VIP Parties
When the exhibitions close for the night during Art Week, galleries, museums, collectors and more host a string of exclusive parties around town. Are you invited?
It can be hard to know which events to attend during Art Week—we introduce the very best
MON MARCH 25
The Hong Kong Art Gallery Association kick-starts Art Week with its annual Art Gallery
Night, which sees galleries in the Pedder Building, H Queen’s and around the city launch their new exhibitions with champagne receptions. While art lovers stroll through town, international celebrities and socialites will be flocking to Shaw Studios for the annual Amfar Gala to raise funds for HIV/AIDS research. This year’s event honours the philanthropic work of Adrian Cheng, the founder of the K11 Art Foundation and Culture For Tomorrow, as well as a major supporter of several international charities. A-listers Kate Moss, Leonardo Dicaprio and Charlize Theron are just a few of the stars who have attended the Amfar Gala in the past.
TUE MARCH 26
A who’s who of the international art world will descend on the Central Harbourfront from 6pm for the opening night of the Art Central fair, which features 107 galleries from around the world. This year’s VIP preview promises to be an evening of surprises, with a mixture of interactive installations dotted around the fair’s cavernous waterfront tents as well as experimental performances.
WED MARCH 27
Today’s the day that everyone has been waiting for, with Art Basel throwing open its doors at 2pm for its VIP Preview, which runs until 8pm. Afterwards, leading galleries celebrate the first day of the fair—and any sales they’ve already made—by hosting intimate dinners for some of their top collectors.
THU MARCH 28
Don’t worry if you miss Wednesday’s VIP Preview of Art Basel because there’s more today from 1pm to 5pm, followed immediately by
Art Basel’s Vernissage until 9pm. Fancy some serious art talk? Head upstairs in the Convention Centre to the Intelligence
Squared Cultural Annual Debate, where prominent art world figures will be discussing the issues of the day from 6.30pm to 8pm.
Whether you’re at Vernissage or Intelligence Squared, be prepared for a long wait for your Uber Black afterwards, as revellers are sure to rush from the Convention Centre to the invite-only party hosted at a secret location by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This dusk-till-dawn event has become a firm fixture of Art Week, attracting everyone from respected curators and art historians to jetsetting heirs and heiresses.
FRI MARCH 29
It’s not over yet. If you can drag yourself out of bed in the morning, the South Island Cultural District Open Day
takes place from 10am to 1pm, providing a welcome respite from the madness of Central and Wan Chai. Later in the afternoon, yet another art fair opens its doors, with the Unionpay VIP Collectors Preview of the Asia Contemporary Art Show
starting at 3pm. As always, the fair is taking place in the Conrad Hong Kong, turning several hotel rooms into mini galleries until April 1. Across town, the Asia Society is hosting its blacktie Asia Arts Game Changer
Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel from 6pm. This year, the event is honouring Christine Ay Tjoe, Fang Lijun, Imran Qureshi and Natee Utarit—worthy winners all.