When the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) entered the Dashanzi 798 area in Beijing in June 2007, it also marked that their dream could finally come true.
As a member of the board of directors of many international museums and art centers (Oriental Art Museum in Gu Man, Cartier Art Foundation in Paris, Tate Art Museum in Britain); Mr. Ullens is also a member of the board of directors of the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland, and he also plans to promote music festival activities in Asia.
From 65438 to 0992, Mrs. Ullens began to engage in humanitarian aid work in Nepal and established her Happy Family Foundation. The assistance of this foundation is mainly aimed at orphans, children's rescue centers and schools; It also includes support for the Department of Science and Engineering of Kathmandu University.
In 2004, as a member of the board of directors of French anti-cancer institutions, Mrs. Ullens established Mimi Fund in Belgium, aiming at alleviating the pain of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and improving their lives. Ullens Celebration is an eye-catching activity in Beijing art world in winter, and it is also a social platform where stars gather. Every celebration dinner is held in UCCA. We invite the best star chefs and restaurants in the city to carefully design the celebration dishes, and appoint famous contemporary artists to provide wonderful creative performances for the dinner, so as to jointly create a unique contemporary cultural experience for you. At the same time, you can also bid for your favorite outstanding contemporary art works in the charity auction unit of the celebration dinner, which are generously donated by artists and designers who have participated in the UCCA exhibition project. The proceeds from the celebration banquet will be used to support public welfare projects such as art exhibitions and lectures organized by UCCA and promote the long-term development of the organization.
The Ullens Foundation was registered in Switzerland in 2003. Mr. and Mrs. Ullens have been collecting China artworks since the early 1990s. As collectors, they visited China many times and were very interested in contemporary art in China. In 2002, they held an exhibition in Paris. Later, they came to me and offered to give more support to artists in China. Sponsorship is unconditional. It's all the couple's own money. The settlement of Ullens Art Center in Beijing is a non-prom plan made by foreign capital in China, which is not easy to implement under the current system, because non-profit organizations can only operate in the form of companies in China. The plan in Shanghai was abandoned because of the unsatisfactory location and insufficient influence. Although it is difficult to do it in Beijing, it is the capital after all and has an advantage in the influence of public opinion. The Ullens Foundation is an active supporter of art in China. Around the world, it sponsored many China art activities and exhibitions, and actively promoted the influence of China art in the world.
Important exhibitions held by the Ullens Foundation in China and Europe include "The World" held in Antwerp Museum of Contemporary Art and Museum of Ancient Art in 2004, and "Inside and Outside" held in cooperation with Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art and Guangdong Art Museum. In addition to organizing exhibitions, the Ullens Foundation also sponsored a series of important international activities related to contemporary art in China, such as Hou Hanru's "Emergency Zone" theme exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2003 and China Pavilion exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2005. Mr. Ullens's father is a Belgian diplomat in China, and his uncle was a Belgian ambassador to China. Since childhood, Mr. Ullens has established a deep affection for China.
In the early days, Mr. Ullens often traveled to and from China for business activities, and began to collect China's ancient paintings-works of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. China's avant-garde movement in the mid-1980s deepened his interest in China art. Since then, he has been deeply attracted by the unique creations of China artists. His collection is one of the largest collections of China artworks in the world, with more than 2,000 China artworks in different fields, including sculptures, paintings, installations and images.