Art Basel Hong Kong Is Primed for 2025
By Louis Lu
It’s coming… March 2025. Courtesy Art Basel.
It’s still five months away, but the region’s largest and most prestigious art fair, Art Basel Hong Kong (ABHK), has officially announced its exhibitor list and programming highlights for 2025. Set to take place from March 28–30 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), the 2025 edition will feature 242 galleries from 42 countries and territories, with more than half of the participating galleries from Asia-Pacific regions. Accompanying the fair, the M+ Facade in West Kowloon will feature Singaporean artist and filmmaker Ho Tzu Nyen’s commissioned moving-image work, Night Charades (2025), based on iconic scenes from Hong Kong cinema.
This year, 23 new galleries will participate in the fair, with exhibitors from Cape Town, Berlin, and New York joining the Galleries sector, while the Asia-focused Insights sector will feature newcomers from Hong Kong, Noida, and Melbourne. Several galleries are set to host solo presentations, including Lawrie Shabibi (Dubai), showcasing vibrant, nature-inspired paintings and sculptures by Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, an important figure in the United Arab Emirates’s avant-garde scene; Rossi & Rossi (Hong Kong), exhibiting ceramics and calligraphy by the late Iranian-born Siah Armajani; and Ronchini Gallery (London), presenting works by Japanese artist Katsumi Nakai.
Interior aisles at Art Basel Hong Kong in March 2024. Courtesy Art Basel.
Ten galleries will make their debut in the Discoveries sector, which spotlights solo projects by emerging artists. Mocube (Beijing) will present Zhu Tian’s performance, video installations, and speculative philosophical texts, while Sweetwater (Berlin) will feature a solo multimedia project by Kayode Ojo that explores the versatile motif of the necklace, highlighted by a large-scale hanging sculpture made of flutes. Hong Kong’s Property Holdings Development Group will unveil an interactive installation by Michele Chu that resembles a home kitchen. A new MGM Discoveries Art Prize will award one gallery and artist USD 50,000 along with the opportunity to exhibit their work in one of the casino-resort venues in Macau.
Highlighting artistic voices from the Asia-Pacific region, the Insights sector will feature 24 curated projects, with historic photography taking center stage. Galleries will present innovative photographic practices from Asia from the 1970s to the present, including Flowers Gallery’s (London/Hong Kong) immersive multimedia installation by the artist duo Birdhead, reflecting rapid societal change in China; and Each Modern’s (Taipei) showcase of the legendary Provoke group leader Nakahira Takuma’s oeuvre. Newcomers, including Hong Kong galleries Contemporary by Angela Li and SC Gallery, will spotlight local artists whose works explore sociopolitical themes and utilize innovative approaches to traditional media.
For the first time, Art Basel Hong Kong will collaborate with Hong Kong independent nonprofit Para Site on the Film sector. “Moving image today has the power to bridge multi-sensory worlds together and open up new possibilities for artistic expression,” said executive director Billy Tang, “We look forward to taking a collaborative approach to further activate the program beyond the fair.”
Preview days begin on March 26 and 27, amid Hong Kong’s annual Art Month.
Louis Lu is associate editor at ArtAsiaPacific.
