Art Basel Hong Kong is poised to add a bright splash of colour to the city’s social and cultural calendar, with over 240 galleries from 40 destinations around the world coming together from 26-30 March at the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre.
While the fair welcomed 177 galleries and 86,000 visitors last year, the 2024 edition marks a return to pre-pandemic levels, with 66 additional exhibitors compared to 2023. It will also include a host of satellite events and activities across Hong Kong, while prominent billboards will transform into canvases, showcasing works by emerging regional artists like Liu Yin, Fiza Khatri and Kei Imazu.
There is a reason Hong Kong is Art Basel’s host city in Asia. “As a cultural hub and super-connector, Hong Kong continues to facilitate exchange on the local, regional and international level, while welcoming different forms of innovation,” said Alexie Glass-Kantor, Curator of the fair’s Encounters section and Executive Director of Artspace Sydney.
“What I have learned in my collaborations with the Art Basel Hong Kong team is that every year is completely unique, with its own energy, dynamism and unexpected moments,” said Glass-Kantor, adding that it was great to see the fair return in 2023 after the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
“This year, it will be wonderful to welcome a full complement of local and overseas galleries, both old and new. We are also expecting a greater number of visitors – people travelling to Hong Kong as well as those living and working here. They are expanding the conversation about the strength and diversity of Hong Kong as a cultural centre, making it a preeminent destination for an art fair in the region.”
International Encounters
Glass-Kantor, who has curated the fair’s Encounters section since 2015, said what is really interesting this year is the strength of participation, from the galleries to the artists and the audience, who will bring with them distinct “lived” experiences.
This is reflected in the Encounters theme, “I am a part of all that I have met.” The section will spotlight 16 large-scale projects, of which 11 were especially made for the 2024 fair – the highest number since the section was launched in 2013.
Among these is Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy (2024), a subversive and witty installation by young Hong Kong artist Mak2. Impressive yet playful, Mak2’s work explores ideas of duplication, evolution and simulation.
Glass-Kantor is also excited about Haegue Yang, a South Korean artist whose creations embody rituals, cultural and material practices, and ideas of activation. Yang’s Contingent Spheres (2020, 2022) is a set of two anthropomorphic rattan sculptures bridging and merging the visual codes of “binakol,” a motif used in traditional textiles in the Philippines, and 1960s op-art.
Then there is Singaporean artist Ming Wong, whose two-part installation, Friendship First (2024), draws on 50 years of Sino-Chinese cultural diplomacy, using the game of table tennis as a metaphor, and bringing together imagery from pop culture down the decades.
“In a sense, each of the artists in Encounters is a ‘time traveller,’” explains Glass-Kantor. “They are building works that draw inspiration from a range of contexts that move through time to create beautiful textural material, resulting in great encounters for audiences.”
Digital Innovations
The global art market is constantly evolving, and the internet has completely transformed the creation, distribution and reach of art.
“Digital innovations are a part of a constantly shapeshifting tool box of materials that artists can use to create new works,” said Glass-Kantor. “Artists are explorers, inventors and innovators. At all points they are transforming materials – experimenting in the domains of art and science as they have done for many decades. Something I enjoy as a curator is working with artists to foreground that level of ambition in the context of the fair.”
Mak2, for example, has a strong practice in the online gaming world of SIM (simulation). “She takes SIM environments and translates them into paintings, which are copies of copies, then brings them back into the world of gaming,” said Glass-Kantor. “From gaming to AI and VR, there is room for everything in the art world. In fact, the bigger the art market gets, the better it is for artists.”
Hong Kong – Where the Art Is
The past 10 years have demonstrated how Hong Kong has welcomed opportunities for cross-cultural connectivity, from commercial galleries representing international and local talent to spaces like M+ and West Kowloon Cultural District, said Glass-Kantor.
But equally worthy are the local organizations that have been working hard for decades to cement the city’s reputation for its vibrant art scene. Asia Art Archive, an independent NGO founded in 2000, is dedicated to fostering and advocating Asian art. Meanwhile Para Site, a leading contemporary arts centre that was launched in 1996, regularly engages in exhibitions, activities as well as collaborations with other Hong Kong institutions.
“The ways in which cultural opportunities are made accessible to residents and tourists, from pop-up events to larger, socially engaged projects – I think this is one of the city’s biggest strengths, and inspires constant cultural transformation and advocacy,” she said.
Nurturing Local Talent
Hong Kong’s artists count among the leading lights in Asia, with their works ranking high in international conversations, said Glass-Kantor. She singled out Trevor Yeung, who featured in the fair’s Encounters section in 2023. The young artist, who will represent Hong Kong at this year’s Venice Biennale (April-November), has greatly contributed to the generational shift in the city’s art scene.
To give creative talent a wider platform, Glass-Kantor said more collaboration is needed between public and private entities in support of studios and alternative spaces. This goes hand in hand with funding and infrastructural support for home-grown organizations, which serve as catalysts for the Hong Kong’s cultural landscape.
“I believe local artists have a strong spirit of resilience and determination,” said Glass-Kantor. “I find it such a joy to work in Hong Kong and connect with the dynamic communities that intersect through Art Basel as well as the cultural organizations that do this city proud.”
Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 – Highlights
Kabinett
Showcases thematic presentations within galleries’ main booths, with a strong focus on solo projects from the Asia-Pacific region.
Top picks:
A Thousand Plateaus Art Space (Chengdu) – installation by Chinese artist Bi Rongrong.
Johyun Gallery (Busan) – recent series of paintings by the late South Korean master Park Seo-Bo.
Conversations
A platform for dynamic dialogues between key members of the worlds of arts and culture. The program features 11 panels and speakers from over 15 countries and territories. Free to the public.
Top picks:
An audience with Haegue Yang, ahead of the artist’s upcoming solo exhibition at London’s Hayward Gallery, moderated by curator Yung Ma.
A discussion between legendary Japanese artists Shinro Ohtake and Takashi Murakami, organized with Art Week Tokyo.
Encounters
The sector will host 16 large-scale projects by artists from all over the world, under the theme ‘I am a part of all that I have met'. Includes 11 works made especially for the fair.
Top picks:
Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy (2024) by Hong Kong-based artist Mak2, consisting of two fair booths connected top to top and exploring ideas of duplication, evolution, and simulation.
Wind Study (Hilbert Curve) (2022-2023) by Indian artist Jitish Kallat, intricate, large-scale drawings realized with fire, wind, smoke and ink, referencing the continuous fractal space-filling curves formulated by mathematician David Hilbert in 1891
Film
On the schedule are 10 screenings, as well as collaborations with cultural video channel Nowness, and Videotage, an NGO dedicated to video art. Free to the public.
Highlights:
Sorry for the Late Reply (2021), a single-channel animation created by Hong Kong artist Wong Ping, delving into the aspirations and anxieties experienced by the city’s inhabitants.
A New Old Play (2021) by Chinese filmmaker Qiu Jiongjiong, the story of a prominent clown reminiscing about his life, set in 20th-century China.
Off-site Encounters
Artwork by Sydney-based Aboriginal artist Daniel Boyd will be displayed at Pacific Place. Boyd’s creations employ dots and explore themes of identity, memory, perception and history.
M+ Facade
The museum facade will come alive with a black-and-white film by Yang Fudong. Shot in Hong Kong, the film weaves together scenes from seaside villages and city streets.
Art Basel Hong Kong will be held at HKCEC from 28-30 March (preview days 26-27 March). For the full line-up and list of galleries, visit www.artbasel.com/hong-kong