Major Museums Announce Global Collaboration
By Camilla Alvarez-Chow
On March 14, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) in Hong Kong announced that 22 arts and cultural institutions from around the world will sign Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to cover diverse forms of collaboration and partnerships. The agreement will be finalized during the Hong Kong International Cultural Summit (HKICS) that will be held from March 24 to 26 at the West Kowloon Cultural District.
The MOU signatories include international museums, conservation and art research institutes, art centers, film archives, theaters and theater associations from 11 countries, spanning Europe, East Asia, West Asia, and the United States. Among the partners to the agreements are M+ in Hong Kong, the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, Tate in London, and the Sharjah Art Foundation in the United Arab Emirates.
The MOUs concern the cooperation between institutions to co-produce and organize tours of exhibitions, share collections, partner on conservation initiatives, digitize and execute scientific research. Additional agreements will develop educational and exchange programs for art administrators and artists across Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM), M+, and the performing arts division of WKCDA.
The chairman of the board of WKCDA Henry Tang Ying-yen stated: “We anticipate that the collaborations will take global arts and cultural discourse to the next level, sparking a new era of creativity and cultural connectivity for Hong Kong and reinforcing the [WKCDA]’s vision of strengthening Hong Kong’s strategic role as the East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange.”
Camilla Alvarez-Chow is an editorial assistant at ArtAsiaPacific.