Case Study - China National Art Gallery And Management

The construction of the National Art Museum of China began in 1958 and was completed in 1963 and opened the same year its doors to the general public. During its 40 years history, the museum has gone through a number of new trends and careers and turbulence one might add. When China entered the 21^st century, the country's cultural life, along with its economical and political life, changed fast. From this perspective, it is necessary to study the development of this important museum. The scope of this paper is a study of the characteristics and specifics of trends and changes of directions in regard to both collecting and management of the National Museum. Another scope is to sum up certain experiences that hopefully can be references for further development of the National Art Museum but possibly also for developments of other museums in the country.Based on the research method from a historical perspective as well as case studies, through collecting and analyzing the historical records, and references to related earlier research results, the paper divide the 40 years of history of the museum into three periods- Chapter I, the initial period (1958-1966)- Chapter II, the recovery period (1978-1989)- Chapter III, the ongoing development period (1991-).The central point of the paper is focusing on the macro-management of the museum and the method of collecting and management during each of the three periods. After studying and analyzing actual cases, the paper sums up the main features and changes when it comes to the collection and the basic philosophy of management regarding research and display of the permanent collection. Finally the paper reflects over the current status of development.