Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) has announced that it will sign Memoranda of Understandings (MOUs) with 22 arts and cultural institutions during the Hong Kong International Cultural Summit 2024 (24-26 March).
This year’s Hong Kong International Cultural Summit centers on the theme, ‘Connecting Culture, Bridging Times’ and across the three days will feature more than 20 speakers from across the globe. They include Katrina Sedgwick (CEO, Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation, Australia), media artist Refik Anadol, Tim Reeve (Chair of East Bank Board, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of Victoria and Albert Museum), Dr Marcella Lista (Head Curator, New Media and Asia Pacific, Center Pompidou), Dr Wang Chunfa (Director, National Museum of China), Dr Chase F Robinson (Director, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art) and more.
Sedgwick will be speaking at the plenary session, ‘Cultural Districts’ Contributions to Social and Economic Transformation of Cities’ on 25 March alongside Reeve, Shaika Al-Nassr (Director, Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar) and Akiko Miki (International Artistic Director, Benesse Art Site Naoshima, Japan).
Sedgwick said in the media release shared with ArtsHub, ‘The $1.7 billion Melbourne Arts Precinct (MAP) transformation will not only deliver a reimagined Arts Center Melbourne and the stunning new Fox NGV Contemporary gallery – it will amplify the offerings across the Precinct bringing a more vibrant city life, thriving creative industries and boost our already impressive cultural tourism credentials and building sustainability for our businesses. I am greatly looking forward to hearing and learning from my peers at HKICS and to be inspired by the West Kowloon Cultural District.’
The MOU signatories include museums, conservation and art research institutes, art centres, film archives, theaters and theater associations, and hail from across 11 countries: France, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US and Mainland China.
The signatories will work with Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM), M+ and the Performing Arts Division of WKCDA across potential activities such as co-production, touring of exhibitions, collection sharing, partnerships on conservation, digitization and scientific research, alongside education and exchange programs for art administrators and artists.
Institutions signing MOUs with HKPM:
- Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, UK
- Shanghai Museum, China
- Guimet-National Museum of Asian Arts, France
- National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, France
- Tokyo National Museum, Japan
- Museo Nacional Del Prado, Spain, and
- Qatar Museums, Qatar (on behalf of the Museum of Islamic Art).
Institutions signing MOUs with M+:
Museums
- Tate, UK
- Center Pompidou, France
- Musée national Picasso-Paris, France
- The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan
- Leeum Museum of Art, Samsung Foundation of Culture, South Korea
- Qatar Museums, Qatar, and
- Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates.
conservation institute
- Getty Conservation Institute, US
Film archives
- Asian Film Archive, Singapore, and
- Film Archive (Public Organization), Thailand.
Institutions signing MOUs with Performing Arts Division of WKCDA:
- China Theater Association, China
- Chongqing Chuanju Theatre, China
- Shijiazhuang Arts Research Bureau, China, and
- The Shanghai Center of Chinese Operations, China.
Henry Tang Ying-yen, Chairman of the Board of WKCDA, said in the media release shared with ArtsHub, ‘The signing of MOUs with world-renowned arts and cultural institutions during the Summit marks another important milestone for WKCD as it embarks on a global journey of dynamic new partnerships and development opportunities. We anticipate that the collaborations will take global arts and cultural discourse to the next level, sparking a new era of creativity and cultural connectivity for Hong Kong and reinforcing the Authority’s vision of strengthening Hong Kong’s strategic role as the East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange.’
The MOU Signing Ceremony will take place on 24 March, before the official opening of the Summit on 25 March.
Read: Thumbs up on NGV acquisition
The Summit marks the beginning of Hong Kong Art Week 2024, which boasts an array of Australian presence this year. Artspace Executive Director Alexie Glass-Kantor is the curator of Art Basel Hong Kong’s Encounters sector – her third iteration – featuring 17 large-scale sculptures and installations at the fair. Australian participating galleries in Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 (28-30 March) include Ames Yavuz, Sullivan+Strumpf, Station and Fine Arts, Sydney,
Meanwhile, New Norfolk-based artist Tricky Walsh is exhibiting work as part of group exhibition, Green Snake: women-centred ecology at Tai Kwun, running until 1 April, and Sydney-based design studio Atelier Sisu has created public art experience, WestK FunFest: Atelier Sisu – Ephemeral (22 March to 7 April).