Art Basel gives welcome exposure to Wong Chuk Hang artists
South Island Art Night sees galleries, studios and artists throw open their doors and stage a rooftop party
As with the weekend's Chai Wan Mei arts festival, studios, galleries and resident artists in another part of Hong Kong Island - centred on Wong Chuk Hang in Southern district - opened their doors to the public to coincide with the Art Basel Hong Kong fair.
Presented by the South Island Cultural District, a collective of over 20 galleries and studios in the industrial districts of Wong Chuk Hang, Tin Wan and Ap Lei Chau, the South Island Art Night included a very popular rooftop party co-organised by Blindspot Gallery and Clockenflap.
At one end of the Wong Chuk Hang arts community, Meg Maggio counted around 300 visitors to her gallery on Sunday when the five-hour event was held.
“Ninety per cent of the visitors are local,” said Maggie, the director of Pékin Fine Arts. “Wong Chuk Hang is very close to Causeway Bay and Wan Chai, and [local] people feel very comfortable coming here. And we have the mainland [Chinese] visitors: all we have to say to them is that this is next to Ocean Park.”
Apart from offering people the opportunity to visit a broad range of art spaces over a single evening, the event has brought art professionals in the area together, Maggio believes.
