Mobility in A Decentralizing Global Art World?

A Perspective from Chinese Artists in Berlin

Abstract

Berlin has seen a significant influx of Chinese artists and contemporary art professionals in recent years. While their presence is acknowledged by local media, it remains underexplored in scholarly literature. This ethnographic study, based on one-and-a-half years of fieldwork in Berlin, examines the global art world through the lens of Chinese artists' migration to Berlin. It argues that general theories of international migration are insufficient to explain the migration patterns of these artists, Instead, an understanding of their embeddedness in the globalized art world is necessary. By exploring the reasons behind Chinese artists' residence in Berlin, their transnational mobility, and the challenges they face in the host society, this study critiques the notion of a decentralizing global art world, highlighting the persistent center-periphery structure and the European-American-dominated hierarchy of values within the global art world.