Featured image: HONG KONG IN FULL COLOR Mark Bradford, A Straight Line, 2023 (Photo courtesy of Art Basel)

The eyes of the art world turned to Hong Kong this week as color, creativity, and vibrancy descended upon the city for the arts and culture scene. Headlined by large-scale fairs Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central, the internationally renowned celebration of arts and culture sees a suite of world-class events, encounters, and experiences taking place throughout the city, showcasing Hong Kong’s thriving creative landscape while reinforcing its position as a global cultural hub.

Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central anchor arts lineup
Art Basel Hong Kong, which started on March 23 and ends today, is hosting the biggest edition of the international art fair since 2019, which this year features 177 exhibitors from 32 countries and territories. Taking place concurrently will be Art Central, which started on March 22 and also ends today. It is Hong Kong’s homegrown art fair that has established itself as one of the region’s most significant platforms for emerging artists. These two world-class art fairs have helped Hong Kong become firmly established as one the world’s foremost hubs for international arts and cultural exchange.
In particular, Hong Kong Tourism Board is teaming up with Art Central in launching an “Arts in Hong Kong café” to invite visitors to walk into the contemporary art gallery designed as a café and see the collaborative works of local and overseas artists.

Showstopping installations, must-see exhibitions across the city
As Hong Kong’s stock on the global arts stage continues to go from strength to strength, a host of opportunities for artistic encounters can also be discovered around town.
Harbour City is currently home to large-scale work “GIANTS: Rising Up.” The first of French artist JR’s GIANTS series in Asia, this 12m x 12m installation depicts a larger-than-life high jumper in graceful mid-flight backdropped by the iconic Victoria Harbour. It features a nod to traditional Hong Kong craftsmanship with the use of bamboo scaffolding, which will run until April 13.

Pacific Place hosts the world premiere of “Gravity,” a 10-meter-tall work by Los Angeles-based conceptual artist Awol Erizku. The piece is a playful depiction of the figure of King Tutankhamun that invites visitors to take a detour from their usual route and represents the first-ever offsite activation of Art Basel Hong Kong’s Encounters sector, which runs until April 2.

ArtisTree this month has unveiled “ArtisTree Selects: Urban Rocks,” a solo exhibition that, running until April 9, features brand-new sculptural works by Hong Kong-based French artist Polo Bourieau. The 12 stone sculptures, made in the intimacy of the artist’s Tuscan workshop in 2021, are inspired by Chinese scholars’ rocks, and examine humanity’s indelible mark on the planet.

“Clouds, Power, and Ornament – Roving Central Asia” is now showing at CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts, and Textile) at The Mills. Greater China’s first-ever comprehensive Central Asian textile art exhibition features works by 26 art and culture creators from the landlocked region to explore how artists and designers there use textile as a medium of preservation, response, and cohesion. The exhibition opens to the public until May 21.

Street art in the spotlight
Street art will be in the spotlight this dynamic art week, with prominent showcases examining the movement from its beginnings to the here and now.
Street art festival HKwalls makes a vibrant return to Hong Kong this week. The eighth edition of the much-loved event will once again transform neighborhoods in the Central and Western District into outdoor galleries. It has also invited six internationally acclaimed mural and street artists to create their first pieces in the city.
Another harbour front highlight is ‘VLTRAPHOTONICS,’ a 4,000-square-meter digital artwork by Spanish street artist J. Demsky that takes over the façades of Tsim Sha Tsui Center and Empire Center. The site-specific work, a collaboration between HKwalls street art festival and Sino Group, will light up Victoria Harbour each night until April 12 with over 82,000 LED bulbs.

K11 Arts Foundation presents “City as Studio,” Greater China’s largest ever exhibition of graffiti and street art. Curated by Jeffrey Deitch, the show examines the history of the form from its emergence as counter-cultural expression in 1970s New York to its rise as a global phenomenon, and features works by pioneers Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Fab 5 Freddy, Lady Pink, and more.

Throughout the year, Hong Kong plays host to a vibrant and diverse range of arts and cultural events that showcase the city’s creative energy and talent. These events set the stage for even more cultural celebrations, such as the upcoming Le French May. Be ready to say Hello to Hong Kong!