Some exciting news from Shenzhen, China! Last week, Martin Roth (Director of the V&A), Tim Reeve (COO), Olivia Colling (Head of Press and Communication), Luisa Mengoni (senior V&A curator on the V&A Shekou project) and I attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Shekou Design Museum (see our previous post introducing the project).
This traditional ceremony, organised by our partner China Merchants Group (CMG) in the presence of the world-renowned architect Mr Fumihiko Maki and the founder and CEO of Guanfu Museum, Mr Ma Weidu, celebrated the launch of the Design Museum project in China. The event provided the first public platform to present our pioneering collaboration with CMG on this ambitious project.
Here are a few pictures capturing what has been a truly memorable experience for all of us!
Hosted by Mr Sun Chengming, Executive Vice-President of CMG, the day started with a gift ceremony where a signed, limited edition model of the design for the new museum was offered to the guests.
Out in the heat (30⁰ and 70% humidity), the groundbreaking ceremony took place and a commemorative stone was laid.
We were also honoured by the presence of British Consul-General, Alastair Morgan, Culture and Education Minister, Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Beijing and Director of the British Council China, Carma Elliot, the new Head of Arts at the British Council in Beijing, Nick Marchand, plus colleagues from UKTI and the British Council in Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
Engaging locally and ensuring that this project really becomes part of the fabric of Shenzhen is a major challenge. From that perspective, it was great to talk about the project, its genesis and our ambition here in Shenzhen. More news soon…