5 Collectors Championing Artists from Asia and the Diaspora

How can we create a more inclusive art world? This has been the question on the lips of an increasing number of conscientious art collectors. Whether it’s establishing dedicated foundations or setting up private museums, these collectors are passionate about championing artists from their communities.

Here, in recognition of AAPI Heritage Month, we profile five collectors who are doing their part to put artists from Asia and the Asian diaspora on the global art map.

Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani

Samdani Art Foundation (SAF)

When Bangladeshi collectors Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani first decided to launch the Dhaka Art Summit in 2012, they were a bit worried. “We thought, ‘Will people come?’” recalled Nadia Samdani. Fast forward to February 2023, and more than half a million visitors, including international curators, collectors, and journalists, flocked to Dhaka for the most recent iteration of the event.

The exhibition—which shines a spotlight on artists from South Asia and the wider region—is one example of the Samdanis’ many initiatives helping to raise the visibility of contemporary artists from their part of the world. “We have so many talented artists, but we don’t have as many platforms to show them,” said Nadia. “Collecting is important, but equally important is supporting their journey and giving them a stepping stone.”

Since the couple started their foundation in 2011, they have not only amassed a collection of more than 3,000 works—including emerging Asian names and established international artists—but they also regularly fund artists. Last year, for instance, they supported the nonprofit collective Britto Arts Trust’s presence at Documenta, and artist Munem Wasif’s presentation at the Lyon Biennale.

In 2024, they will unveil the Srihatta Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park in Sylhet, a city in eastern Bangladesh. Spread across more than 100 hectares of land, it will include monumental works such as Indian artist Asim Waqif’s Bamsera Bamsi, a bamboo forest installation. The center will also host an artist residency program.

Steven Abraham and Lisa Young

The Here and There Collective

Brooklyn-based collectors Steven Abraham and Lisa Young may have only started building their collection in 2018, but they’ve already made a big impact. Outside of their day jobs, they are busy running The Here and There Collective, a nonprofit organization that supports AAPI artists. “We can always buy works and support artists in a more traditional sense of a collector, but we thought, ‘What else is there?’” said Young. “‘How can we create platforms for future success and pathways for a hopefully long and strong career in the arts?’”

Their answer was to cultivate a community through hosting regular events, including panel discussions in collaboration with art institutions; offering studio grants to emerging artists; and spotlighting artists on their Instagram and website, among other creative long-term initiatives.

Abraham is originally from Indonesia, while Young was born to Japanese and Korean immigrants and grew up in New York. The first work they purchased was a print by Ethiopian photographer Aïda Muluneh. Soon after, they became friendly with the Black artist collective HAUSEN, which planted a seed for their future foundation. “Stumbling into their community was such a game-changer for us,” said Abraham. “We realized the power of advocating for each other’s stories. That made us wonder if there was a community like this for people who look like us.”

Today, 70 percent of their collection focuses on Asian American artists such as Catalina Ouyang and Lily Wong, while the remainder is devoted to contemporary artists from Asia. The pair describe their nonprofit as a reflection of their ever-evolving collection and love for their community.

“The platform is growing as we grow as collectors,” said Abraham. Fascinated by the wealth of stories they have uncovered from the Asian diaspora, they believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Patrick Sun

Sunpride Foundation

“Collecting is like romance. It’s mostly to do with luck—meeting the right person at the right time,” said Hong Kong–born property developer Patrick Sun, of finding the perfect painting by Pakistani artist Salman Toor after coveting his work for some time. Toor is one of many prominent Asian artists in Sun’s collection, which is centered on LGBTQ+ art. Since he established his nonprofit organization Sunpride Foundation, the collector has made it his mission to use art as a vehicle to raise awareness and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community.

The foundation recently mounted “Myth Makers—SPECTROSYNTHESIS III,” an exhibition in Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun art center, which is the third installment of a series of shows (earlier editions have been held in Taipei and Bangkok). Sun said he has deliberately declined offers for the show to travel to museums in Europe and the U.S. “I prefer to focus on Asia. When you talk about the LGBTQ+ community, we need to do more here,” he said. “We still have some countries that have a death penalty for homosexual acts. It’s a real threat here.”Instead of showing his collection in private spaces, he prefers to work with public institutions and offers free admission to his exhibitions to reach a broader audience. “So you’ll see young parents, gay couples, and even older people just wandering in, and I like that fact,” Sun said. “They come here perhaps with an open mind to see art, and then they see something that maybe they’re not used to that’s perhaps a little challenging.”

Oftentimes, Sun visits the shows and engages in discussion with visitors: “Even if I talk to one person and help them understand more about the community, I feel my mission is partially accomplished,” he said.

Yan Du and Michèle Ruo Yi Landolt

Asymmetry Art Foundation

If you ask Michèle Ruo Yi Landolt to describe her ideal art world, it would include far more Chinese and Sinophone curators, museum directors, writers, and researchers. “Currently there is a gap for talent from this region,” she said, adding that this is unfortunately also the case with many other parts of the world. But Asymmetry is doing its part to work towards a more inclusive and representative art ecosystem.

Founded by London-based Chinese collector Yan Du in 2019, the nonprofit focuses on nurturing a new generation of curators and cultivating knowledge about Greater Chinese and Sinophone contemporary art. Yan—who has been passionate about art since she was a child practicing traditional Chinese painting—said she decided to set up the organization because she wanted a “deeper knowledge and engagement with curators and artists in a way that was meaningful.”

Among Asymmetry’s various initiatives is a post-doc fellowship at Courtauld Institute, a curatorial fellowship at Whitechapel Gallery, and a fully funded PhD scholarship in collaboration with Goldsmiths. Currently, the nonprofit is working on a feature-length documentary that explores greater Chinese and Sinophone artists born in the last four decades. They are also exploring the idea of building archives and creating an annual publication.

Haryanto Adikoesoemo

Museum MACAN