Art Basel Hong Kong, the leading art exhibition in Asia, wrapped up its eleventh edition last Saturday, March 30th, providing a pulsating overview of the region’s thriving art scenes to local and international audiences. With 242 top galleries from Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East present, including 69 galleries making a triumphant return after a hiatus and 23 participating for the very first time, Art Basel marked the second decade of its operation in Asia’s world city. The show regained its pre-pandemic size for the first time since 2019. This year, half or more of the exhibitors were from the Asia-Pacific area, a region known for its diverse and rich cultural output. From March 28th through the 30th, 2024, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) played host to Art Basel Hong Kong, with 75,000 people attending the event on both public and VIP days. UBS is the Global Lead Partner for this event.
Leading art patrons and private collectors from over 72 countries and territories were in attendance, in addition to representatives of more than 100 world-class museums and foundations from across the globe, including: Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong; M+, Hong Kong; Para Site, Hong Kong; Tai Kwun, Hong Kong; Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou; He Art Museum, Foshan; Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai; Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing; Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul; Museum MACAN, Jakarta; Singapore Art Museum, Singapore; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Musée National Picasso-Paris, Paris; Tate, London; Serpentine Galleries, London; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; New Museum, New York; Swiss Institute (SI), New York; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles; Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco; and Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver.
Angelle Siyang-Le, Director, Art Basel Hong Kong, said of the renaissance edition: ‘Art Basel Hong Kong returned to its full scale and spirit this edition, with the city opening its doors to visitors from all around the world once again. I am deeply grateful to all the galleries, artists, patrons, institutional representatives, and cultural partners whose collaboration delivered a show of world-class range and quality in our home in Hong Kong. This edition reflected the city itself to the world: utterly alive and teeming with energy, a meeting place of tradition and the avant-garde, a port of cultures and an essential bridge in the evolving art landscape across regions. Art Basel Hong Kong continues to be a vital anchor in Asia’s ever-growing local art scenes and a key moment in the global art trade calendar.’
Art Basel Hong Kong showcased the vibrant culture of the host city with an expansive public program that was open to everybody and free of charge—produced in partnership with prestigious local organizations like M+ and Tai Kwun and more informal venues like Para Site and Asia Art Archive. For the first time ever, Tai Kwun co-presented Art Basel Hong Kong with Artists’ Night on Thursday, March 28. Artists’ Night is Hong Kong’s annual hallmark event that showcases experimental artists from the area. Activating the Hong Kong history and arts complex, the event included live musical and dance performances, unique installations, and late-night exhibition viewings in structures created by Herzog & de Meuron. It was open to both local people and Art Basel attendees.
A new reward for Discoveries, the show’s sector for solo presentations by upcoming artists, will be presented by MGM beginning in 2025, according to Art Basel Hong Kong, who announced in advance of next year’s event. Helping up-and-coming artists get their feet wet is the mission of the MGM Discoveries Art Prize. Additional information will be shared at a later date this year.
Throughout the fair, galleries reported significant sales of works by artists across all market segments, geographies, and media, including prominent artists from Asia–Pacific and diaspora, such as Christine Ay Tjoe, Daniel Boyd, Lee Bul, Hsiao Chin, Fong Chung-Ray, Zhang Enli, Yayoi Kusama, Kibong Rhee, Chen Ting-Shih, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Haegue Yang, and Anicka Yi; international blue-chip artists including George Condo, Charles Gaines, Philip Guston, Sheila Hicks, Roni Horn, Rashid Johnson, Martha Jungwirth, Alex Katz, Willem de Kooning, Alicja Kwade, Paul McCarthy, Marilyn Minter, and Cindy Sherman; and emerging voices such as Kara Chin, Michael Ho, Antonia Kuo, Nawin Nuthong, Fuyuhiko Takata, Qualeasha Wood, and Huidi Xiang. Exhibitors who took part shared stories about their experiences.
A new site-specific architectural video by Chinese artist and filmmaker Yang Fudong was exhibited by UBS and co-commissioned by Art Basel and M+. The film activates the museum’s famous façade and is part of a long-term partnership between the cultural partners. The public is invited to visit the art until April 9. Leading arts and cultural figures from around the world gathered in Hong Kong’s thriving West Kowloon Cultural District for the inaugural International Cultural Summit on the eve of Art Basel Hong Kong. The summit’s stated goals included promoting cross-cultural understanding and establishing lasting relationships between participating organizations. Swire Properties, an Official Partner of Offsite Encounters, is supporting a new installation by First Nations Australian artist Daniel Boyd at Hong Kong’s Pacific Place, which will be on display until April 7. Alexie Glass-Kantor is curating Encounters, Art Basel Hong Kong’s signature sector for large-scale projects.
Both the Conversations and Film programs of Art Basel Hong Kong, organized by writer and editor Stephanie Bailey and multi-media artist and film producer Li Zhenhua, respectively, were held at the HKCEC. These events provided audiences with a one-of-a-kind chance to engage in stimulating discussions and watch innovative artist films. Participating in the discussions were 43 professionals and influential figures in the field, including artists Shinro Ohtake, Takashi Murakami, and Haegue Yang, as well as Qiu Jiongjiong, Anne Imhof, Kimsooja, and many more. Exchange Circle, an open venue for brief and experimental presentations to an engaged audience, was held in conjunction with Art Basel Hong Kong’s media and cultural partners for the second year running. The program included artist talks, lectures, conversations, book presentations, signings, and workshops. An estimated five thousand people showed up to enjoy the newly extended and openly available public program at the HKCEC.
All image Courtesy of Art Basel
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