding to build or enhance its artistic and cultural centres, the city’s government has also provided symbolic support to the industry by holding banquets and other high-profile events for global investors inside museums and other ultra-modern art venues, including the flagship institutions of the West Kowloon district, M+ and the Palace Museum.
In its five-year plans for national development, China has promised measures to help solidify Hong Kong’s standing. This includes the arts, with the most recent 14th edition of the plan dubbing the city an “East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange”.
As Hong Kong opens more museums and showcases more works of art, leading to a preponderance of deals, the city is likely to widen its employment pool for related positions – a phenomenon in stark contrast with the downsizing seen in Europe’s traditional powerhouses.
According to the Manpower Projection to 2027, compiled by Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department, demand from the city’s cultural and creative industries – which encompasses museum jobs and art trading – will rise to 238,000 in 2027, up from 217,000 in 2017.
Chen, the jade dealer who will graduate next year, said he wants to jump at the opportunity, making plans to set up a company in Hong Kong with a focus on the mainland.
“I will shuttle between Hong Kong and the mainland to pursue deals and form partnerships with museums and galleries ... This can be a smooth study-to-career path for many mainland students,” he said.
“I’m seeking the best of both worlds.” -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
