The Art Basel Hong Kong fair returned with its largest edition since 2019, highlighting Hong Kong’s thriving contemporary art scene. When public viewing began on March 23 through to March 25, visitors examined exhibits from 177 galleries from 32 nations and territories.
Art Basel Hong Kong fair is known to feature premier galleries from Asia and beyond. It provides an in-depth overview of Asia-Pacific’s astonishing diversity, as well as global artistic perspectives through Modern and contemporary works.
It’s no news that the world shifted in 2020, which changed the Art world at large. Due to this shift, art platforms began moving online and Art Basel is one of those platforms that refused to let the change affect them so greatly. In 2020, Art Basel held its first digital-only fair and introduced online viewing rooms. A year later, it introduced a hybrid format that garnered support from both international galleries and visitors. With its largest installment since 2019, the yearly art spectacular came back this year and is once more spread across two floors of the Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Centre.
“While the experience of seeing art in person cannot be replaced, we did witness a number of digital elements [which] have proven to be beneficial and complementary to our physical show,” says Angelle Siyang-Le, the new director of Art Basel Hong Kong. Siyang-Le – who previously oversaw the development of Greater China for Art Basel – took the reins in November 2022 from Adeline Ooi, who now oversees other initiatives as the regional director for Art Basel Asia. Today, digital initiatives are not a necessity owing to restrictions; they are a means “to connect to the broadest possible audiences,” says Siyang-Le.
Despite the removal of restrictions, this year’s edition will still be enhanced by online viewing rooms, which will allow art lovers all over the world to watch and learn more about pieces that were on display as well as web-exclusives. Social media platforms are providing behind-the-scenes access, glimpses of art being unboxed, and even a series of artist interviews, so online viewers will also have access to the show floor.
The Conversations programme – which features over 85 speakers – also retains its hybrid format, offering panel discussions before the in-person, on-site discussions. According to Siyang-Le, this engages overseas audiences in our dynamic dialogue among international artists, gallerists, curators, critics, collectors and more.
Here are some of the highlights of the 2023 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong.
1. Encounter art with purpose
Encounters, the Fair’s curated sector dedicated to large-scale works, will return for the first time since 2019. Curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor, 14 expansive installations will come under the theme of ‘This present, moment’.
Jaffa Lam’s “Trolley Party” (2023), which has a 14-meter-long patchwork made of recycled umbrella fabric and sewn with the assistance of female workers from the Hong Kong Women Workers’ Association, is one of the exhibition’s standout pieces of art. The four “Meditation Tents” dangling from the ceiling, dubbed by the artist “an oasis in the art fair,” are perfect for unwinding and relaxing away from the Fair’s bustle.
Mella Jaarsma’s ‘The Constructor’ (2008, 2020) focuses on the continual development of the built environment. Rapidly expanding cities add to the environmental burden, but at the same time offer us endless design and material variations. The artist uses bamboo in this Encounters artwork, which contemplates the trend for rapid infrastructural expansion.
2. Inspiring the next generation to explore a better tomorrow
The UBS Junior Art Hub returns this year with a sustainable space designed by Hong Kong-based design studio EDITECTURE. Providing a creative backdrop to a series of fun and engaging children’s activities, the hub features a sustainable structure and furniture created from the 3D printing of upcycled plastic. Centered around the concept of minimizing waste through pioneering design, almost all of the components are reusable, and will take on second lives by being reused or repurposed and donated to the community.
Children of various ages will have a chance to learn first-hand about sustainability through interactive workshops led by Colour My World that makes use of waste materials. Various materials such as dead stock fabric plastic packaging rope and upcycled yarn will be transformed by little hands into a large-scale collective piece representing a web, symbolizing community connection and unity.
3. Beyond the show floor
Broadening access to art for everyone, a major new video work ‘Hand Me Your Trust’ by acclaimed Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist will alight the M+ Facade. Celebrating the hands that built Hong Kong and the world beyond, the vibrant public work of art features hands of all shapes, colors and sizes, highlighting the power of the human touch. Commissioned by M+ and supported by Art Basel and UBS, catch the moving image work nightly from 18 March through 17 June 2023.
For even more visual inspiration, the Art Basel Online Viewing Rooms will also launch on 22 March 2023 for art lovers around the world to explore gallery displays beyond the show floor, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
