Political sensitivities in China and the Gulf region present challenges for internationally focused institutions and art fairs. © Virgile Simon Bertrand

MoMA’s announcement last month that it has entered into a partnership to share artwork and whole exhibitions with Hong Kong’s four-year-old M modern art museum represents another cultural win for one of China’s most prosperous cities. It would seem to be a win for MoMA, too, as that institution will now have greater access to notable East Asian artists and to deep-pocketed collectors in Hong Kong. This new partnership takes place just months before the Guggenheim Museum completes its long-awaited outpost in the United Arab Emirates, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which is expected to open next year. Like Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi is a city with immensely wealthy residents, some of whom may be art collectors and potential donors to the Guggenheim, which recently laid off twenty employees in order to shore up its finances back at its home institution in New York City.

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The attractiveness of Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi to these two New York museums is obvious, but so are the potential risks. While art institutions in Manhattan have a free hand in displaying whatever artworks they choose, the same may not be true in China or the UAE, where nudity,........

© Observer