ART Power HK Reboots Art Scene

Hong Kong Arts Month goes online
By A&M

ART Power HK working group at the campaign’s launch event. From left to right: Georgina Hilton, Kiri Sinclair, S. Alice Mong, Levina Li-Cadman, Katie de Tilly, Elaine Kwok, Rosanna Herries.

ART Power HK launched this week in a collective effort to reboot the Hong Kong art scene. This was hit first by political unrest followed by the COVID-19 outbreak, resulting in the cancellation of numerous key events in the annual Hong Kong Arts Month due to take place in March, such as Art Basel Hong Kong. 

Branding itself as a “centralised and non-commercial campaign to celebrate the arts in Hong Kong in 2020”, it presents a united front and attests to the resilience of the local art community.  Kiri Sinclair and Rosanna Herries of Sinclair Arts, who are part of the all-women working group that created the campaign say that it “unites the arts, culture and creative industries and communities behind a common and shared message: we are open, we are active and we are ready to harness the power of art to unite, educate and heal”. 

To date, over 100 partners have joined the initiative, and there is an open call for more to do so.  These include commercial galleries such as De Sarthe Gallery, Edouard Malingue Gallery and Pearl Lam Galleries, as well as the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association. Institutions such as Asia Art Archive, M+ Museum and Para Site are also aligned with the campaign, as are auction houses Bonhams, Christie’s and Phillips. Art fair Art Central, which moved online for the 2020 edition has also signed up.

Besides being a show of solidarity, ART Power HK partners are able to share their online activities through the campaign’s platforms in a coordinated effort to buoy the art scene. “Art happens 365 days of the year in Hong Kong. It happens through collecting, patronage, research, making, looking and so many other expressions,” says Alexandra Seno at the Asia Art Archive. “This initiative is a platform to showcase that and is another example of why art thrives here—it is a community that takes initiative and shows up for each other. I believe there has never been a more necessary moment for contemporary art in Asia.”

In the Features section, there are now a few stories from Axel Vervoordt Gallery about a solo show of Bosco Sodi’s works, The Art People Gallery about Malaysian artist Ben Chong, Leo Gallery about a Yan Bo solo exhibition and a video from Christie’s about its plans in Asia. Additionally, David Zwirner announced ‘On Painting: Art Basel Online’, an online exhibition available both in Art Basel’s inaugural Online Viewing Room, which opened to VIP guests today and will be open to the public on 20 March. It will be on view at David Zwirner Online as well until 25 March. 

An online talks programme launched along with the website on Monday with a panel discussion on ‘The Power of Art’ featuring speakers Levina Li-Cadman, Co-Founder of Art Partners, S. Alice Mong, Director of the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre and Katie de Tilly, Director of 10 Chancery Lane Gallery and moderated by Elaine Kwok, Director, Education, Asia and Auctioneer at Christie’s. It was held at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center, and streamed on Facebook Live. A recording is available as part of ART Power HK’s repository. Today, there was a talk titled ‘People, Nature and Culture – Engaging Communities and Building Sustainability through Heritage Conservation’ by Alex Tam, Centre Executive of the Centre for Research and Development in Visual Arts at the Academy of Visual Arts at the Hong Kong Baptist University.

Visitors can keep informed about online activations via the ART Power HK website’s Events section, such as the launch of the Art Central + Artsy digital catalogue today. Other online activities will include gallery tours, interviews and studio visits that are live-streamed or pre-recorded. Some publicised events are taking place offline as well. Gallery HZ for instance has taken to the platform to promote a solo exhibition of Hong Kong-based Canadian artist Peter Yuill at its gallery, which will be on view until the end of March. 

To be kept in the loop of ART Power HK’s activities, interested parties can sign up on the website, and follow the hashtags #ARTpowerHK and #HKart2020 on social media channels. Donations can also be made in support of the not-for-profit campaign. 

While Art Power HK was borne of a crisis to rally the community, it has the potential to remain a useful resource beyond the culmination of its efforts to arrive at a “new moment for the arts in Hong Kong” in May 2020. At an uncertain time, it is heartening to see the community working together to forge a path forward. 


Art & Market is proud to be a media partner of ART Power HK.