What are young people collecting nowadays? Skiboards, painted eggs, Mickey dolls, World Expo emblem skateboards | categories | dolls

When it comes to collecting, people will think of traditional categories such as calligraphy and painting, antiques, furniture, etc. However, for young people, collecting has no boundaries and everything can be "collected".

Billy Bai, born in the 1990s, collected 500 snowboards and walked into his skiing home Boardroom. Colorful snowboards extended from the wall and hung from the ceiling, forming a stunning "snowboard wall". Netizens jokingly referred to this as the "ceiling board" of snowboards.

There are still many young collectors like Billy White. Painted eggs, World Expo and CIIE badges, Mickey figurines, Chongming earth cloth... For the new generation of collectors, their perspectives and interests are different from those of the older generation. Their rich and colorful collections constantly inject fresh vitality into the ancient concept of collecting.

On June 30th, a reporter from Pengpai News learned at a press conference held at the Shanghai Mass Art Museum that the second Shanghai Citizen Collection Exhibition publicly solicited and selected outstanding Shanghai style collections. This competition is aimed at collectors under the age of 49, and ultimately 100 young collectors from the public will be selected. The participating collections will be selected to participate in the Shanghai style collection boutique exhibition held at Shanghai Pudong History Museum, Minhang Museum, Jinshan Museum, Baoshan Folk Art Museum, Yunzhou Antique City, and other places.

Cultivate young people's interest in collecting

The collection of Shanghai style has a long history. As early as the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was a bamboo poem that wrote, "Ordinary fields collect treasures, half of the country is in Shencheng." After the reform and opening up, folk collection in Shanghai quickly recovered. In June 1986, the Shanghai Collection Association was born, and Shanghai style collection once again led the rise of China's collection fever.

In 2013, the Shanghai Citizen Culture Festival and the Shanghai Collection Association organized the first Citizen Collection Exhibition and selected 100 Shanghai Citizen Collectors. As the largest, most attended, and most diverse collection exhibition in Shanghai's history, it has caused a sensation in the Chinese collection industry.

In order to showcase the ever-changing collection style of Shanghai style, the 2023 Shanghai Citizen Culture Festival has once again launched the second Citizen Collection Competition today, after a gap of 10 years. Unlike previous editions, this year's contestants will focus on collecting talented individuals under the age of 49. In terms of selection principles, the quota for large categories of collectibles, such as traditional and popular collections, is relatively tight, and some unique and rare "fashion collections" are appropriately relaxed to showcase the richness of Shanghai style collections.

"The Shanghai Collection Association has been established for nearly 37 years, with over 8000 members and only over 800 young people. It is urgent to cultivate young collectors." Zhang Jian, the president of the Shanghai Collection Association, explained the reason why this collection competition is aimed at young collectors.

Lighting fixtures, three inch golden lotus, radio... In the collectors association, many old collectors have their own areas of focus on collection, but due to their niche and weak circulation, younger generations are not interested. As the old collectors grow older, a sense of crisis emerges. Zhang Jian and the Shanghai Collectors Association have helped many old collectors find a way out for their cherished collections, some of which have been successfully donated to museums, but more have scattered behind them.

In the collection circle for many years, Zhang Jian has seen too many regretful examples. The old collector passed away, and the collection that he devoted his whole life to was not valued by his children. An elderly person he knows collects collections related to "Dream of the Red Chamber" and forgets to eat and sleep. He is willing to spend a lot of money to buy a favorite collection, but his life is extremely simple, often only eating instant noodles as a meal. But after the old man died of a sudden illness, no one paid attention to his collection from his children, and his lifelong efforts were disposed of as waste.

"We have a responsibility to vigorously promote young collectors and cultivate young people's interest in collecting." Zhang Jian hopes to encourage more young people to join the association and "continue collecting." "

Collection of trendy games has become a new focus of attention

It is reported that many young collectors have come to register with their collections. In addition to traditional ceramics, jades and antiques, these collections also include skateboards, badges for entering the Expo, skis, painted eggs, powder boxes, Mickey dolls, egg wrenches, pirate hands, blind boxes, etc.

Billboard collector Billy Bai is a trendy collector of collectibles. He is a global skier who has traveled to 6 continents, about 20 countries, and 200 ski resorts for skiing. Since 2019, he has been collecting a large number of skis.

"Ski boards can carry different patterns, just like artworks, and can have many collaborative creations." Now Billy Bai has collected 500 ski boards. Snowboarding emerged in the United States in the 1970s. Billy Bai's earliest collection of snowboards is only 50 years old, but it is already an "old antique" that witnesses the history of snowboarding.

You can see many treasures of Billy White on Boardroom. There are signature skateboards from Olympic champion Su Yiming, who is familiar to the Chinese people, as well as co branded snowboarding from other famous athletes in the history of snowboarding. They witness the history of this sport and the wonderful moments that skiing has left for skaters.

In a city where it doesn't snow, Billy Bai hopes to "make a home for his skateboard and also for the hearts of those who love snowboarding." "I think although snowboarding comes from the snowy mountains, its personality and fashionable soul can also be rooted in Shanghai."

Jiang Lanjun, who came to the press conference wearing a pair of egg carved earrings, has already integrated the collection of painted eggs into his life. Jiang Lanjun is a freelance designer and inheritor of eggshell painting intangible cultural heritage. She loved collecting since she was young, "Since I gained knowledge of the world, I have been collecting all kinds of strange things."

Because of his own eggshell paintings, Jiang Lanjun began collecting egg painting handicrafts at a very early age, including various materials such as poultry eggshells, wood, porcelain, metal, gypsum, plastic, and various sizes of egg paintings, colored eggs, or egg handicrafts. Many of Jiang Lanjun's collections come from her own creations and those of her teachers and friends, as well as many egg painting crafts from around the world that she has carefully collected. Now she has collected thousands of painted eggs, among which the most precious are the Qing Dynasty painted eggs and wooden lacquer paintings with painted eggs.

Yao Wenying works at the flagship Disney store in Shanghai. Since the establishment of the Disney store in 2015, she has collected all the Mickey dolls she produces. From anniversary style Mickey to seasonal style, spring, summer, Halloween, Christmas, New Year, from commemorative style, exclusive style for scenic spots and parks, hotel special style... In five or six years, Yao Wenying has owned her own Mickey Mountain. Her collection continues over time. In the 2019 Shanghai Disney First Fan Festival, Yao Wenying was invited by the official to exhibit Mickey dolls.

Feng Wei has been collecting World Expo badges since the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and has been collecting them for over 10 years. In 2010, Shanghai hosted the World Expo, and Feng Wei, who was originally just going to join the fun, was deeply attracted as soon as he entered the park. In order to catch up with the first batch of visitors to the park, Feng Wei, who lives in Baoshan, wakes up at 4 o'clock every day to catch the first subway, queuing up to knock on the emblem and enjoying it tirelessly. However, his favorite is still the emblem of the World Expo. During the World Expo, he did not collect many badges, but in the more than ten years after the Expo ended, he never left the badges. As long as there were no badges, he tirelessly asked and searched for them. So far, he has collected more than 2000 badges of various types for the Shanghai World Expo. "In my heart, it seems like the Shanghai World Expo has never left me," Feng Wei said.

Eight years after the end of the World Expo, the 2018 China International Import Expo was held in Shanghai, and Feng Wei was the exhibition manager of the first CIIE. In his spare time, he saw school volunteers wearing school badges. Feng Wei was extremely happy. "Finally, we can continue the chapter changing plot of the World Expo." And so, Feng Wei began his journey of collecting badges for the Expo again. He has collected over 1000 badges at the 5th CIIE.

"The badge is niche, but the enthusiasm for collecting badges is not small." Feng Wei hopes to participate in this collection conference and promote the collection of badges for the CIIE, so that more people can understand.

More emphasis on the historical, cultural, and social values of the collection

Why do young people collect it? Shi Xiaofeng, Director of the Activity Department of the City Qun Art Museum, believes that collecting represents a lifestyle attitude of young people. "The collection content of young people is very rich and interesting, which surprised us. We hope that through this competition, everyone's interest in collecting can be stimulated."

The organizing committee emphasized that the collection covers a wide range of categories, and compared to the value of the collection, this exhibition places more emphasis on the historical, cultural, and social values contained in the collection itself, especially those that record the daily lives of the Shanghai people and the development and changes of the Shanghai city. For example, collector Ma Jiqiu has collected over 6000 enamel cups and thousands of electric meters, cherishing the memories of a generation's youth and engraving the development rings of a city.

This exhibition is open to all citizens, and the collection categories are divided into traditional collection, popular collection, overseas item collection, trendy collection, and alternative collection. The judging committee is composed of experts from the Shanghai Collection Association, various district collection associations in Shanghai, and social judges, and is divided into preliminary evaluation, re evaluation, and final evaluation. The registration time for the grand exhibition is from April 20 to September 17. Citizens can register through the official account of the "Shanghai Citizen Culture Festival", the national art platform of night boat and the official account of the Shanghai Collection Association, or go to the registration point of the Oriental Information Park set by each district.

It is reported that in the second half of the year, young collectors from the Yangtze River Delta region will also participate in the Shanghai style collection exhibition. We believe that the general public will be able to see the charm and style of the new generation of "Shanghai style collection", and share the fruitful achievements of the Shanghai Citizen Culture Festival and Shanghai public cultural construction.