Why landmark Chinese art museum Yuz moved from Shanghai’s West Bund to city’s outskirts, and what its new life holds

Founded by Chinese-Indonesian businessman Budi Tek, Yuz Museum recently moved to Shanghai’s Panlong Tiandi area and unveiled its first exhibitions there

Museum director and Tek’s daughter, Justine Alexandria Tek, talks about the future and the continuing partnership with America’s Lacma, and Qatar Museums

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Yuz Museum at its new home in Shanghai’s Panlong Tiandi area. The landmark China museum recently moved from its long-term home on Shanghai’s West Bund. Photo: Yuz Museum

Lisa Movius

Published: 11:15am, 13 Jun 2023Updated: 11:39am, 13 Jun 2023

Yuz Museum was a landmark on Shanghai’s West Bund after it opened in a converted airport hangar in May 2014.

Founded by the late Chinese-Indonesian businessman and art collector Budi Tek, Yuz is one of China’s best-known private museums. It has held numerous blockbuster exhibitions, forged a three-way partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Qatar Museums, and been at the forefront of discussions about governance and the long-term infrastructure required for single-owner institutions to survive their lifetimes.

But uncertainties started to pile up during an extremely tough year for the museum and its founder’s family starting in March 2022, when Tek died at the age of 65 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Shanghai’s Covid-19 lockdowns then closed Yuz for four months soon after it opened a major Yoshitomo Nara show.

In February, the West Bund lease was not renewed by the government-owned landlord.

The late Chinese-Indonesian businessman and art collector Budi Tek. Photo: Handout

Despite the multiple blows, Tek’s daughter, Justine Alexandria Tek, who in August 2022 assumed the directorship of the Shanghai museum, is confident that the future is bright.