Hong Kong’s M+ museum, MoMA sign first-of-its-kind collaboration deal

M+ is also set to hold special exhibition showcasing over 200 works by renowned Chinese-French abstract painter Zao Wou-Ki

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M+ director Suhanya Raffel signs the agreement with her MoMA counterpart, Glenn Lowry. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:00am, 20 Feb 2025Updated: 9:04pm, 28 Feb 2025

Hong Kong’s M+ museum has signed an agreement with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York to collaborate in several areas in the first such deal between the famed US institution and an Asian counterpart, which comes amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

Separately, the visual arts museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District said on Wednesday it would hold a special exhibition showcasing more than 200 works by renowned Chinese-French abstract painter Zao Wou-Ki in December. Hong Kong holds the biggest collection of the late artist’s work outside France.

M+ revealed that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with MoMA on Tuesday to foster collaboration in areas such as curatorial research and exchange, conservation, programme sharing and talent development.

The museum will showcase more than 200 works by the late Zao Wou-Ki. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

The partnership comes amid worsening Sino-US relations since President Donald Trump took office last month. He imposed an additional 10 per cent tariff on imports from Hong Kong and mainland China in a move that places an extra burden on the city’s manufacturers and exporters.

Trump is also planning tariffs on all of the US’ trade partners.

“[The MOU] represents the beginning of a fruitful partnership between the two esteemed institutions, built on a shared commitment to international collaboration, cultural exchange and museum development,” M+ said.

MoMA, set up in 1929, is one of the world’s most famous museums and has a 200,000-item collection that includes masterpieces such as Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night and Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.

M+ is relatively new, opening in 2021. M+ director Suhanya Raffel signed the agreement with her MoMA counterpart, Glenn Lowry.