Art Basel Hong Kong
Art Basel announces further highlights for its 2025 edition in Hong Kong, including details on special sectors, as well as an extensive week-long onsite and offsite public program
● Encounters, Art Basel Hong Kong’s curated sector dedicated to large-scale projects, will feature 18 exceptional installations foregrounding the realms of digital art, design and architecture, textiles, nature, and human interactions. More than half of the works are being created specifically for the fair.
● The sector will include a site-specific installation for the third year in a row: Monster Chetwynd’s Lantern fly Ballet will be presented at Pacific Place, supported by Swire Properties, the Official
Partner of offsite Encounters.
● Kabinett, the sector featuring thematic presentations within participating galleries’ booths, will comprise 38 projects – the highest number in the fair’s history – with a strong focus on historical and contemporary solo presentations from Asia, presenting works by 21 Asia-Pacific artists and 15 from the rest of the world.
● The MGM Discoveries Art Prize, an award established for the show and supporting emerging artists, has unveiled its shortlisted artists and jury of international experts.
● Showcasing the cultural dynamism of its host city, Art Basel Hong Kong will feature an extensive Public Program, both onsite and offsite, including the Film and Conversations Programs, as well as the Exchange Circle, accessible to the public for free at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Furthermore, Art Basel will collaborate with leading cultural institutions M+ and Tai Kwun for joint offsite programming.
● The show’s Film program, curated for the first time by Hong Kong’s independent art institution Para Site, will feature seven screenings and the works of 30 artists. Art Basel will continue its collaboration with cultural video channel, Nowness Asia; and Videotage, one of the region’s leading non-profit organizations dedicated to video art.
● The show continues to broaden its support to encompass more creative fields and welcomes new cultural partners, including Design Trust, as well as HASS Lab and Tomorrow Maybe.
● The Art Basel Shop will be present in Hong Kong for the first time, offering a selection of lifestyle products that celebrate and enhance the Art Basel experience.
● Art Basel Hong Kong, whose Global Lead Partner is UBS, will take place at the HKCEC from March 28 to 30, 2025, with Preview Days on March 26 and 27.
The 2025 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong will bring together 240 exhibitors from 42 countries and territories, including 23 newcomers, presenting artistic practices that reflect the show’s commitment to global diversity and regional representation. More than half of the participating galleries are from the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting Art Basel’s vital role as a platform for the region’s dynamic art scene. The extensive week-long offsite and onsite public program will further underscore Hong Kong’s role as a major cultural hub.
Encounters
Encounters, the show sector dedicated to large-scale projects, will feature 18 large-scale installations by artists from a broad spectrum of geographies. Curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor and titled ‘As the World Turns’, Encounters will be structured across four platforms: Passage, foregrounding themes of cultural resonance, resilience, and storytelling; Alteration, delving into the subversion of abstraction and materiality; Charge, exploring the intersections of digital and physical realms; The Return, homing in on mythology, spirituality, and the cyclical nature of existence. The sector will also extend beyond the show floor with an offsite Encounters project. Fourteen works included in this year’s edition will be made especially for the fair. This will be Glass-Kantor’s last edition as curator.
Highlights include:
• As part of Passage, three monumental paintings by Pacita Abad, showcasing the late Filipino American artist’s ambitious exploration of iconographies and techniques from the Global South, presented by Silverlens and Tina Kim Gallery
• As part of Alteration, a suite of 30 brass sculptures by Hong Kong-born artist Christopher K. Ho, drawing from the visual language of Modernism to create a playful visual enigma, presented by Property Holdings Development Group
• As part of Charge, a new work by Lu Yang, for which the Tokyo-based artist will stage a pop-up store selling artworks produced by a digital avatar named DOKU, presented by de Sarthe and COMA
• As part of Charge as well, an installation by Chinese-born, New York-based artist Frank Wang Yefeng, recreating an abstracted garden inspired by a trip the artist took to the Gobi Desert and exploring the concept of nomadism, presented by Vanguard Gallery
• As part of The Return, a project by Vajiko Chachkhiani, a work that evokes the eternal cycles of migration and displacement, reflecting on the recurring dynamics of ‘them and us’ that shape human history, presented by SCAI The Bathhouse
• At Hong Kong’s Pacific Place Park Court, an offsite Encounters project by Zurich-based artist Monster Chetwynd, which will combine sculpture and performance, inspired by cinematic choreography and metamorphosis, presented by Galerie Gregor Staiger, Massimodecarlo, and Sadie Coles HQ, supported by Swire Properties, the Official Partner of offsite Encounters
For the full list of participating artists and galleries, please visit artbasel.com/hong-kong/encounters.
Kabinett
A record number of 38 galleries will participate in Kabinett, the sector for thematic presentations within galleries’ main booths, with a strong focus on solo projects from the Asia-Pacific region and the Asian diaspora. Highlights include:
• A series of gestural ceramics and paintings by the late American artist Martin Wong, made between the late 1960s and early 1970s in the San Francisco Bay Area, presented by P.P.O.W.
• A group presentation of ink paintings bringing together work by artists from the post-Mao period, including Liu Dan, Li Jin, and Yang Jiechang, showcasing the diversity of approaches to the medium, presented by Ink Studio
• Ann Leda Shapiro’s ‘Manifestation of Qi’, a series of figurative watercolors in which the American artist explores life's intricate systems and landscapes of mind and body, presented by Axel Vervoordt Gallery
• A suite of cardboard sculptures and drawings by the late Vũ Dân Tân, one of Vietnam’s pioneering contemporary art figures, exploring the concept of garment as armor, presented by 10 Chancery Lane Gallery
• A presentation of masterful ceramic works by Takahiro Kondo, which the Japanese artist made using his patented ‘Silver Mist’ technique and exploring the shapeshifting qualities of water, presented by Tokyo Gallery + BTAP
• A group of new paintings by Pei Yanqing, executed in a muted palette articulated around indigo and depicting oneiric scenes, anchored in the New York-based artist’s training in Chinese painting, presented by Hive Center for Contemporary Art
To view the full list of participating artists and galleries, please visit here.
The MGM Discoveries Art Prize
The MGM Discoveries Art Prize, a newly established award for the 2025 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong aimed at supporting emerging artists and fostering new talent, has unveiled its jury of esteemed international experts. They are Aaron Cezar, Founding Director of Delfina Foundation, Antonia Carver, Director of Art Jameel, Christopher K. Ho, Executive Director of Asia Art Archive, Park Seungho, Chairman of PARKSEOBO FOUNDATION, and X Zhu-Nowell, Artistic Director of Rockbund Art Museum.
The shortlisted artists for the inaugural MGM Discoveries Prize are Shin Min, represented by P21; Kayode Ojo, represented by Sweetwater; and Saju Kunhan, represented by Tarq. The winner will be announced during the show at the MGM lounge and will receive a cash prize of USD 50,000 to be shared between the artist and their gallery, along with the opportunity for the artist to exhibit their work in Macau.
Film
Hong Kong’s independent art institution Para Site will steer the curatorial direction of the 2025 Art Basel Hong Kong Film Program. Titled ‘In Space, It’s Always Night’, this year’s program is inspired by themes addressed in Isadora Neves Marques’ Vampires in Space (2022), a feature film which will be presented during a special screening.
The Film Program will feature seven screenings bringing together the works of 30 artists. It will showcase a selection of short films that reflect on ecological interdependence, resilience amid both physical and mental societal constraints, human desires, and an inquiry into the technological realities shaping humankind’s increasingly hybrid and interconnected existence. Echoing Para Site’s curatorial direction, collaborations with cultural video channel Nowness Asia and Videotage – one of the region’s leading non-profit organizations dedicated to video art – will explore topics foregrounded in the special screening of Neves Marques’ work as well, with Videotage dedicating its selection to Hong Kong artists.
Highlights include:
• A special screening of Vampires in Space (2022) by Isadora Neves Marques, which follows a family of vampires traveling to an Earth-like exoplanet, reflecting the Portuguese artist’s interest in Queer identity and family structures, presented by Umberto di Marino
• Thai artist Chulayarnnon Siriphol’s ANG48 (2022), a film that blends archival material from Asian film history, creating an intelligent operating system embodied as a half-human, half-golden-snail figure, presented by Bangkok CityCity Gallery
• Corpo Fechado—The Devil’s Work (2018), a film by Colombian artist Carlos Motta retracing the story of José Francisco Pereira, an enslaved West African man from the 18th century who after creating a syncretic religion was tried for sorcery, presented by mor charpentier
• German artist Sung Tieu’s Memory Dispute (2017), a short film shedding light on forms of violent alteration, such as the effects of Napalm on Vietnam’s environment and people, as well as the process of skin bleaching, presented by Emalin
• London-based artist duo Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings’ Good Society (2024), a work exploring Queer life in Berlin during the Weimar Republic and its contemporary echoes, based on the memories of Hastings’ grandmother, presented by Arcadia Missa
• Cao Shu’s Phantom Sugar (2023), a film in which the Chinese artist takes AI-controlled vertical farming as a starting point to sketch out a speculative future in which plant respiration can be predicted, presented by ShanghART Gallery
• The program by Videotage, titled ‘The Pixelated You’ features work by five Hong Kong-based artists, Jolene Mok, Wong Winsome Dumalagan, Lam Wing Sze, Tsui Hou Lam and Jess Lau. They explore and imagine others through self-recorded footage, segments from other sources, fictional plots, and reconstructed materials
• By Nowness Asia the films in ‘Ghostly Metaphors’ deploy various metaphors as threads linking the past, present, and future with works by Kitty Yeung, Riar Rizaldi, Yuyan Wang, and Dongnan Chen
The Film program is freely accessible to the public. To view the full list of participating artists and galleries,
please visit here..
Conversations
Conversations at Art Basel Hong Kong 2025 will bring together leading figures to examine the forces driving the world of art and culture today. The panels will cover topics ranging from the evolution of Southeast Asian patronage and artists' engagement with AI, to the artistic dimensions of rave culture and the links between art, design, and architecture. The program will also include an offsite panel in Shenzhen focusing on contemporary living with art in today’s Greater Bay Area, in partnership with Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB).
Highlights include:
• What are artists learning from tech and AI today? with Taiwanese American filmmaker and multimedia artist Shu Lea Cheang, moderated by Chinese American artist Tishan Hsu
• How is arts patronage evolving in Southeast Asia? with Purat Osathanugrah, Chairman and President of Dib Bangkok Museum of Contemporary Art
• Living traditions: remixing heritage to challenge old stories, with artists Shao Fan and Citra Sasmita, moderated by fellow artist Jordan Nassar
• Hybrid Architectures: when art meets design, with architect Kulapat Yantrasast, moderated by Marisa Yiu, Co-founder & Executive Director of Design Trust.
• A performance by Pedro Wonaeamirri, a senior cultural leader on the Tiwi Islands (now part of the Northern Territories, Australia) and musician Mayunkiki, a member of the Ainu Indigenous ethnic group (who reside in Northern Japan and Southeastern Russia), followed by a discussion with Aichi Triennale curatorial advisor Professor Ishikura Toshiaki, associate professor in the Department of Arts & Roots at Akita University of art and Alexie Glass-Kantor, curator of Encounters Onsite Conversations are freely accessible to the public. The full Conversations program will be available shortly on the Art Basel website.
Public Program
Showcasing the cultural dynamism of its host city, Art Basel Hong Kong will feature an extensive public program, which includes its popular Film and Conversations Programs, as well as the Exchange Circle, all accessible freely to the public at the HKCEC.
As part of the public program, and within the frame of its fourth collaboration to activate the M+ Facade, co-commissioned by Art Basel and M+, and presented by UBS, Night Charades by Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen will illuminate the M+ Facade as a tribute to the golden age of Hong Kong cinema and can be imagined as a simulation chamber from the future. Constantly reshuffled by an algorithm to create ever-changing combinations of characters and scenes, this work offers a non-linear reinterpretation of the city’s cinematic past. The work will be showcased on the M+ Facade every night from Saturday, March 22, for three months.
To coincide with the launch of the M+ Facade co-commission work Night Charades, M+ will screen five seminal films from the artist’s twenty-year long career throughout the month of March. The screening program offers a closer look at Ho’s speculative approach to the presentation of history and filmmaking. For the screening details, please stay tuned for updates on the M+ website. Presented by Tai Kwun and supported by Art Basel Hong Kong, the annual Artists’ Night will once again take place on Friday, March 28, presenting a captivating fusion of visual art, live performance, experimental events, and music that revolves around the themes of AI, the body, and ritualistic encounters.
Cultural Partners
Art Basel continues to support a network of Hong Kong’s non-profit institutions, including 1a space; Asia Society Hong Kong Center; CHAT – Centre of Heritage, Art and Textile; Design Trust; HASS Lab; Hong Kong Art Gallery Association; Hong Kong Arts Centre; Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC); Tomorrow Maybe. Art Basel will extend support to local universities, including Academy of Visual Arts, HKBU, Art Museum of CUHK, University Museum and Art Gallery, HKU.
The show will welcome new cultural partners from the creative industries, including the architectural and design-focused charity, Design Trust; the artist-founded collective HASS Lab, which develops educational programs for communities; and Tomorrow Maybe, a contemporary art space showcasing emerging artists in Hong Kong for experimental projects.
As part of the public program, Exchange Circle will once again function as an open platform for short and experimental presentations. This year, it will include discussions on contemporary art and architecture, including a workshop by Huasheng Media on public participation in art criticism. Additionally, CONG by Serakai Studio presents a conversation on innovative gallery designs with architects from BEAU Architects and Collective Studio, while Asia Society will examine modernism through Asian perspectives, showcasing key contributions to modern art history, along with many more initiatives designed to engage a focused audience.
Museum Shows, Institutions, Events and Campaign
In an effort to highlight leading voices of contemporary Asian art, the Art Basel Hong Kong brand campaign will showcase works by both established and emerging artists from the region. Featuring Kimsooja’s Cities on the Move – 2727km Bottari Truck (1997); Luis Chan’s Untitled (The Conference) (1983), and Miao Ying’s Technomancy at Polarized Rift (2023), the global campaign will once again transform prominent billboards across the city into showcases that celebrate the vibrant regional art scene and will be promoted around the world across print and digital platforms.
During Art Basel’s 2025 Hong Kong edition, visitors will be able to experience multifaceted and stimulating programming and exhibitions presented by the city’s leading museums and cultural institutions. They include:
• 1a space
‘1a space Art Residency’
• Asia Art Archive
‘In Our Own Backyard’
• Asia Society Hong Kong Center
‘Hoo Mojong Retrospective: The Toy’
• Centre For Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT)
‘Lining Revealed – A Journey Through Folk Wisdom and Contemporary Vision’
• Hong Kong Arts Centre
‘Collect Hong Kong 2025’
• Hong Kong Museum of Art
‘The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Cézanne and Renoir Looking at the World-Masterpieces from the
Musée de l’Orangerie and the Musée d’Orsay’
‘Perceptual and Intellectual—Explorations into Everything and Oneself’
‘Hong Kong Artist Dialogue Series: Beyond Delight’
‘Shopping in Canton: China Trade Art in the 18th and 19th Centuries (Phase IV)’
‘Art of Gifting: The Fuyun Xuan Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles’
• HKAGA Gallery Opening Day
Central West Hong Kong - Thursday, March 20
SouthsideSaturday - Saturday, March 22
Central Gallery Day - Monday, March 24
• Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC)
‘On-site’
‘Mini Collectibles’
• K11 Art Foundation
'Somewhere Near and Far Away: Contemporary Asian American Art'
• M+
‘Picasso for Asia: A Conversation’
‘Lee Mingwei: Guernica in Sand’
‘Yasumasa Morimura and Cindy Sherman: Masquerades’
‘Danh Vo In Situ: Akari by Noguchi’
‘Making It Matters’
‘Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination’
• Oi!
‘Oi! Spotlight: Adrian Wong’
‘Oi! Spotlight: Phoebe Hui’
‘Oi! Spotlight: Toyofuku Ryo’
• Para Site
‘How to be Happy Together?’
‘So Wing Po: Para Site 10F Annex Commission’
• Tai Kwun
‘Alicja Kwade: Pretopia’
‘Hu Xiaoyuan: Strange Tales of Exile’
‘Maeve Brennan: The Goods’
• Tomorrow Maybe
‘Chulayarnnon Siriphol: The Golden Snail Series'
• Videotage
‘Duo-solo Presentation: Jess Lau and Colbie Fung’
About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, and Paris. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through new digital platforms and initiatives, such as The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report and Art Basel Shop. For further information, please visit here.
Partners
Partners UBS & Contemporary
Global Lead Partner of Art Basel, UBS has a long history of supporting contemporary art and artists. The firm has one of the world’s most important corporate art collections. UBS seeks to advance the international conversation about the art market through its global lead partnership with Art Basel, and as co-publisher of the ‘Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report’ and the ‘Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting’. UBS also supports some of the world’s most important arts institutions, events and fairs. UBS provides its clients with insight into the art market, collecting, and legacy planning through its UBS Collectors Circle and UBS Art Advisory. For more information about UBS’s commitment to contemporary art, visit ubs.com/art. Art Basel’s Associate Partners are the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Audemars Piguet. Through its collaboration, Hong Kong Tourism Board highlights Hong Kong’s unique culture to the global stage, offering immersive experiences to inspire travellers to visit and discover Hong Kong's vibrant neighborhoods and rich cultural experiences. Audemars Piguet believes that creativity feeds culture, connects people, and gives purpose to our lives. Through its dedicated contemporary art programme, Audemars Piguet Contemporary, international artists are commissioned to create carte-blanche artworks across a variety of scales and media, enabling artists to explore new territories in their practice. Art Basel is also supported globally by Samsung, BMW, Ruinart, GOAT, and We Are Ona Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong is also supported by MGM, Swire Properties, NetDragon, Rosewood Hong Kong, The Peninsula Hotel, The Upper House, Soho House, and Quintessentially. For further information about partnerships, please visit artbasel.com/partners.
Selection Committee in Hong Kong
Vanessa Carlos, Carlos/Ishikawa (London)
Massimo De Carlo, Massimodecarlo (Hong Kong, Paris, Milan, London)
Emi Eu, STPI, (Singapore)
Takayuki Ishii, Taka Ishii Gallery (Tokyo, Kyoto, Maebashi)
David Maupin, Lehmann Maupin (New York, Seoul, London)
Urs Meile, Galerie Urs Meile (Beijing, Lucerne, Zürich)
Zhang Wei, Vitamin Creative Space (Beijing, Guangzhou)
The experts for the Discoveries and Insights sector:
James Jeon, Gallery Baton, (Seoul)
Jun Tirtadji, ROH Projects (Jakarta)
Simon Wang, Antenna Space (Shanghai)
Important Dates for Media
Preview (by invitation only)
Wednesday, March 26, 12 noon to 8pm
Thursday, March 27, 12 noon to 8pm
Friday, March 28, 12noon to 2pm
Saturday, March 29, 12noon to 2pm
Sunday, March 30, 11am to 12noon
Vernissage
Thursday, March 27, 4pm to 8pm
Public Days
Friday, March 28, 2pm to 8pm
Saturday, March 29, 2pm to 8pm
Sunday, March 30, 12 noon to 6pm
Upcoming Art Basel Shows
Hong Kong, March 28–30, 2025
Basel, June 19–22, 2025
Paris, October 24-26, 2025
Miami Beach, December 5-7, 2025
Media information online
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