“I think there should be no end to experimentation.” – Zaha Hadid

Spring is here! And along with that is a range of art events in Hong Kong for its Art Month in March. This year, the range of art fairs is happening in the later part of the month starting this week, and there’s a number of “satellite” exhibitions ongoing now which I’m interested to see!

HONG KONG

Art Fairs

• Asia Contemporary Art Show

I didn’t realize that this art fair opened a few days before the others! In case you missed it like I did, there’s also a Fall edition that will be held in September.

17 – 20 March 2017, Conrad Hong Kong— Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong, more info here.

• Art Central

Art Central tends to show more edgy and provocative contemporary artworks in its giant marquee! To see more from the past two years of the fair on the blog, go here.

21 – 25 March 2017, Central Harbourfront Hong Kong, ticketing info here.

• Art Basel Hong Kong

Art Basel shows a vast mix of contemporary and modern artworks that takes hours to trek through. I recommend checking out the magazines booths after you are all done looking at the art, I tend to bring home a number of free art magazines! To see more from the past two years of the fair on the blog, go here.

23 – 25 March 2017, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wanchai, ticketing info here.

• Kingsley Ng’s Twenty Five Minutes Older

There are events part of Art Basel happening outside the HKCEC as well! One of it is local artist Kingsley Ng’s Twenty Five Minutes Older that is happening in trams going between Wanchai and Sheung Wan! I’m so excited because I love love love trams and it’s so fun to have them incorporated into an art piece. The trams will become moving camera obscuras (first form of cameras), displaying images of Hong Kong streets. It sounds like a great way to experience Hong Kong in a new way – in a tram, through art.

20 – 28 March 2017, aboard trams going from Wanchai to Sheung Wan, free admission but requires tickets, limited tickets still available – go here, more info here.

• Sir Michael Craig-Martin’s Bright Idea, 2016 for ‘Love Art at The Peninsula’

Photograph of Bright Idea 2016 at the evening discussion with Sir Michael Craig-Martin (right) and Tim Marlow (left) at HKU last night

I don’t know why I’d missed The Peninsula Hong Kong’s collaborations with Art Basel every year since they started their ‘Love Art’ series with Tracey Emin’s My Heart Is With You Always displayed on the facade of the hotel in 2014 (which I very unfortunately had to miss). So I am determined to catch Michael Craig-Martin’s Bright Idea 2016 at The Peninsula this time!

Bright Idea 2016 continues in Martin’s style of taking mundane objects in daily life, producing them in much-larger-than-life forms and placing them in unexpected sites, like The Peninsula’s fountain for one.

20 March – 31 May 2017, The Peninsula Hong Kong, more info here.

Exhibitions

• Picasso and Jacqueline

I wished I had known about this earlier, so I would have more time to go check it out! The exhibition centres around 13 artworks of Picasso’s that were dedicated to his last wife Jacqueline.

Some points to note: It’s free admission, but you have to queue outdoors for quite a long time, I heard. And no photography is allowed, sadly.

26 February – 21 March 2017, Times Square Living Room Museum, more info here.

• The Legend of Hong Kong Toys

This is such a great exhibition that I recommend for all kids and adults alike! It gives a look into Hong Kong history through the toys people played with over the last century. I will be sharing more photos from the exhibition on the blog soon!

2 March –  15 May 2017, Hong Kong Museum of History (closed on Tuesdays), 100 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, HKD10 standard tickets, HKD5 concession tickets, more info here.

• Zaha Hadid: There Should Be No End to Experimentation

Zaha Hadid’s architecture is so iconic and creative, and I’m waiting for the day when I can finally visit one of her creations Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul! In the meantime, I’m so glad that an exhibition of her paintings and drawings is now in Hong Kong! The exhibition also includes a few virtual reality experiences, which should be interesting.

17 March – 6 April 2017 (17-21 March: 10:00-18:00; 22 March – 6 April: 10:00-21:00), ArtisTree, 1/F Cornwall House, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, more info on Taikoo Place’s site and on Serpentine Galleries’ site.

• It Speaks to Me

Ng Lung Wai’s exhibition ‘It Speaks to Me’ features mixed media paintings that uses objects such as shirts and architectural models to create large-scale pieces, which sounds like a fun way to make artworks! To see more of Ng’s previous exhibition ‘1960s Big Era’ which featured portraits of historical figures made out of pins, badges, and other collectibles on the blog, go here.

21 March – 3 April 2017, G/F, Open Space, Central Plaza, Wanchai, more info here.

SINGAPORE

• i Light Marina Bay

Singapore’s also having some really cool stuff going on with its fifth edition of i Light Marina Bay, a sustainable light festival. Wish I could be there to see it! Check out the video above to see more.

3 – 26 March 2017, Marina Bay Waterfront, more info here.

• Shakespeare In Print:  The First Folio

Something a little different from the other exhibitions above – an exhibition that displays Shakespeare’s plays in their first printed form. I can’t say that I am the biggest fan of Shakespeare, but his works are so influential and I think it’s good to have an understanding of them. For all fans of the Bard and literature fanatics, I think this should be fun to check out!

11 March – 23 April 2017, Level 10, Gallery, National Library Building, more info here.