Part One - Recognize Art Museum(Art Gallery) 

Chapter 1 - What is the Art Museum
1.1 The History of the Art Museum
1.1.1 A brief history of the development of world art museums
1.1.2 A brief history of the development of Chinese art museums

1.2 The Nature of the Art Museum
1.2.1 The durability of society and culture
1.2.2 Democracy, publicity, diversity and non-profit
1.2.3 Independence and neutrality
1.2.4 The authority of intellectual production
1.3 The Function of the Art Museum
1.3.1 The identity and spiritual strength of the state, nation and region

1.3.2 The image of the state, city and government and the degree indicator of regional development

1.3.3 A important window of cultural diplomacy
1.3.4 The driving force of a harmonious community
1.3.5 The dynamism of economic development and urban renewal 

Chapter 2 - Experiential Art Museum: Art Museum and the Audience

2.1 Why does the Audience Become the Center of the Art Museum 

2.1.1 Audience Becoming the center of the art museum is the trend of the times 2.1.2 Centering on the audience is a mission of public service organizations

2.1.3 Audience is a realistic demand for the survival of the art museum

2.2 Experience: The Keyword for the Relationship Between the Art Museum and the Audience
2.2.1 Experience is the keyword of the times
2.2.2 What is so special about the art museum experience
2.2.3 How to create an impressive art museum experience

2.3 Audience Research at the Art Museum
2.3.1 What is audience research
2.3.2 An important link of audience research – audience survey 

Chapter 3 - The Framework of the Art Museum
3.1 The Vision and Mission of the Art Museum
3.2 The Physical framework of the Art Museum—Architecture
3.3 The Upper Structure of the Art Museum
3.3.1 Council
3.3.2 Foundation
3.3.3 Board of supervisors
3.3.4 Academic committee 

Part Two – The Academic Construction System of the Art Museum (Art Gallery) Chapter 4 - Academic Research on the Art Museum
4.1 The Scope and Location of Academic Research
4.2 Academic Activities at the Art Museum
4.3 The Resource and Structure of Academic Research (A Case Study of MoMA) 

Part Three – The Capital Chain of the Art Museum(Art Gallery)

Part Four - Operations Management of the Art Museum(Art Gallery)

Part Five – The Art Museum (Art Gallery) for the Future

Art Museum Theory & Practice

1. This book reviews and sorts relevant art history, art literature, artworks and case studies of artists. Documentation is the top priority of the academic research of the art museum. The eight departments of the Louvre Museum all have their own literature, and there are 12,000 works and nearly 800 thousand archives that related to the collection of the museum preserved in the literature and research division, in which each work has a relatively complete file (containing origin, acquisition method, previous and present photographs, X-ray photographs, abstract, history, replica, sketches, similar works in the Louvre Museum) available for experts and public enquiries. There is also a kind of literature categorized by country, including magazines and auction information, mainly for studying the referential materials left by the relevant artist. No matter from the horizontal aspect of timeline or the vertical aspect of art genre, the collation of art-related materials has not yet been taken seriously. It is rarely to find an art museum that attaches importance to the fundamental works of collecting and sorting artistic literature, let alone the art museum equipped with more comprehensive tools for academic research, such as collection data management system, artist information management system, work negative management system, library management system, exhibition data management system and professional paper database. Moreover, not to mention the timeliness and accuracy of the documents and the degree of accessibility for the public. Previously, Guangdong Museum of Art has organized several significant art exhibitions of the period of the Republic of China based on the research of modern art movements emerged during this period, such as “Tan Huamu – The Footsteps of ‘the Lost’”, “Sikhung Leung – Lost Landscape”, “Series of Guangdong Artists in 20th Century – A Special Art Exhibition of Feng Gangbai, Tan Huamu and Zhao Shou”, “Floating · China Independent Art Association and Modern Art in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tokyo in the 1930s”, and so on. Exhibitions held in the Hubei Museum of Art collects and combs through literature about modern and contemporary art in Hubei province, presenting both valuable original works and associated documents. These are the two examples that reflect the steady work of basic research in Chinese art museums today.

2 This books advocates in art museums to have foresight and sensibility, to actively collide with new ideas, new culture, new creation, and find new art trend. We mentioned in Chapter 5 “Exhibitions in the Art Museum” that whether it is exhibition theme planning or experimental work, paying attention to young people and innovative concepts enables the art museum to chase up with the times, helps the art museum to be updated and keen in its research function, easily finds new theories and breakthroughs in academic research and contributes to the establishment and improvement of the academic status of the art museum. Besides, for the art development, encouraging young artists to carry out experimental creations conforms to the spiritual essence of modern art development.

3. This book emphasizes to have an international perspective, not only show concern to the domestic but also global art development. Only by putting the world art into its research system can the art museum find a suitable position for its art in the world and gain international status for its academic research. In this era of information and globalization, the content and even style of each contemporary artwork are closely related to the world art history. Thus, to have a global vision of art and to be familiar with the development of art in different countries can help to inspire domestic artistic creation, and also help us to have a deeper understanding of the development of Chinese art. In addition, as for the research of art museum, Europe and America are traditional powers in the field of museum, in which a solid foundation has been laid early for the advancement of museology. Therefore, in order to make our art museums one of the world-renowned museums, it is essential to actively cooperate with universities and art museums in the West for academic exchange, cultivating professional qualities of museum staffs and providing them opportunities for further education to lift their academic standards.

4 Art museum needs to establish and improve its academic platform to promote Chinese art and culture to the world. Only by affirming the connotation of its own culture can it distinguish from the culture of other countries and establish a real international character. Hence, academic research is the only way to develop art museum itself, and we have to build a complete range of aesthetic concepts as well as ways of presentation to base on the local and look into the future. We should not only conduct self-research but also push forward the research of domestic and foreign scholars on the academic development of Chinese art through holding regular international forums, so as to enhance the international reputation of Chinese art.