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From cultural relic to gallery

Bulldozers have given more breathing space to one of Beijing's Ming Dynasty watchtowers, which now houses a foreign art enterprise.

A network of low-rise courtyard homes has been cleared in the city's drive towards the 2008 Olympic Games, exposing the Red Gate Gallery in the tower, which houses work by prominent contemporary artists and exhibitions by younger ones and foreigners.

The owner, Australian Brian Wallace, arrived in Beijing as a backpacker in 1984. After a few years of revisiting, he completed a two-year course in Putonghua and began co-exhibiting fine art shows around town. After operating in the then dilapidated watchtower briefly in 1991 and launching a self-proprietorship, he moved premises to the China World Trade Centre.

Red Gate Gallery's return to the watchtower in 2000 was at the invitation of the Bureau of Cultural Relics. 'They were looking to renovate it and thought an art gallery fitted in well with the building culturally,' Mr Wallace says.

The three-storey building also houses a small museum, operated by the district of Chongwen, explaining its historic function within the old walled city, and a gift and souvenir shop.

Large windows allowing plenty of natural light and tall ceilings providing ample wall space make the watchtower an ideal gallery interior.

'Though the building is a historical relic and there are very strict preservation controls, we and the artists find it works well for most shows,' Mr Wallace says.

Red Gate Gallery had some input into the site's decoration during its renovation. 'We discouraged the Bureau of Cultural Relics from overly decorating the interior with gaudy traditional palace art,' he says. And a glance around the interior reveals that, unusually, all beams and eaves have been painted with the same dark red lacquer as the walls, providing an even-toned backdrop.

Mr Wallace declines to discuss the financial outlay or rental contract, but says the main investment was time and commitment.

'I have already recouped the initial investment,' he adds. Red Gate hires four full-time staff for general operations.

Sometimes Red Gate holds exhibitions outside Beijing, attending international art fairs biannually in Melbourne, as well as Singapore and Berlin.

Although the gallery is popular with locals, the serious collectors are from overseas. 'By far the bulk of visitors are Chinese, but buyers are more than 90 per cent foreign,' Mr Wallace says.

Big names, such as Ogilvy and Mather, Louis Vuitton, Philips, China World Hotel and others have used the gallery and its entrance terrace for fashion shows and cocktail receptions.

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