City Spotlight: Hong Kong | #ArtInMyCity

This week we focus on the cosmopolitan metropolis of Hong Kong, a city that many would regard as a major epicentre for the arts in Asia. Over the last year, Hong Kong’s arts and culture industry faced numerous challenges; with unprecedented levels of social unrest and the recent outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is safe to say that Hong Kong’s resilience has been tested on all fronts.

Early in February, Art Basel announced the cancellation of its upcoming fair in Hong Kong due to the outbreak and spread of the novel coronavirus. Scheduled to take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from 19 March to 21 March, 2020, the fair was amongst the first major industry events to be cancelled this year. This led to a domino-effect of additional event cancellations during the city’s main art season, which included Art Central and Hong Kong Arts Festival.

With support from the state, it has been earmarked that Hong Kong’s government will allocate HKD 900 million (USD 116 million) to the Art Development Matching Grants Scheme this year as part of its relief package. Along with the Support Scheme for Arts and Cultural Sector, the government hopes to help and promote sponsorship as well as aid for such creative organisations affected in Hong Kong.

Aside from government support, Hong Kong’s art community has come together to launch a new online art platform called ART Power HK. In collaboration with galleries, museums, cultural institutions and auction houses, this non-commercial and collaborative campaign presents an alternative way to experience art – by making it readily available online. The initiative allows individuals to freely access online viewing rooms, exhibition walkthroughs, live-stream gallery tours, artist talks, interviews, and much more.

Multiple arts organisations in Hong Kong have also made extensive efforts to transform and digitise their exhibitions so that they can be experienced virtually. Hong Kong Arts Collective, K11 Art Foundation and Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) are some of the various institutions that have made their collections available for the public to enjoy online.

Take a look at a selection of locally-based artists and artwork in Hong Kong that you can support.

Chu Chu

Chu Chu is an accomplished ink painter, calligrapher, photographer, and oil painter. She is currently the Vice Secretary of Lanting Calligraphy Society, and the Vice President of Zhejiang female Calligraphers Association in Hangzhou. Chu Chu has been widely exhibited, including in France, Germany, England, the United States, Japan, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong.

She was also included in the important modern calligraphy exhibition Writing Non-writing at the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou. We first showcased her works in Beyond the Jade Terrace in 2014 and have since held her first solo show in Hong Kong (2017). We also exhibited her works in Ink Asia 2015 and Art Basel Hong Kong 2016/17 with great success.

In 2019, Chu Chu participated in a group exhibition 'Women + Ink / China + Hong Kong' at Alisan Fine Arts in Hong Kong. 

Shan Jiang

Highly acclaimed in the world of illustration, the talented Shan Jiang’s works transcend the boundary between fine art and illustration.
Shan’s immaculately detailed and captivating works are the result of the artist’s constant exploration in developing visual language and
style to express his personal and visual experiences.

Represented by ART PROJECTS GALLERY, Shan constantly conjures up mesmerizing imageries inspired by his memories of Shanghai, where he was born and grew up in. To Shan, the city of Shanghai contains a myriad of conflicting ideology, cultures, identity and history. Shan’s surreal compositions call for the looking beyond of the superficial façade of China’s prosperity and the awareness of the inherent decay that would lead to its eventual decline.

Lau King

Lau King, graduated from the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong in 2012. Being an adventurous soul and idealist, photography, graphic and painting are the media for her expression of the beauty and personal philosophy of the world.

King's talent has won her international photography prize and exposure. She recently enter the finalist ARTCLOUD Signature Art Prize. She had also been invited and featured at Apple's social media Instagram in 2019. Her work has also been featured at Singapore Tatler magazine and publication in US.

Dana Shek

Dana Shek works freely in both 2D and 3D art forms; her inquisitive mind for new processes and new expressions allows her to transition between artistic genres and even bring together unexpected styles. She has created small, intimate sized artworks for guest rooms to grand wall installations for hotel lobbies. She has worked with materials such as paper, fabric, ink, acrylic, digital media and photography and her portfolio of media continues to expand. Dana believes growth as an artist is crucial, experimenting and testing personal boundaries can lead to exciting discoveries. Although Dana works with a diverse range of materials and techniques, the fundamental element that runs through her artwork is the love for texture, colour and surface pattern.

Dana's artwork has been commissioned for various international 5-star hotels, boutique hotels and corporate offices in Australia, China, Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Turkey.

Norris Yim

At the crossroads of abstract expressionism and portraiture we meet painter Norris Yim, who with his robust brush strokes and a
distinct attention to detail, allows viewers to be completely entranced to his artistry. 

A self-taught painter and draftsman from Hong Kong, Norris Yim's works have been featured in a number of publications and exhibitions. His artistic practice mainly consists of coloured portraits that are executed with bleeding strokes, simple structures and a clever combination of both recognisable elements and unfamiliarity.

Michael Kistler

Michael Kistler is a Hong Kong artist specializing in fine art street photography. A signature hallmark of his work is the often abstract human element and its connection to the city; the urban landscape and its structures provide permanence while people come and go, creating a dynamic environment of fleeting moments. He is constantly searching for and exploring unconventional perspectives and unique moments where people and the urban landscape collide, merge and co-exist.

In addition to having his work exhibited in Tokyo, NYC, Astoria, Minneapolis, London, Dublin, Porto and Hong Kong, Michael offers street photography workshops in Hong Kong and has also done them in Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Dubai, Minneapolis, Dublin, Yangon, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City.

Discover More Artists and Artworks From Hong Kong 

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