Creating Art in Diaspora: Network-Building of Young Chinese Artists in France and The Netherlands

Life as an artist in diaspora is usually romanticized as a Bohemian way of pursuing art. However, is it as easy to achieve such life as to just imagine it? For the past decades, the increasing cross-border flows of artists and their works have accelerated the internationalization in the contemporary art world (Velthuis & Brandellero, 2018). In particular, a few Western art centers, such as Pairs, New York and Berlin have become magnets for many non-Western creative professionals seeking their international art career (Harris, 2013). These cities are famous for their art friendly climates and clustering of top artists, collectors, and art dealers as well as prestigious museums and galleries (Favell, 2014; Sooudi, 2014). However, previous scholarship suggests cultural differences, foreign identity, and organizational conventions in the local art world can pose significant barriers for non-Western artists to enter and develop artist career in the Western art world (Velthuis, 2013; Sariaslan, 2018). Given the increasing international mobility of non-Western artists, this study focuses on one group of migrant artists, young Chinese artists and examines how do emerging Chinese artists develop art career in France and the Netherlands, two popular destinations of international mobility among non-Western artists. Through in-depth interviews with 12 young Chinese artists, this study closely examines their perceptions and experiences with the Western art world. In the art world, network-buildings plays a vital role on artist careers. From interactions with collectors, gallery owners, and curators, to connections with museums and art fairs, networks are ubiquitous and have profound impacts on reputations and recognitions of artists (Becker, 1982; Martin, 2007; Braden & Teekens, 2020; Braden, 2018). By looking into the pathways of migrant artists establishing networks with the Western art world, this study contributes to discussions on the impacts of different types of networks on emerging migrant artists in the study field of sociology of art. At the same time, this study provides insights into the pressure on and strategies of non-Western artists building networks for artist careers, which tests the transnational receptions of artists in the contemporary art world.