Museums as guardians of heritage always look to the future

The leaders of 21 museums from abroad and 17 domestic museums gathered in Shanghai for the inaugural M20+ International Museum Conference at Shanghai Museum East on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Under the theme "Evolve and Everlast", museum leaders from some of the most celebrated institutions in the world, such as the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Guimet French National Museum of Asian Arts in Paris, shared their experience and insight on subjects such as heritage preservation, global reach and local roots, as well as technology and public engagement.

The conference also coincided with the opening of Shanghai Museum East after seven years of construction.

The new wing on the east bank of the Huangpu River showcases more than 15,000 objects in 20 galleries and interactive spaces. It is expected to receive more than 6 million visitors annually.

"Museums in China have made rapid progress in the past few years and achieved great improvement in many aspects including facilities, talent and so on," Chu Xiaobo, director of Shanghai Museum, told the media on Tuesday.

"We decided to invite colleagues from abroad to witness our development, and meanwhile we are aware of the big gap between us and the top-notch museums in the world, and that's the direction we are heading through hard work in the future."

In the past decade, museum-going has become a popular pastime for Chinese people.

Last year, museums in China received 1.3 billion visits.

This year, Shanghai Museum estimated it would host more than 6 million at its two venues on People's Square and the new Shanghai Museum East.

The third venue of the Shanghai Museum is undergoing preparation, Chu told the media at the conference.

Located at the previous site of the Shanghai Shipyard Company in Yangpu district, Shanghai Museum North will focus on the research of underwater archaeology and maritime trade.

The museum will also serve as a long-term excavation workshop for a salvaged shipwreck and is expected to open to the public by 2030.

By then, Chu estimates the three venues will receive more than 10 million visits every year.

This "museum fever" in China has partly been brought about by the exchange and cooperation between Chinese and foreign museums, according to Liu Shuguang, chairman of the Chinese Museums Association.

"I hope Shanghai municipality and Shanghai Museum will play a greater role in promoting pragmatic and high-level cooperation and exchanges between Chinese and international museums," he said at the conference.

Chu agreed that communications with overseas colleagues and counterparts is of vital importance.

"I'm sure the conference will bring new ideas, methods and ways of work, which will lead the direction of development of museums in the future."

Today, the world is faced with more complexities and challenges, such as war, cultural differences and technology, said Jameson Kelleher, chief operating officer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States.

"I think it is important that leaders (in the international museum community) have a sounding board so that we can come together to think about complicated topics and find power together to think about how we can best serve the world."