Art Basel, the world-renowned international art fair, has announced the return of its full-scale program for its Hong Kong show. The 2023 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong will feature 177 galleries from 32 countries, making it the largest show in the city since the pandemic began; there were 242 exhibitors in 2019 and 130 in 2022.
The 10th edition of the fair will take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from March 23 to March 25, 2023, with preview days on March 21 and 22. This year’s program will include Encounters, Kabinett, Conversations, and Film, as well as a sector for monumental works and a new site-specific commission by Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist.
Art Basel’s upcoming show will feature a variety of exciting sectors, including Encounters, which is returning after its absence in 2019. Curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor, this sector will showcase 13 large-scale installations under the theme “This present, moment.” These installations aim to explore how we can be present as individuals and as a collective in the current moment’s singularity and precarity. Highlights include “Trolley Party,” a serene interior installation by Jaffa Lam, and “Solitude of Silences,” which portrays laborers and their uncertainty about the value of their work.
Conversations is another exciting sector of the program, offering a platform for provoking conversations between members of the global art world from March 22–25. With over 85 speakers, including international artists, curators, gallerists, critics, and collectors, the program is free of admission.
The Film program will also be open to the public free of change. The list of 29 videography works includes “MEMORIA” by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and screenings curated by Thailand-based Ghost 2565 and Hong Kong-based Videotage.
Kabinett is another section of the four-day fair program, which is dedicated to thematic solo presentations within galleries’ main booths. Fifteen galleries will participate, with a strong focus on Asia.
Lastly, Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist’s new site-specific moving image work, “Hand Me Your Trust,” commissioned by M+, will take over the M+ Facade.
More than two-thirds of galleries participating in the 2023 fair have exhibiting spaces in the region, with 33 galleries having exhibition spaces in Hong Kong. This highlights Art Basel’s commitment to showcasing art from its host city and across the Asia Pacific region.
Vernissage (private viewing), multi-day passes, and day tickets from HK$320 are available on the Art Basel website.
Image credits: Courtesy Art Basel
