Chinese Arts Centre was established in 1986 by a group of British Chinese artists based in Manchester. The artists were frustrated that their work was not been seeing in mainstream venues, and was not included in the ‘Black arts’ movement of the time. Based in Chinatown, the Centre was financially supported by Manchester City Council and Arts Council England. Comprised of a Gallery, education room and teahouse it was an excellent space to show the work of British Chinese artists and the local Chinese community.
1997 and the Hong Kong Handover proved to be a crucial moment in the development of Chinese Arts Centre. The British media was full of Chinese images and many arts organisations programmed Chinese related events. This dramatic increase in mainstream recognition of all things Chinese encouraged us to change our direction and, rather than just exhibiting work, we would proactively support the careers of artists of Chinese descent. In addition, 1997 marked the year that we extended our remit to become a national charity and we started to work internationally, rather than just with British Chinese artists.
1999 was the year of our first major touring exhibition – Representing the People. Touring to four key national venues and seen by 250,000, Representing the People was the first independent exhibition to show artists from Mainland China in the UK. Aside from the quality of the art, the exhibition was successful because it showed an honest and realistic face of life in China. Many of the artists in the exhibition are now “stars” on the international art market, non-more so than Liu Xiao Dong who’s work commands six figure sums. 2003 marked the opening of the new Chinese Arts Centre following a £2.5 million pound Lottery grant. Winning a RIBA prize for Architecture, the purpose built Centre is a fitting flagship for Chinese contemporary art.
