Part art fair, part exhibition, new Hong Kong event set to reinvigorate city’s art scene
- ‘Unscheduled’ at the Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts will showcase the diversity and solidarity of Hong Kong’s commercial and independent art scenes
- The 12 Hong Kong- and Asia-based or connected artists featured include Kitty Chou, Mak Ying Tung 2, Chou Yu-Cheng and Liu Bolin
When Art Basel Hong Kong and the city’s unofficial “art month” were cancelled in March due to the outbreak of Covid-19, Fabio Rossi of the Rossi & Rossi gallery believed all was not lost, knowing that Hong Kong’s vibrant, creative and diverse art scene is much more than two fairs and various auctions.
Two months on, he has teamed up with Willem Molesworth, director of the de Sarthe gallery, to stage an event that showcases not only the diversity, but also solidarity, of both the local commercial and independent art scenes.
To run from June 17 to 27 at the Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts, “Unscheduled” is part art fair, part exhibition. It sets out to reinvigorate art communities in the city that are struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s a great moment of coming together of all the stakeholders in the art community in Hong Kong. It really shows the strong sense of community in this city,” he says.
The event will serve as a cross between an exhibition and a platform that connects art practitioners with each other and local audiences.
“It offers an opportunity for galleries to participate and work together in a more creative way,” Rossi says. “Obviously we can’t replace [the] Art Basel or Art Central [fairs], and that’s not our aim. We are working with a very small space, which is why it’s not really a fair but a platform for networking and getting together, and we’ve adopted a very free-flow plan. I also feel like this is something local audiences will respond to given the current climate.”
Visitors to the centre will also get a chance to catch Tai Kwun Contemporary’s two running international exhibitions: “They Do Not Understand Each Other”, co-presented by The National Museum of Art, Osaka and the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), and “My Body Holds Its Shape”, curated by Xue Tan. Admission for both shows is free.
“Unscheduled” is co-curated by Sara Wong and Ying Kwok, both of whom were part of an independent selection committee responsible for selecting participating galleries and artists. All 12 participating galleries will be showing the work of one artist at their booths.
“As the space is limited, we felt that showing a solo artist strengthened the overall presentation,” Wong says. “The exhibition intends to build connections and we’re trying to introduce a dialogue between the artists of each gallery.”
Rossi and Wong highlight Hong Kong’s status as an international art hub representing the Asian art scene as potentially helping the event become a fixture in the regional arena.
“Hong Kong has become an important point of reference for all of Asia,” Rossi says. “When the travel bans are lifted, perhaps this [event] can become a more regional affair.”
For now, they are excited about the task of staging the event. “The challenge will be to make sure that people in the community are aware of it and to make sure that collectors and the general public come,” Rossi says.
Standard tickets are priced at HK$80 (US$10) and all proceeds will go to participating galleries and local charity partner Hands On Hong Kong, in support of those most affected by the pandemic. Organisers reassure that public health measures, such as timed ticketing, will be taken to avoid overcrowding.
If recent attendance at South Island Art Day on April 25 is anything to go by – the cluster of participating galleries in Wong Chuk Hang recorded an average of 100 to 120 visitors each – it seems people are hungry to see art again, Rossi says.
Wong adds: “With the situation now [getting better in Hong Kong], a lot of people are anticipating something to happen. Exhibitions and programmes are progressing again, and perhaps ‘Unscheduled’ can be a starting point to propel the art scene forwards.”
“Unscheduled”, from June 17 to 27, Tai Kwun Duplex Studio, LG1/F & LG2/F, Block 01. Admission: HK$80. Inquiries: hk-aga.org
