A display hall will be set up in a shopping mall in Baoshan
District this month to provide owners of small museums around the
city a free space to show off their collections.
Oriental Plaza has set aside about 2,000 square meters on the
third floor of the large shopping mall for the new museum. It has
also signed up 20 small museum owners to display their collections,
which include old keys, butterflies and pottery.
Jiang Xingzhen, the plaza manager in charge of the museum, said
her company has spent more than five million yuan (US$625,000) on
the project, which combines commerce with folk culture. Collectors
are being offered exhibition space, and display equipment free of
charge. The plaza has also bought insurance for the exhibits
against theft or destruction.
"We have signed a six-month contract with the first group of
collectors, which will assure them of a certain amount of income
during the period," She said.
About 100,000 free tickets will be available in the first three
months and it is possible a small admission fee will be charged if
the hall proves a success. The main idea, however, is to attract
more shoppers to the plaza.
More than 100 collectors in the city run their own small
museums, usually out of their homes. Many have had trouble
attracting people to their museums, or can't find new homes for
collections when urban construction forces them to move.
Abacus collector Ge Xinhua said he was excited about an
invitation to show his collection in the plaza as he has been
struggling to find a new home for more than 1,000 of his abacuses
since October when his neighborhood near Suzhou Creek began to be
demolished.
"Thanks to the museum, I can finally settle down and find an
ideal platform to show my collection," he said.
(Shanghaidaily.com December 20, 2006)