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Art

Art
News and insight on trends in fine art, art auctions and leading artists
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Visitors feel the weight of the Forbidden City as they step through its gates. Photo: Getty Images

Power behind the throne: why the Forbidden City was built to intimidate

How the stone, timber, symmetry and sheer size of a 600-year-old complex made Beijing’s imperial kingdom feel almost divine.

Reading Time:5 minutes
Floating seafood restaurants at the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter.

Reflections | The uncertain origins of Hong Kong’s Tanka people

Reading Time:1 minute
The ancient temples of Angkor Wat provide a stunning backdrop for the Angkor Empire Marathon. Photo: Cambodia Tourism Board

Why Cambodia’s Angkor marathons are a big winner with runners from around the world

In partnership with:Cambodia Tourism Board
Reading Time:4 minutes
Blue Box Cafe in Tiffany & Co’s Causeway Bay store. Photo: Blue Box Cafe

Hong Kong’s hottest new openings, from steakhouse Don Pedro to modern Chinese haute cuisine at Joyn

Reading Time:2 minutes
The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum offers a deep dive into the history and future of Chinese and global science-fiction. Photo: Getty Images

Tomorrow’s world: museums, art spaces and tech-hubs from Shenzhen to Spain that help broaden the mind

Reading Time:6 minutes
Sophia the singing robot and Johnny Poon, conductor and dean of creative arts at the Hong Kong Baptist University. Photo: Alexander Mak

Sophia the robot learns to sing as Hong Kong teaches androids the joys of music

Reading Time:7 minutes
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Content from SCMP's Specialist Publications
Czech artist and “coral gardener” Marketa Kolarova is pictured at her Ma Wan 1868 residency holding plaster moulds of her hands that will be added to works that will be unveiled at an exhibition on site on July 12, 2026. Photo: Enid Tsui
What to do in Hong Kong

Why is Hong Kong’s Ma Wan 1868 playing host to 5 Czech artists? We take a visit

During an open studio weekend, the artists are absorbed in making new works that draw inspiration from the surrounding natural landscape.

What to do in Hong Kong

Ecology, meet art: the history of Tai Mo Shan unearthed in new exhibition

LGBTQ

Hong Kong LGBTQ community braves storm to recall pre-internet-era memories

LGBTQ

World’s first Chinese LGBTQ museum spotlights overlooked community

Out Museum in San Francisco’s Chinatown gives artists from China and the Chinese diaspora a platform to tell their stories.

OUT Museum founder Xiangqi Chen looks toward “Collective Notation,” an interactive installation displayed at the Chinatown museum, Monday, June 22, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
The Future of Marketing in Asia

In this age of digital bombardment, outdoor ads are a superpower

The city’s ubiquitous billboards are not battling the smartphone for consumer attention, they’re embracing it.

Food and Drinks

Your Hong Kong weekend drinks guide for June 25-27

Phnom Penh’s Sora pops up at Terrible Baby, Bangkok’s Sundry takes over Friday After Class, and Shakespeare-inspired Madara cocktails land at Alibi.

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Chinese culture

Lauded Chinese artist Shao Fan on his journey and seeking ‘a sense of presence’

Shao talks about early inspiration and moving from oil to sculpture to ink as two exhibitions in London and Guangzhou highlight his works.

Chinese contemporary artist Shao Fan currently has two solo exhibitions showing his work, from ink paintings to furniture sculptures. “Refrain” at White Cube Mason’s Yard in London runs until June 27, while “The Nature of Things” at Mirrored Gardens in Guangzhou runs until June 28. Photo: Shao Fan
Tourism

‘Really powerful’: how Yoko Ono’s Wish Trees are helping US city voice hopes

Wish Trees for Los Angeles invites people to jot down their hopes on paper tags and tie them to the trees, drawing as many as 800 a day.

Architecture and design

What is Chinese dreamcore? Hong Kong show leans into millennial anxiety

An exhibition at Gold in Wong Chuk Hang dives deep into the dreamcore subgenre given rise to by mainland China’s rapid urbanisation.

Architecture and design

The tea towel’s luxe transformation, from kitchen staple to Burberry styles

From hand-printed Italian linens to Hong Kong keepsakes, the dishcloth has transcended its humble origins to become a genuine design object.

Mungo tea towels. Photo: Handout
Los Angeles

David Hockney and his love affair with Los Angeles

David Hockney immortalised Los Angeles through his paintings of swimming pools, palms and sunny homes.

British artist David Hockney, with one of his dogs in his arms, at home in Los Angeles, California, in 1987. Photo: Getty Images
Greater Bay Area

Meet the young collectors shaking up the art scene in China’s Greater Bay Area

From Hong Kong to Shenzhen and Guangzhou, a new generation of collectors is emerging who are more keen to share their art with the public.

What to do in Hong Kong

Rare chance to see 2 pioneering American artists’ light works in Hong Kong

The exhibitions of James Turrell (at Gagosian) and Dan Flavin (David Zwirner) offer an intriguing dialogue on light as a physical material.

Obituaries

Britain’s David Hockney, a giant of contemporary art, dies aged 88

A major artist of the 20th and 21st centuries, he continued painting, experimenting and exhibiting right up until his death.

Artist David Hockney poses for a picture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in April 2018. Photo: TNS
Performing arts in Hong Kong

12 must-see Hong Kong shows and arts events in 2026

From the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical to a show from Taiwanese dance company Cloud Gate, there’s lots on from now until December.

The Hong Kong premiere of Lunar Halo by Taiwan’s legendary dance theatre Cloud Gate will take place at the Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District on July 10, 2026. Photo: WestK
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Hong Kong animations are finally turning heads. Meet the artists behind them

Hong Kong animators making waves at global festivals talk about growing the city’s niche but resilient industry and the challenges they face.

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United States

Dan Flavin’s luminous legacy shines in Hong Kong’s first solo exhibition

The American artist’s minimalist light grids debut in Hong Kong, showcasing Flavin’s pioneering use of fluorescent lamps.

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Hong Kong

At Art Basel Hong Kong, 3 artists reimagined the ancient art of Chinese ink

Xu Jiong, Chao Chung-hsiang and Tang Chang brought calligraphy and ink landscapes with Western sensibilities to the fair.

Untitled (Lotus) by Tang Chang demonstrates an abstract approach to traditional ink art imagery. Photo: Handout
What to do in Hong Kong

At 92, British artist Frank Bowling is still trying to make the best painting ever

In his nineties, Frank Bowling defies age with his vibrant abstract art, as seen in his new Hong Kong exhibition, his first solo show in East Asia.

Artificial intelligence

Meet Rick Dick, the AI artist blurring reality with playful imagery – interview

The 30-something Italian’s works, like his mock American Vogue cover and Met Gala fashion imagery, have drawn approval from his Instagram followers.

Travel news and advice

5 hot places and happenings to check out this summer

Explore Versace at a Paris museum, view Arthur Elgort’s photos in Los Angeles, shop at Selfridges, relax at Sant Roch sauna, and peruse The Mark Hotel’s new book.

Visit The Beverley Hills Hotel this summer to see an exhibition of works by celebrated fashion photographer Arthur Elgort. Photo: Handout
Food and Drinks

Your Hong Kong weekend drinks guide for June 4-6

Socio collaborates with Avallen on apple-themed cocktails, Beefbar hosts Macau’s Two Moons, and K11 Musea throws a party to conclude its Sky Bar.

Socio’s collaboration with Avallen yields three drinks, all called the Apple, but with different flavour profiles. Photo: Handout
Architecture and design

Marcel Wanders: from knotted chairs to Moooi’s new Shanghai showroom – interview

The Dutch designer champions fun over mere functionality as he introduces the Moooi brand to China and aims to explore cultural individuality.

Art Basel

How a 2000 Takashi Murakami exhibition led to the Labubus of today

From Tokyo’s anime aesthetic to Hong Kong’s latest art toy craze, the Superflat style has spawned a host of cultural phenomena.

Tourism

James McNeill Whistler’s Asian muse: Chinese ceramics and Japanese fans

Chinese pottery and textiles and Japanese crafts profoundly influenced James McNeill Whistler’s work, as seen in a retrospective at Tate Britain.

Chinese porcelain appears in Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of the Six Marks (1864). Photo: Getty Images
Taiwan

This digital ‘puppet’ critiques a screen-obsessed world at Venice Biennale

Li Yi-fan, a video artist from Taiwan, is making waves with his creepy and funny avatars that question the way we see the world around us.

A scene from “Screen Melancholy” (2026), by Li Yi-fan, for the Taiwan collateral event at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Li's digital puppet critiques our screen-obsessed era. Photo: courtesy of the artist and Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Italy

French museum reports theft of banana from multimillion-dollar artwork

Pompidou-Metz museum contacts police after a guard notices Maurizio Cattelan’s iconic duct-taped centrepiece has vanished.

Italy

Milan restores bull mosaic’s bits worn down by an unusual tradition

Craftsman rebuilds animal’s cratered anatomy after visitors wear down the 19th century floor with their heels.

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