In the Face of the Coronavirus Crisis, Hong Kong’s Art World Has Banded Together to Launch a New Online Platform for Art

Hong Kong’s beleaguered art
community is pulling together to show the world that it remains a
creative hot spot despite the coronavirus
emergency.  

As efforts to contain the virus
have put a damper on public gatherings including art exhibitions,
auctions, and fairs, cultural institutions in the city have joined
forces to launch an online platform to show the resilience of
its art scene. The public health emergency comes on top of months
of pro-democracy protests and clashes with the
police. 

The new community-run platform,
ART Power HK, offers the city’s cultural organizations an
alternative way to show art. Launched on March 4, the platform
already includes 60 of the city’s galleries, museums, and auction
houses. Art world players are hoping that the initiative, which has
been launched during Hong Kong’s usually buzzing Art Month, will
give new life to the city that even before the virus hit was being
disrupted by dedicated pro-democracy protesters. Gallery openings,
auctions, and Art Basel Hong Kong have been postponed due to the
epidemic. 

The platform will feature online
viewing rooms for galleries, recorded and live-streamed exhibition
walkthroughs, interviews with Hong Kong-based artists and
collectors, studio visits, and online talks. A spokesperson
for the campaign tells Artnet News that the initiative hopes to
harness the resources that were already earmarked for art, culture
and design projects in March.  

A campaign representative explains that the idea was born in
February when a working group of partners came together to provide
a “creative solution to the current
challenges while driving positive energy and momentum for Hong
Kong’s vibrant, strong, and prosperous art scene and the community
around it.”

Organizers of the campaign have
been reaching out to partners directly as well as launching an
online call that extends to cultural centers, universities, and
media outlets. Museums including M+, the Hong Kong Museum of Art,
and Liang Yi Museum have already come on board. 

“The desire to reassert and re-energise Hong
Kong’s vibrant arts sector in preparation for a post-virus comeback
has been the driving energy behind this initiative,”
the director of M+, Suhanya Raffel,
tells Artnet News. She says that the community-based campaign hopes
to focus Hong Kong and international audiences back on the great
work being done in the city’s art scene. 

The initiative follows on from
Art Basel’s decision to launch an online viewing room for dealers due to show at
its Hong Kong fair. But
while Basel’s app is only open to participating galleries and will
last the duration of the now-canceled fair, ART Power HK is a more
long-term initiative open to all of the city’s cultural
players.

Father and son gallerists Arthur
and Dominique de Villepin are planning to go ahead with the launch of their new
gallery in Hong Kong as planned on March 20. While they expect
to draw a small local audience in person to Villepin Gallery, they
hope that the online initiative can extend the reach of their first
exhibition, which is a solo show of Zao Wou-ki, to international
audiences. Arthur Villepin tell Artnet News that the initiative
“goes beyond commercial motivations.”

“While the campaign was initiated in response to
the cancellation of major events in Hong Kong, Art Power HK creates
new opportunities to nurture more intimate and lasting
relationships with people,” the French gallerist says.

The platform is the idea of an all-female working group, which
included Levina Li-Cadman of Art
Partners; Alexandra Seno of the Asia Art
Archive; Katie de Tilly
of 10 Chancery Lane Gallery; Catherine Kwai of Kwai Fung
Hin; 
Elaine Kwok and Georgina Hilton, of
Christie’s; Kiri Sinclair and Rosanna Herries of Sinclair Arts, and
S. Alice Mong of the nonprofit Asia Society Hong Kong Center, which
is is hosting the platform.

Auction houses including
Bonhams, Christie’s, and Phillips are on board. Jonathan Crockett,
Phillips Asia’s deputy chairman says that the platform will
“encourage the city’s art market to strengthen and think creatively
about its digital initiatives, and engage with a broader
international audience.”

Crockett says that the platform
is a great tool for the city’s art organizations to unite and
continue to engage with their audiences during these “challenging
times.”

“Whilst there is no substitute for experiencing
art in person, we hope this initiative can help to fill the
cultural vacuum and demonstrate that we remain active and connected
with the art community,” Crockett says.

The post In the Face of the Coronavirus Crisis, Hong Kong’s
Art World Has Banded Together to Launch a New Online Platform for
Art appeared first on artnet News.