Beyond Art Basel Hong Kong: free events at M+, Tai Kwun, HKCEC and Eaton HK

As well as ticketed events Art Basel and Art Central, free happenings this Art Week include talks about the role of tech and AI in the art world, installations, workshops and experimental music shows

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A still from Chulayrnnon Siriphol’s How to Explain Monument to the Fourth International to the Dead Golden Snail. Photo: Eaton

Published: 6:15am, 26 Mar 2025Updated: 10:28am, 27 Mar 2025

March is Arts Month in Hong Kong, the city drawing in the global art crowd with its most important art fairs of the year. But as we all know, art is not confined to just gallery walls and exhibition halls. From Art Basel Hong Kong’s public programme to satellite installations across the city, there are plenty of other art-related events that are, best of all, freely accessible to the public. Here are just a few of the highlights.

Art Basel public programme

Going well beyond the show floor, Art Basel Hong Kong includes a curated schedule of film screenings, panel discussions, experimental presentations and off-site installations that are open to all, as well as the highly visible M+ digital facade that lights up the city by night.

Curated for the first time by local independent art institution Para Site – and presented in collaboration with cultural video channel Nowness Asia, as well as Videotage, a non-profit organisation dedicated to video art – this year’s Art Basel Hong Kong Film programme features seven screenings and the works of 30 artists. Screenings take place throughout the week at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Themes include ecological interdependence, resilience amid societal constraints, human desire, and the technology shaping our interconnected lives.

For lively debates on the key topics shaping the art world today, don’t miss Art Basel Hong Kong’s flagship talks programme, Conversations. Curated by Stephanie Bailey, series highlights include how arts patronage is evolving in Southeast Asia, the role of tech and AI in the art world, and an exclusive talk with Ho Tzu Nyen, the artist behind this year’s M+ Facade commission. All talks will be conducted in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, with simultaneous translation available.

On the move? Drop by Exchange Circle at Art Basel Hong Kong, located at HKCEC’s Level 1 Concourse, for short and experimental presentations including artist talks, discussions, lectures, signings and workshops. Or take a break from shopping at Pacific Place at the off-site Encounters installation – a blend of sculpture and performance art inspired by metamorphosis called Lanternfly Ballet, by Zurich-based artist Monster Chetwynd.

M+ and Tai Kwun

M+ museum of visual arts will highlight film during Art Month. Photo: M+

Over in West Kowloon, the M+ Facade will showcase Night Charades by Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen every night from Saturday, March 22, for three months. Co-commissioned by Art Basel and M+, the work pays tribute to the golden age of Hong Kong cinema and will be continuously edited in real time by an AI algorithm. In addition, M+ will screen five of Ho’s most seminal films during the month of March.