The last week of November will see an already vibrant city pulsate even stronger, with a large number of people coming together to see, talk and learn about all things art.
Presented by the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, Hong Kong Art Gallery Week connects the community and the world of art through a series of events, including art talks, curated art walks, and exclusive artists’ studio visits and workshops, among other activities. The events will take place city-wide from the Island South Art District to Kwai Chung.
Katie de Tilley, co- president of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, co-founder of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association and founder of 10 Chancery Lane, is optimistic about this year’s event. Still only in its second year, the success of the inaugural event means big things can be expected.
“The inaugural event exceeded our expectations. We were happy with the results, with the number of people who came out, and the talks programme. We were very pressed for time to organize it and this year we have had much more time because we had funding earlier.
“Thanks to our sponsor Bank of China Private Banking, we have been able start the project earlier, and really push further to have a very strong talk series and great art events, and communicate with the galleries so they could plan for their most important shows to be during that week.”
De Tilley has been in Hong Kong since 1994 and has witnessed the growth of the local art scene.
“Since I arrived here it has really grown from just a handful of galleries to more than 15 member galleries of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association,” she says.
“With that has come a huge amount of opportunity for artists, for more interaction and engagement in the community, and towards arts and culture at large in Hong Kong. The last 20 years have really seen an exponential amount of growth across the board.”
It was the desire to bring people working in the art world together, as well as to engage the public more, that gave rise to the idea behind this event, the co-president explains.
“The Hong Kong Art Gallery Week came about with the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, which started in 2012. The association wanted to reach out and engage the community, so the public could see that the galleries were making a big effort to have this cross communication between exhibitions and the community.”
With over 40 galleries taking part, Hong Kong Art Gallery Week is aimed at people of all ages with a number of scheduled events covering a wide range of topics.
“Diverse and international speakers have been invited. With artist studio visits, it’s very interesting for people to see how the artists live and work. And individual galleries will host individual events and art workshops,” de Tilley explains.
And art lovers in Hong Kong will not only have one event to contend with.
“That week will coincide with the Business of Design Week; it will also coincide with the Christie’s Auction, so there will be an international audience in Hong Kong looking for things to do in the cultural sector. We are also reaching out to schools and to the community in Hong Kong and having a lot more publicity to get the word out.”
What makes Hong Kong so pivotal in the eyes of the international art world right now?
“At this particular moment in time, Hong Kong is very relevant. There are a lot of young artists. Art is about the relevance of what is happening in people’s lives at that one moment. It’s not generic; it comes from personal drive and feelings. So art happens very strongly in parts of the world where there are tensions and growth in thinking,” notes de Tilley.
This interest, she goes on to explain, “has been very driven by the economy. Everybody is wondering about China, the wealth growing in Asia.”
“I think there is a great amount of curiosity towards art development in Asia as well, and the contemporary art scene has been developing in a very vibrant way from Vietnam and Thailand to Indonesia, China, Korea and Japan and the Philippines, all across the board, as well as Australia and New Zealand.”
“There has been a lot of art production, as well as art history, happening, call it maybe the origins of contemporary Asian art, over these years. So I think it is very significant now that international museums in New York, Paris and London are hosting shows around this.”
And while art eyes may be focused on Hong Kong, one of Macau’s most famous artists will be there to fly the flag and give Macau a chance to shine in Hong Kong’s sparkling cultural moment.
“We are showing Macau-based artist Konstantin Bessmertny so we are planning a family day workshop with him.”
Hong Kong Art Gallery Week | November 26 to December 5 | www.hk-aga.org