Is the future of the gallery or museum space cross-functional? How does the audience engage with the work and practices of artists, when their experiences are a standardised blueprint set in stone by institutions? Is there a platform for art that intersects design, functionality, fashion and literature that rethinks the gallery/shop? YI WEIHUA from museum C is questioning these ideas and carving out a space and home for newer ways of experiencing art and products in Berlin.
BH: How did you arrive to this concept for museum C?
museum C is an ironic response to the commercialised art world nowadays. It was initiated when I was doing my master thesis about institutional theory of art. Operating a concept store is basically the same logic as operating a gallery. I wanted to exam the difference between the two and to experiment how an art institution can influence people’s perceptions on art or any objects.
BH: I think one thing we share in common is the idea that there is a crossover with disciplines, such as, in your case art and fashion and objects and the spaces that primarily contain them, how they can function. How do you see the role of museum C in this conversation?
Art is about imagining new possibilities and offering emotional value to everyone. I avoid defining or categorizing works into specific labels. At museum C, we treat every item in our collection equally—whether it’s art, fashion, or an object. We also try to deliver the same perspective to our audiences.
Pic 1&2: books from Doooogs, a Chinese art/culture publisher
Pic 3: Watercolor illustration from Malwine Stauss.
“we try to approach it like an exhibition rather than a marketplace”
Pic 4: Modulable bag from TPM
BH: What draws you to certain works?
When selecting creatives to collaborate with, museum C focus on the expression within their works and how they align with our values. We would love to show them to as many audiences as we can.
BH: How do you curate a shopping experience?
Every time when museum C organizes a pop-up, we try to approach it like an exhibition rather than a marketplace. We curate the theme, select the matching items, and design the space layout with the same attention to detail as a gallery would do, making sure the visitors resonate with the concept.
BH: What is the future for museum C and you look like?
Right now, museum C operates as an online concept store with regular offline pop-ups. In the future, we would like to have our own space in Berlin, where we can host with regular showcases of our collections and organize events in collaboration with creatives we admire.
Pic 5: Fine art print from Koko Che Jota.
BH: What would be your dream collab in a) fashion & art b) location & objects?
Our dream collaboration has no strict definition, they’re all about how inspiring a project can be. museum C wants to work with any creatives, who don’t subscribe to a fixed definition and explore their practice in a truly sincere way. Same for the location, we work with spaces that value diverse voices and respect their local communities.
Our upcoming pop-up Objective Obsession in December at Backhaus Projects is a great example. It brings local and international creatives to showcase items that are in between art and design, celebrating the fusion of aesthetics and function, questioning how much fun addiction is! There are candy look furniture, ceramic candleholder with a feminist statement, vegan incense from Himalaya, mini capsule sculpture dealing with depression, modulable bags and many more!
And we are so honored to return to Backhaus Projects, a space that shares our values and support initiatives like museum C from the very beginning. We are so grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait for it.
Pic 6: Vegan incense from Boundless.
Pic 7-9, candle holder from Hotlegs, modulable bags from TPM, vegan incense from Boundless.