Hong Kong Art Week 2015

WARNING: IMAGE HEAVY!

First off, a big congratulations to Adeline on her first ArtBasel HK show! (Adeline stepped down as a Director of RogueArt at the beginning of the year to take on the post of Asia Director at Art Basel).

We know we are terribly late with our blog post on my recent trip to Hong Kong and apologise to friends who have been waiting to see what I have to share. This year’s Art Basel Hong Kong (ABHK) was moved earlier in the calendar (from May to 14-18 March 2015) to allow art audiences (and art workers) a little bit of a breather before the Art Basel in June. But we know that some of the gallerists immediately went on to Art Dubai (18-21 March) after ABHK. I have to say I am impressed by their energy!!

This year’s trip was even more packed than usual with an additional art fair (Art Central) and more new galleries to check out. On top of that, Wong Chuk Hung (also known as South Island Art District) and Chai Wan Mei Art Districts held a number of late night events with open studios, gallery openings and workshops. The week was officially labeled Hong Kong Art week and indeed you had art – left, right and centre. Even the tram stations in Hong Kong island were used as ‘space’ for public art projects to create more visiblity.

Within 3 short days (and still fitting in four meals a day), I covered two art fairs (ABHK had 231 exhibitors, Art Central had 76 exhibitors), five gallery openings at Pedder Building and two others in the vicinity (de Sarthe and Pace), Yoshitomo Nara’s exhibition at Asia Society; The 3^rd Annual Collector’s Contemporary Collaboration at HK Art Centre (featuring artworks from Taiwanese collectors), the opening of Para/Site’s new space at Quarry Bay (the new location is only a stone’s throw away from Quarry Bay MTR), and exhibitions at Wong Chuk Hung.

My only regret was not being able to catch four exhibitions – Institute of Contemporary Arts’ (London) exhibition at Duddle, Moving Images at Midtown Pop curated by M+ Museum, Dinh Q. Lê at 10 Chancery Lane and Drawing Room’s collaboration with Rossi & Rossi on an exhibition of Contemporary Filipino Art. I also regret not having the time to check out some public art projects that local property developers were organizing in various parts of Hong Kong (read the article here).

For a more comprehensive report on ABHK, check these reports:
ArtBasel Hong Kong 2015 Sales Report
Art Basel Hong Kong 2015: Rolling media round up
Highlights from the Fair by Artsy

So, a reminder to myself for next year’s trip to ABHK16 (24-26 March 2016) is to plan for a longer stay in Hong Kong to enjoy the art at a less frantic pace and allow for a few leisurely meals with friends and colleagues in Hong Kong. RN