From March 25th to April 7th, 2023, at the invitation of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Arab Republic of Egypt Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and related institutions such as the Museum Pasifika Bali and Institute Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta, Hu Muqing, President of Shanghai Art Collection Museum, led a team to visit Indonesia and Egypt for a 14-day cultural investigation.

Museum Nasional Indonesia has the largest collecton and scale in Indonesia.

On March 27th, Mr. Pustanto, Deputy Minister of Ministry of the Education and Culture, Ms. Ita Yulita, Director of the Museum Nasional Indonesia held a meeting with Mr. Hu and his team. Both parties conducted in-depth discussions on strengthening cultural exchanges between Indonesia and SACM and reached multiple agreements.

Deputy Minister of Ministry of Education and Culture (second from left) and the Director of Museum National Indonesia (first from left, lower picture) exchanged souvenirs with SACM

Accompanied by officials from National Gallery, Mr. Hu and his team visited and investigated the rich collection of National Gallery, and discussed the intention of further cooperation between both parties.

SCAM visted National Gallery

On March 28th,  Ms. Ni Made Ayu Marthini, Mr. Muhammad Neil EI Himan and Mr. Anny Ruswar from The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia held a meeting with Mr. Hu and his team. Both parties had in-depth discussions on creative economy and product design, and reached preliminary intentions for future cooperation.

SCAM and The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia

Borobudur, one of the seven wonders of the world, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. On March 29th, Mr. Hu and his team held talks with the Borobudur Authority Agency and visited the Borobudur Temple Compounds.

SACM held a special session with the Borobudur Authority Agency

Yogyakarta is known as a world-renowned hub of handicrafts in Indonesia. In the company of Yogyakarta City Government officials, SACM team toured the largest silverware production center in Kotagede and also visited ceramics and art galleries in the city.

SACM team visited silver industry in Kotagede

Prof. Timbul Raharjo, President of Institute Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta; Prof. Yulriawan Dafri, Deputy Dean of Academic Affairs, Faculty of Visual Art and Dr. Alvi Lufiani, Dean of Craft Development warmly welcomed Mr. Hu and his team. Both parties had enthusiastic discussions on cooperation in exhibitions and academic exchanges.

SACM and representatives from Institute Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta

Museum Pasifika Bali has 11 exhibition halls, featuring artwork from over 70 countries along the Pacific coast. The founder of the museum, Mr. Philip, warmly welcomed Mr. Hu and the delegation. SACM and Museum Pasifika Bali look forward to working together in mutually beneficial ways in the future.

SACM and Museum Pasifika Bali signed a MOU for further cooperation

After finishing the trip to Indonesia, the delegation traveled to Egypt for visit.

The Egyptian Museum of Cairo is among the world's most famous museums, which was officially opened in 1902 and has a collection of more than 300,000 artifacts from the Pharaonic era to the 6th century AD. The delegation was welcomed by Dr. Abdelhalim Ali (director of the Egyptian Museum of Cairo), the deputy minister of the Ministry of Antiquities, and the director of external exhibitions, and the two parties discussed in depth the plan of cooperation for organizing the exhibition.

Meeting with The Egyptian Museum of Cairo

The director of the Egyptian Museum of Cairo (first from left) explained the precious scroll of papyrus documents to the delegation

On the afternoon of April 3, Shanghai Art Collection Museum and the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoU), the signing ceremony was held at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities building. At the signing ceremony, Hu Muqing, the Director of Shanghai Art Collection Museum, and Dr. Mostafa Waziri, the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities delivered a warm speech respectively. According to the spirit of the MoU, our museum will be free to cooperate with over 40 museums directly under the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to carry out exhibitions, academic research, publications, and other activities, the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt will provide strong support.

The signing ceremony had a phenomenal social influence and was widely reported by the most famous news agencies in Egypt.

On April 4, a delegation of Director Hu Muqing went to Alexandria, a friend city of Shanghai and the second largest city in Egypt. Alexandria is both the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road and has close relations with our museum.

On the evening of the delegation's arrival, the Chinese Consulate General in Alexandria held a special reception and arranged for our museum to have a cordial exchange with the heads of the Alexandria Cultural Heritage Bureau, Alexandria National Museum, Greece-Roman Museum, Alexandria Art Museum, Alexandria Library, cultural heritage sites and many local mainstream media reporters, and Consul General Yang Yi hosted the reception and made a warm speech. The event was also widely reported by local media.

On April 5, Mr. Mohanmmed AL Sherif, the governor of Alexandria, met with Mr. Hu Muqing and the delegation despite his busy schedule, and fully affirmed the cultural exchange between Alexandria and the friend city Shanghai, and expressed the full support of the provincial government for the cooperation between our museum and various cultural institutions in Alexandria. Consul General Yang Yi led the delegation to the meeting.

The governor of Alexandria province cordially met with the delegation

The delegation then met with Prof. Ashraf, Vice Rector and Dean of the Graduate School of Alexandria University, and the heads of the University faculties, and visited the world-famous Alexandria Library and met with Dr. Sherif Riad, Head of the Library's Public Relations Department. 

Hu Muqing presented a certificate of appreciation to Alexandria Library for its active support

On April 6, Director Hu Muqing and his delegation went to the Grand Egyptian Museum and visited General Atef and Prof. Altayeb Abbas, the director of the Grand Egyptian Museum, and listened to the general overview of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the collection of cultural relics, the restoration of exhibits, and the opening plan, and discussed the details of specific projects. Afterward, Prof. Altayeb led the delegation to visit the largest restoration center in the Middle East to see the restoration process of precious artifacts, and to visit the magnificent new building of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The delegation at the Grand Egyptian Museum

 The delegation's trip to Egypt was strongly supported by the Chinese Embassy in Egypt. Yang Ronghao, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy, and relevant officials of the Cultural Center had a special working tea session with the delegation during the official break.

During the trip, the delegation played the "Shanghai City Image Promotion" video at every place, which attracted positive responses, and all parties were impressed by the development achievements of Shanghai as an international metropolis.

During the 14-day visit, the delegation also visited the Jakarta Museum of History, the Indonesian Museum of Art, the Wayang Museum, the Central Bank of Indonesia Museum, the Bali Palace Museum, the Bali Neka Art Museum, and other famous art venues; We had in-depth and friendly exchanges with representatives of the publishing industry, academia and other social elites in Indonesia and Egypt, and concluded friendships with all parties.