Oct 21, 2019|
As Young Chinese Go Crazy for Art, JD Partners with Museums to “Bring Art to Life”
JD is bringing art museums and Chinese consumer brands together to develop high-quality products adorned with the work of the world’s most renowned artists, allowing a new generation of Chinese consumers to enjoy aesthetic masterpieces in their daily lives.
The initiative comes as art is enjoying immense popularity in China, particularly amongst the younger generation. Recognizing this, JD launched JD Art, an exclusive channel for art purchases in March last year. JD Art customers are primarily born after 1980, with 66% of consumers aged 26-45. For many young Chinese, a key highlight of any museum or gallery visit is the gift shop, which provides the chance to take their artistic and cultural experiences back home with them. At Beijing’s Palace Museum, for example, sales of products including bags, cups, cell phone cases and even lipstick – exceeded RMB 1.5 billion in value during 2017.
To mark its Global Museums Day sales promotion, “Bring Art to Life” , on October 21, JD.com has partnered with four of the world’s finest museums to produce an array of well-designed consumer products incorporating elements of classic artworks from the museums’ collections. Consumers on JD can now enjoy 300 products from 50 brands decorated with works from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, as well as London’s National Gallery and V&A Museum.
The vision behind “Bring Art to Life” is to provide consumers a way to appreciate these masterpieces in their everyday lives and foster a greater understanding of classic art among China’s youth. As such, the artworks have been integrated into the design of everyday products, rather than obscure luxury pieces to be placed on a mantelpiece. One highlight of the product range is a gift box manufactured by Chinese cosmetic brand Chando that is decorated to resemble a renowned book design by 20th century American illustrator Margaret Neilson Armstrong from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. Hygiene brand Tempo also brought pieces from the Met to life by integrating Van Gogh pieces “Wheat Field with Cypresses” and “Irises” and Henri-Edmond Cross’ “Landscape with Sky” into its product packaging.
“Our ‘Bring Art to Life’ collection of products brings some of the world’s most amazing artworks from museum walls into the homes of our sophisticated young Chinese users,” said Jing Li, Director of JD Brand Marketing. “The four museums we worked with as part of this initiative are some of the world’s most eminent guardians of culture. By combining the booming interest in classic artwork and JD’s commitment to high quality, unique products, ‘Bring Art to Life’ will introduce the works of artists such as Van Gogh and Monet to new and enthusiastic young audiences in China.”
The Met’s head of licensing and partnerships, Lisa Silverman Meyers said, “The Met’s unique products and educational content feature a global array of art from the Museum’s vast collection, which we hope will inspire, delight, and inform Chinese consumers. The Met is so pleased to collaborate with JD.com on this first-ever JD Global Museums Day.”
In recent years, more and more museums have turned to e-commerce as a channel for promoting classic artwork. Earlier this year, both the Met and the V&A launched stores on JD’s platform.