How Hong Kong Arts Collective provides opportunities and community for the city’s creatives
As Hong Kong continues to solidify its status as Asia’s arts capital, creative hub HKArts is shining a light on local artists like Sophia Hotung, Kitty N. Wong, Michael Kan and Pete Ross
Born in Hong Kong, founder Pete Ross is an architect and award-winning artist with a keen interest in socio-urban interactions and a passion for nurturing the visual arts in the city.
“At the time [before founding HKArts], a small group of us were working as artists and freelancers and had some success […] but we all found it incredibly tough,” says Ross. “Finding galleries [and other] artists, and trying to tap into the art scene was quite difficult, as it was all very underground – and elements of it still are. We often met to pool our resources and share opportunities, which is when we thought of first creating a collective.”
HKArts became a way for Ross and fellow artists to address these needs: “I don’t think we are like a traditional gallery [set-up] … I prefer to think of us as part of the art ecosystem that helps Hong Kong artists find local galleries and vice versa. We also provide fine art printing and informative resources for aspiring and professional artists alike,” he says.