Arts
Gently does it
From time to time, the world’s venerable art museums like to go walkabout in search of fresh audiences and a little largesse too. And the place that many are packing for at the moment is – wait for it – China. France’s Pompidou Centre announced this week that it’s going to open its first international outpost over in Shanghai, in a wing of the West Bund Art Museum, by 2019. Meanwhile London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is partnering with a Chinese state-owned holding company to create a gallery in the forthcoming Design Society institution in Shenzhen by the end of the year. In principle, overseas outreach is a fine thing. But lessons can be learnt from the 2000s when France’s Louvre and the Guggenheim dipped their toes into the Gulf and felt backlash over labour rights and brand stretch. An itinerant institution should always tread carefully.