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Yan Du’s YDP Brings a New Model of Art Patronage to London

A year ago, the Chinese collector and philanthropist added an artist-facing project space to the cultural ecosystem she has created, which spans acquisition, research and curatorial support. It quickly became a key platform for artists from Asia and its diaspora in the city.

Born of the vision of Chinese patron and collector Yan Du and launched a little over a year ago, YDP is an independent nonprofit project space in a beautiful townhouse on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury. Now a key platform for artists from Asia and its diaspora in London, it hosts exhibitions alongside a rich public program of talks and performances that extends its mission beyond each project, fostering broader resonance and opportunities for collaboration with institutions across the city’s diverse cultural landscape.

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“I didn’t want to call it a museum or an institution because those words can sound very serious and very official. I wanted it to feel more fun and experimental,” Du told Observer ahead of a busy Frieze Week. “We begin with the individual project. That is why we call it a project space. We approach every artist through that project, which gives us the flexibility to support artists and also work with independent curators. We collaborate with different independent curators by invitation, and we also have two in-house curators. It is very much about working together and developing those relationships.”

YDP is not the first initiative Du has launched in her more than a decade of collecting and patronage; much of her earlier work was also devoted to building a bridge between her native China and the West. She has directed funds toward curators and scholarship, arguing that the underfunded part of the Asian art ecosystem was not acquisition but “the gap of research.” YDP grew out of her nearly six years with the Asymmetry Art Foundation, which she launched in 2020 to support curators working with Chinese and East Asian contemporary art. Initially nomadic and based in Hackney since 2022, Asymmetry relied heavily on partnerships to extend its impact, with initiatives ranging from fellowships at the Whitechapel and Chisenhale galleries to Ph.D. scholarships at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a lecture series with the Courtauld Institute of Art. In 2024, it also supported the appointment of two Tate Modern curators, Alvin Li and Hera Chan, so that their expertise in Asia-Pacific art could strengthen its representation in the museum’s programming. The effects have been highly visible, from Mire Lee’s memorable Turbine Hall commission to last year’s blockbuster survey of South Korean artist Do Ho Suh.

While Asymmetry focused primarily on curatorial knowledge production, supporting institutional fellowships, university scholarships and research-oriented public programs, years of working closely with curators and academics left Du wanting a more direct relationship with artists and the exhibition-making process. “After five years of working with all these curators and academics, I realized that, as a collector and philanthropist, what interested me most was also working more closely with artists in person—being part of the exhibition-making process, seeing how they develop the work and........

© Observer