How to have a multi-sensory art experience in Hong Kong
Stimulate your hunger for creativity and thirst for culture through the city’s year-round art experiences
A world center for business and trade, many love Hong Kong for its great food and shopping, but it’s that and so much more. Steeped in history and culture, this particular administrative region is fast becoming Asia’s newest centre for art. Visiting Hong Kong is a multi-sensory experience that’s active, vibrant, and diverse. Whether you immerse yourself in the exhibits, let masterpieces you see speak to you, or taste immaculately plated cuisine, art is everywhere.
Cityscapes and street art
Blessed with a rich community of local artists, you’ll encounter incredible street art, vivid neon sign-lit cityscape, and even discover unseen urban arts while wandering its many neighbourhoods. Whether it’s winter, spring, summer or fall, you can always gallery hop or visit museums documenting the former British colony’s unique history.
Where the past, present and future merge
Here, ancient culture collides with modern arts. From a rich traditional Cantonese opera scene to productions with international theatre companies, there’s always a performance to attend. See how heritage complexes have been revitalized into creative new spaces that still pay homage to their past. Learn about Hong Kong’s cinematic history at the Hong Kong Film Archive before popping into prestigious art events, including Art Basel, which the city has hosted.
A haven for art collectors
Art collectors often swoon over the luxury pieces available through Christie’s auctions, while music lovers appreciate the incredible acoustics at Hong Kong City Hall’s main concert halls. And there’s nothing like the energy—or elaborate costume changes—experienced at Hong Kong Coliseum’s oft sold-out Cantopop shows.
Experience the West Kowloon Cultural District
Those seeking the latest in the art world will be impressed with the activities and attractions at the West Kowloon Cultural District. A hub for theatres, performance spaces, and state-of-the-art museum facilities, it’s one of the largest—occupying forty hectares of reclaimed land along Victoria Harbour—and most ambitious cultural projects in the world. Explore its green open space and stroll its two-kilometre waterfront promenade. Attend a cultural event or a world-class exhibition such as The Journey to West Kowloon Community Art Exhibition. The latter—a collaborative community art initiative between the Hong Kong Tourism Board and The Education University of Hong Kong—showcases art pieces from the city’s young artists that capture the culture and lifestyle of Hong Kong’s various neighbourhoods.
Visit Asia’s first global museum for modern and contemporary art
Then there’s the newly opened M+, Asia’s first global museum for modern and contemporary visual culture. Located in the West Kowloon Cultural District, the terracotta tile-clad tower and its expansive podium cantilevers have become an iconic landmark on the sprawling Victoria Harbour waterfront, where the building’s vibrant south LED-studded façade dazzles against the night skyline.
Aiming to build on Hong Kong’s local and international history through its support of Hong Kong and Mainland China artists, the museum’s 17,000-square meters of exhibition space has numerous activations that are publicly accessible. There’s M+ Playscape on the North Roof Garden, a semi-permanent installation featuring three play sculptures by Isamu Noguchi—whose cross-cultural works bring together multiple creative disciplines—in a social landscape of benches.
The South Roof Garden hosts new indoor and outdoor displays, plus retail pop-ups in M+ Shop and restaurants. Inspired by 1980s Hong Kong, the Mei Lok Store pop-up taps into nostalgia with its assortment of favourite snacks, treasured knick-knacks, and throwback décor. For keepsakes, the Thames & Hudson pop-up hosts a selection of the publisher’s best-known art and design books.
Hungry diners can enjoy M+’s carefully curated dining options. Level 3 features Mosu Hong Kong, the first overseas branch of Executive Chef Sung Anh’s two Michelin star ingredients-driven Seoul-based restaurant. For sophisticated takes on everything from Hong Kong classics to global cuisine, there’s ADD+ on Level B1. Spanning 10,000-square feet, the all-day option is divided into a casual dining area for business lunches, afternoon tea or dinner, bar tables for happy hour, and even grab-and-go that can be enjoyed at nearby Art Park.
Click here to visit the Discover Hong Kong arts page and learn more about the vibrant scenes worth visiting.
