Art in the New Hong Kong: A City in Between

This is a fascinating analysis of the history, current status and possible future of Hong Kong as an international art hub. Enid Tsui presents a balanced and insightful picture of recent changes in the city which was once the poster-child of artistic freedom in Asia as well as the undisputed leader of the region’s booming contemporary-art market. Some of Hong Kong’s traditional advantages look precarious following new laws imposed by China curbing freedom of expression and the city’s long period of isolation during Covid-19. Yet despite the growing uncertainties over the ’red lines’ of censorship, there are more world-class art institutions in the city than ever before and the market has proved resilient, with international auction houses and galleries continuing to expand their presence there. This book lifts the lid on a diverse art scene in a city of fascinating contradictions: a former British colony where artists have long been inspired by the interplay between east and west, and where the new M+ museum and other venues have to tread a tightrope between celebrating a distinct and vibrant culture based on different influences and abiding by the new national security regime.

Enid Tsui is Arts Editor of the South China Morning Post and oversees the newspaper’s visual and performing-arts coverage. Originally a financial journalist, she began her coverage of the art market when she was the Financial Times’s Hong Kong correspondent. She has a master’s degree in Art History and has published research on the late Thai artist Tang Chang.