Museum Canvas | Hong Kong: A City, a Bridge

Hong Kong's financial reputation has always been so dazzling that it's easy to overlook the city's significance in cultural exchange. At the 4th Dialogue of the C.E.A. Museums Cooperation Initiative, Katie Chan, Chairwoman of the Art Concept Culture Institute, said that Hong Kong's continued success hinges not only on its economic prowess but also on its commitment to fostering creativity and innovation. In this regard, museums play a pivotal role.
Creativity stands as a cornerstone of urban success, and museums serve as catalysts for creativity and innovation. Museums expand our horizons, both temporally and spatially, providing fertile ground for cross-disciplinary exchange and collaboration.
Museum service in Hong Kong has a history of over a hundred years, dating back to the 1870s when the first "museum" came into existence in the then City Hall, collecting mainly books, pictures as well as plant and animal specimens. Today, Hong Kong's vibrant museums and exhibitions have become another bridge connecting Asia and the world, beyond just finance.
Art Basel Hong Kong
Celebrating its tenth anniversary, it has fostered a dynamic art and cultural atmosphere. In the words of Noah Horowitz, CEO, Art Basel, "Once again, Hong Kong demonstrated its uncontested position as the leading art market hub in Asia and its critical importance within the global trade."-- Katie Chan
Now in its second decade, Art Basel Hong Kong has, to some extent, taken on the role of a cultural bridge.
In March, Art Basel’s 2024 Hong Kong edition featured 242 galleries from 40 countries and territories. This represents a return to pre-pandemic numbers, with an additional 65 exhibitors joining the fair compared to 2023.
As Angelle Siyang-Le, art director for Art Basel Hong Kong, said: “As the key strategic cultural hub in Asia and Asia Pacific, the city plays an important role, more than ever, in bridging the evolving art landscape across regions.”
West Kowloon Cultural District ( WestK )
Museums have the unique ability to transport us across time, allowing us to explore history and heritage. Simultaneously, they connect us with distant cultures and societies, fostering a sense of global awareness and understanding.-- Katie Chan
On September 25, the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) opened its special exhibition "The Origins of Chinese Civilization", which will run through February 7, 2025.
The exhibition features nearly 110 rare, recent archaeological finds and significant treasures on loan from 14 museums and archaeological institutions in China. These spectacular loans represent nine archaeological cultures and nine major archaeological sites across the country and include 16 grade-one national treasures. Nearly all treasures are displayed in Hong Kong for the first time, including a jade dragon from mid-to-late Hongshan culture (6,000-5,000 BP). This grade-one national treasure is considered the original representation of the image of dragon in China.
The Hong Kong Palace Museum officially opened to the public in 2022. According to museum director Dr. Louis Ng in a recent interview, before the COVID-19, the annual number of visitors to art and history museums in Hong Kong was around 600,000 to 700,000, rarely exceeding one million. However, in 2023, the HKPM had approximately 1.3 million visitors, ranking second among Hong Kong museums. The composition of the museum's audience has also changed significantly over the past two years: in its first year, due to the pandemic, visitors were predominantly from Hong Kong. Now, about 50% of the visitors are from the Chinese mainland, 30% from Hong Kong, and 20% from overseas.
While the museum boom brings new opportunities to modern cities, it also raises higher expectations. The West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK), mentioned by Katie Chan in her speech, is a significant addition to Hong Kong's cultural identity.
WestK is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on 40 hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, WestK produces and hosts world-class exhibitions, performances, and cultural events, providing 23 hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade. The aforementioned HKPM is located here, along with other open areas, including the M+ Museum and the Xiqu Centre.
For Hong Kong, WestK is not just a "cultural district" but a "cultural hub" where more cultural and artistic exchanges can take place, driving the cultural ecosystem of Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and even China as a whole.
Similarly, for the world, Hong Kong is no longer just a financial center but also a bridge connecting Asia and the world, where finance, trade, culture, and art converge and collide.