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Header image courtesy of Art Basel (via Facebook)
Art Basel is returning to Hong Kong this March for another grand edition. With an expanded number of participating galleries, art lovers are anticipating an impressive showcase of artistic talent from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. The 2024 edition is structured around five special sectors: Galleries, Encounters, Film, Kabinett, and Conversations. Don’t know where to start? We have curated this guide for you to easily navigate Art Basel Hong Kong 2024.
Art Basel will run from 28 to 30 March at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai. With 243 galleries participating this year, visitors can expect diverse displays curated by the leading authorities of the art world.
Day tickets starts at $340, with two- and three-day passes on sale if you need more time for the exhibits. Concession prices are also available. Entry tickets to the Vernissage ($990) give access to opening night on 27 March, while the Premium pass (starting at $3,680) offers a thorough Art Basel experience that includes access to the Vernissage, a three-day pass, as well as selected VIP benefits.
Art collectors looking for the full package can opt for the Premium + Discovery package at $12,800. Available upon request only, visitors are treated to an exclusive VIP programme, including private visits of prominent collections, a curated tour, invitation to VIP events around town, as well as a pre-show guide highlighting important happenings ahead of Art Basel Hong Kong’s opening.
We recommend you check out the visitor rules here to ensure smooth entry into the event.
The gallery display is at the core of Art Basel, and you can expect to be wowed by the extensive showcases within the exhibition hall. A full list of the 243 galleries can be found here.
Dedicated to projects created by artists from Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, the Insights sub-sector features 20 galleries displaying a curated collection of projects completed in the past century. Highlights include Jantsankhorol Erdenebayar’s captivating sculptures, which reinterpret Mongolian folktales into tangible cultural artefacts, while Shaikha Al Mazrou’s sculptures explore the tensions and interplay between form and content. A full list of participants is listed here.
Highlighting new works created by emerging artists specifically for the show, the Discoveries sub-sector is where you can find up-and-coming talents in the art world. From the 23 showing galleries, works of note are Fiza Khatri’s intimate portraits of human and non-human life in an ecosystem of lived experiences, imagined fantasies, and sacred landscapes, and Dominique Knowles’ thought-provoking paintings that explore aesthetics and sentiments of religion and spirituality through colours and brush strokes. Other talents presenting at Discoveries can be found here.
Showcasing large-scale projects, Encounters features 16 works from a diverse range of artists. Under the theme “I Am a Part of All That I Have Met,” these projects hope to offer an insight into each of the artist’s culture and life experiences through artistic expression.
Out of the 16 projects, 11 were commissioned for the event. Eagerly awaited, Naminapu Maymuru-White’s Larrakitj Forest (2024) draws inspiration from the artist’s native Yolŋu community’s funeral rites, whilst Mak2’s Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy (2024) explores the themes of duplication and evolution through a playful installation. For the list of other participants, see here.
Launching on 27 March, the Film sector is presented in collaboration with cultural video channel Nowness and one of the region’s leading video art NGO Videotage. The programme includes the showing of video works as well as 10 screenings across four days.
Regional stories will be highlighted with A New Old Play (2021) by Chinese filmmaker Qiu Jiongjiong, which presents the quirky story of a prominent clown set against the tumultuous history of twentieth-century China, and Hong Kong artist Wong Ping who explores the aspirations and anxieties of the city’s inhabitants with his single-channel animation Sorry for the Late Reply (2021).
Kabinett showcases thematic solo works by contemporary artists. You can find these presentations within gallery booths. Must-sees include new works by leading Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak, which explore organic structures, materials, and the duality of men, and an installation by Chinese artist Bi Rongrong that features patterns inspired by different cities and cultures alongside personal memories and surroundings. For the full list of participating galleries, see here.
Conversations is a platform for members of the art and cultural community worldwide to engage in dynamic exchange and dialogue. Featuring 11 panels hosted by speakers from 15 countries and territories, highlights include a discussion between two of Japan’s most renowned artists, Shinro Ohtake and Takashi Murakami, and a panel on decolonising cultural institutions with Koyo Kouoh of Zeitz Mocaa, Suhanya Raffel of M+, Durjoy Rahman of the Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation, and Eugene Tan of the National Gallery of Singapore. The on-site Conversations programme is free and open to public, see here for more information. Three additional Conversations events will take place off-site in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, extending the reach of Art Basel Hong Kong’s insightful programme beyond the walls of the exhibition hall.
An off-site Encounters project by aboriginal artist Daniel Boyd will be on display at Pacific Place. Using dots as a visual and conceptual element in his work, Boyd’s creation explores themes of identity, memory, and history in innovative ways.
Co-commissioned by Art Basel Hong Kong with M+ and UBS, artist and filmmaker Yang Fudong will present a site-specific architectural film on the M+ Façade, “Sparrow on the Sea.” Reinterpreting motifs of Hong Kong cinema in the 1970s and 1990s, Yang prompts feelings of familiar nostalgia by blending black-and-white scenes from seaside villages and city streets with the city’s soundscape.
Many cultural institutions in town are jumping on the art wagon this month with their own exhibitions and showcases. Art Basel Hong Kong has produced a list of recommended sites here.
Any taxi in town will likely know its way to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. If you’re planning on getting to Art Basel by taxi or private vehicle, remember to factor in traffic time.
The easiest way to get to the HKCEC is by MTR. From Exhibition Centre Station on the East Rail line, take Exit B3 and walk for four minutes. From Wan Chai Station on the Island line, take Exit A2 and walk for about 12 minutes.
Art Basel Hong Kong 2024
When: 28–30 March
Where: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai
Born and raised in Hong Kong and educated in the UK, Celia is passionate about culture, food, and different happenings in the city. When she’s not busy writing, you can find her scouting for new and trendy restaurants, getting lost in a bookstore, or baking up a storm at home.
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