“I see my project as a bridge between Asia and the west, as a platform for curators to study and share their knowledge,” says the Chinese art collector and patron Yan Du.
Many collectors sit on boards and acquisition committees as their way of supporting the art ecosystem. Du takes a different approach — she has started a foundation which supports emerging curators from Asia, while at the same time improving knowledge about Asian and specifically Chinese art in the west. Her Asymmetry Art Foundation has already established partnerships with London’s Chisenhale and Whitechapel galleries, and the aim is eventually to create a global exchange, sending western curators to China and vice versa.
Yet there is nothing in Du’s background that pointed to her becoming so involved with the art scene. She was born near Beijing, where her parents still live: “My family is very traditionally Chinese, and my father is a complete workaholic, like lots of Chinese businessmen, he doesn’t like to take holidays!” she tells me, laughing heartily.