Everything you need to know about Art Basel Hong Kong 2023: the cultural extravaganza returns to HKCEC with its biggest event in 4 years, with panel talks, public installations and film screenings

Mar 17, 2023

Art Basel Hong Kong returned to a hybrid format in 2021, and is preparing for its biggest physical event yet in 2023. Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images

From March 23 to March 25, Art Basel will open its doors to the public with its biggest instalment since 2019, set across 2 floors of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

The event will feature 177 galleries from 32 countries and territories, plus off-site public art at Pacific Place and film screenings including Memoria with Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton

Hong Kong’s cultural landscape might have suffered a muted few years, but despite the odds, the art world has proved surprisingly resilient. Quick to adjust to the changing world, Art Basel launched online viewing rooms in 2020 with its first digital-only fair, followed a year later with a hybrid format which attracted the support of both international galleries and spectators. This year, the annual art extravaganza returns with its biggest instalment since 2019, set once again across two floors of the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre. Visitors can check exhibits from a sole-testing 177 galleries from 32 countries and territories when public viewing opens from March 23 to March 25.

“While the experience of seeing art in person cannot be replaced, we did witness a number of digital elements [which] have proven to be beneficial and complementary to our physical show,” says Angelle Siyang-Le, the new director of Art Basel Hong Kong. Siyang-Le – who previously oversaw the development of Greater China for Art Basel – took the reins in November 2022 from Adeline Ooi, who now oversees other initiatives as the regional director for Art Basel Asia. Today, digital initiatives are not a necessity owing to restrictions; they are a means “to connect to the broadest possible audiences,” says Siyang-Le.

Angelle Siyang-Le, director of Art Basel Hong Kong. Photo: Art Basel