A Bright Future
It brings me great pleasure to introduce this edition of Tatler Art, the first we have published since 2019. In that time, of course, the world has been rocked by a pandemic that has had devastating effects on individuals, communities and industries. But against the odds, the art scene in Hong Kong has not only survived but thrived.
The most exciting addition to Hong Kong’s cultural landscape has been the opening of M+, Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture, the city’s answer to London’s Tate Modern or New York’s Museum of Modern Art. In this issue, we interview the two co-curators of M+’s latest show, a retrospective of works by Yayoi Kusama, the wildly popular Japanese artist famous around the world for her sculptures of polkadotted pumpkins (p.24). M+ has already received more than 1.7 million visitors, and I’m sure this spectacular exhibition will bring in many more.
It’s not only international icons who are being celebrated in the city—local artists, too, are increasingly being championed by Hong Kong’s galleries, museums and collectors. We introduce some of the city’s rising stars (p.6) and profile one of the art community’s elder statesman—the painter Chu Hing Wah, now 87, whose tender paintings capture the beauty of everyday life in Hong Kong (p.40).
Part of the reason that the local art scene remains so strong is the generous help of patrons such as HSBC, which has supported the arts in Hong Kong ever since it was founded in the city 157 years ago. This year, the bank is increasing its commitment to the arts with a variety of exciting new initiatives. Our cover star, HSBC Hong Kong CEO Luanne Lim, discusses its new role as the lead partner of M+ (p.12), while Maggie Ng, HSBC’S Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, explains how the bank is supporting digital art (p.30).
Over the past few years, it was art that we often turned to at our lowest points. Whether it was the paintings on our walls, the music we listened to or the TV shows we watched, culture in all its forms helped to pull us through the darkest days. As the world slowly returns to something resembling pre-pandemic life, I hope we all remember that art is not merely the window dressing of our lives, but is key to our health and happiness.