The Chinese-born, UK-based art collector and philanthropist Yan Du is to open YDP (Yan Du Projects) a new non-profit space in London’s Bloomsbury. Located in a Grade I listed Georgian townhouse, adapted by Hong Kong-based Beau Architects, YDP will focus on the work of Asian artists. A programme of exhibitions, site-specific commissions and public events will launch this October, while the space will also host artist residencies.
YDP will open with a solo exhibition by painter Duan Jianyu (b.1970, Zhengzhou) one of three exhibitions Du plans to present per year at YDP. The inaugural artist-in-residence will be Harit Srikhao (b.1995, Bangkok), part of a process-oriented residency programme that will see artists display work-in-progress to the public.
Alongside YDP, Du will remain the founding director of the Asymmetry Art Foundation, a London-based platform to promote Chinese and Sinophone contemporary art launched in 2019.
‘I need to create from scratch a brand-new model of supporting creative practices and research,’ Du told The Art Newspaper. ‘There is no precedent for me to follow. I am envisioning a new type of philanthropic work, to shape the future of the ecosystem of art.’
