Xuzhou Li Keran Art Museum

The original "Li Keran's Former Residence" was built in 1922, with a total of 12 houses and a courtyard structure of blue bricks and tiles. On April 19, 1985, with the approval of the editorial committee of Xuzhou City, the Li Keran Old Residence Management Office was established. On October 1, 1985, the renovated "Li Keran Old Residence" was officially opened to the public. Li Keran's former residence covers an area of 300 square meters with a building area of 120 square meters. The West Room was the residence of Mr. Li Keran's father, Li Huichun, mother, and brother, Li Yongping. The Beiwu was the residence of Mr. Li Keran's older sister Li Xuan, younger sisters Li Yongzhen, Li Yongshu, Li Wan, and Li Juan. The southern house was Mr. Li Keran's former residence, where he lived for nearly 30 years. The East Room was the former residence of Mr. Li Keran's younger brother, Li Yongxiang (Kepeng), and also Li Keran's reception room. In fact, this place often became the center of artistic activities for Li Keran's colleagues, students, and art friends, who were the most active figures in the literary and artistic circles of Xuzhou at that time.
On March 28, 1994, the second phase of Li Keran's former residence, the Li Keran Art Exhibition Hall, was completed and opened to the public. The hall covers an area of 280 square meters. The building covers an area of 320 square meters and is a two-story building that combines Chinese and Western architectural styles. Demolition during the construction of Phase III project.
The new building is located on the south side of Li Keran's old residence. It officially started construction on December 5, 2006 and was completed in December 2007. It covers an area of 4810 square meters and has a building area of 2829 square meters. The new hall consists of four parts: exhibition hall, academic lecture hall, comprehensive function hall, and outdoor courtyard. The first floor of the new building consists of two exhibition halls, which are used for various exhibition activities; The second floor is the "Li Keran Life Story Exhibition Hall" and the "Li Keran Art Works Exhibition Hall". The Exhibition Hall of Li Keran's Lives displays a large amount of text and image materials, systematically introducing Mr. Li Keran's 82 year artistic life experience. The Li Keran Art Exhibition Hall displays dozens of artistic masterpieces created by Mr. Li Keran, including works such as "Spring Rain in Jiangnan", "Ten Thousand Plum Blossoms", and "Herding Cattle" donated by Mr. Li Keran during his lifetime. The academic lecture hall is located on the third floor of the art museum and can hold academic seminars, presentations, art lectures, and other activities that can accommodate around 100 people. The comprehensive functional hall includes a multimedia projection hall, reception room, Yunlong Painting House, audience lounge, art creation room, warehouse, office, and related facilities inside the hall, etc; The outdoor courtyard includes "Shi Niu Tang", an ornamental shallow water pool courtyard, garden green space, parking lot, and tourist center, among others.
Since its completion and opening in 2007, the new museum has held nearly 30 art, calligraphy, and photography exhibitions, as well as multiple art reports and seminars every year. It has achieved various functions such as calligraphy and painting exhibitions, multi-functional reports, art salons, art training, and art product management. It has become one of the leading art museums in terms of scale, taste, and grade among nearly 30 celebrity memorial and art museums in China, Li Keran fully played the due role of this cultural business card in promoting the construction of a strong cultural city in Xuzhou, achieving the best development period in history since 2007.