In 2000, the Chinese art market accounted for less than 1% of the global market. A decade later, China dominated the world: the country jumped from ninth to first place in 2010, according to Artprice's 2010 annual report on the world art market. Ten years later, the United States had the largest share with 42%, with China and the United Kingdom each accounting for 20% according to the 2021 annual "Global Art Market Report" sponsored by Art Basel and UBS.
The first artist residencies in China appeared in the late 1990s and early 2000s, dispersed throughout the Mainland's megalopolises and tiny villages. Ineke Gudmundsson, a Dutch curator, founded the Chinese-European Art Center in the southern port city of Xiamen in 1999 in collaboration with Qin Jian, Chair of the Multimedia Department at Xiamen University's College of Art.
As China's art world has grown at incredible speed over the years, new artist residencies have sprouted all over the country as offshoots of commercial galleries, museums, universities, real estate developments, and even luxury restaurants and hotels. In addition, artist residencies became catalysts for international exchange in the newly developed 798, 501, and M50-type art districts and creative zones spread in and around major cities across the country.
Since China still appears to be unreachable and unknown, many non-profit organisations have been established to help international artists overcome language and cultural barriers and find their art residency in China. For example, the non-profit mission of China Residencies is to map, research, and create a free online directory of opportunities in mainland China and Hong Kong for creative people from all over the world.
Unfortunately, most art residencies do not take applicants outside China and Hong Kong due to the pandemic. As long as the border will remain closed for visitors, many artist-in-residence are waiting to have international artists soon from all over the world. The three artists-in-residence reported below are among the best ones in Asia, and being such, they usually have a long waiting list.