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| By ArtZineChina |
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 here have been reports in the media that Uli Sigg, one of the biggest collectors of Chinese contemporary art, was considering cooperating with a museum in the city of Shenzhen and possibly placing a large part of his massive collection there. Meanwhile, Mr. Sigg's collection has been on exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum in California. Below is the letter Mr. Uli Sigg sent to ArtZineChina in response to questions  about his collection, at Berkeley and possibly in Shenzhen:
ArtZineChina: Mr. Sigg, some people in the art world now seem to be more suspicious of collectors showing their collections at exhibitions because of the controversy with the Estella Collection (which was exhibited in museums around the world and then put up for auction at Sotheby's earlier this year); Have you felt any pressure about it?
Uli Sigg: I never felt that collectors were at work in this case – they are dealers and investors. That could have easily been assessed from the  outset! As a result, institutions and artists are now more inquisitive about promises of what will or will not happen after an exhibition or a purchase with the respective artworks.
ArtZineChina: According to an art insider, you are going to donate most of your collection to a museum in China. Is this true? We heard that the Shenzhen government is considering building the biggest contemporary art museum in the world for your collection. Is it true? Why not the National Art Museum of China? What are the essential conditions for you to choose who to cooperate with?
Uli Sigg: Your note in the previous edition of ArtzineChina has stirred up many questions that were put to me over the past weeks – good evidence that you created yourselves a large and attentive readership, my compliments -but less evidence of thorough research.
To clarify some issues, here is what happened. I was contacted by representatives of the new Shenzhen museum to be built by the Shenzhen municipality, which will indeed be huge. They were interested in presenting my collection of Western art and a long term cooperation in that field and advice in general. I indicated to them that I am open to discuss these issues. In the context of this meeting, they realized the depth and extent of my collection of Chinese contemporary art, which they had not been aware of. As a consequence, they expressed strong interest to present parts of my collection in their opening show. This is where we are.
 Yes, I have repeatedly expressed in public my readiness to bring my collection back one day to China – ideally to a prime institution which will be able to draw a large audience, so as to enable the Chinese to get to know their own contemporary art, which they presently do not. You ask why not the NAMOC? I have never received any signal of interest, neither from them nor any other public institution. Unlike as from their Western peers like New York MOMA and Tate, London, which were quick to appoint me to their International Advisory Boards – and which sent their top representatives to view my large exhibitions in Bern or Hamburg or Salzburg. The Chinese public institutions seem to have other priorities than building comprehensive collections of contemporary art. Private museums at least are more active. In essence, time just does not seem ripe for commitments.
ArtZineChina: Will you continue to collect Chinese art after the donation? Are you moving your eyes to other regions' art, too? Let’s say, Vietnamese art or Indian art?
Uli Sigg: I continuously collect art from Chinese artists – as long as they produce interesting works they remain my focus. From time to time I acquire works from other artists – Asian predominantly. I view art from all significant cultural spaces. This is inevitable to refine one’s judgment: too many people in the Chinese art scene lack knowledge beyond their own territory – closing this gap may save them at times from getting overly excited.
ArtZineChina: Will the exhibition in Berkeley be the only time you show in the States or is it the first of a series of exhibitions in the U.S. and other western countries?
Uli Sigg: I look forward to the exhibition in Berkeley: a decisive moment to do the exhibition was the intention of all faculties of the university to use the exhibition as a resource for their studies. Then there will be a next destination at the Peabody Essex museum on the East Coast. There is strong interest from more U.S. institutions – but I do worry about too much handling of the works.
And there have been a stream of inquiries from other countries for the Mahjong Exhibition. It is considered the most comprehensive overview exhibition of Chinese contemporary art. I may do more, yet personally I am just as interested in smaller projects that focus more on a specific issue or medium or an artist. 
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