This week, the jet set of collectors, gallery owners and museum heads are meeting at Art HK 12, Asia's biggest art fair. The organizers are expecting over 60,000 guests. So where is the art to be found in this financial metropolis? A frantic day in Hong Kong by tram, taxi and ferry.
Art HK 12 kicks off
Victoria Harbor, 9 am
Although lots of money is earnt and spent in Hong Kong, art never played a great role. The city doesn't even boast a museum of great renown. China's art scene has revolved around Beijing and Shanghai. However, the city has great ambitions. This ferry goes from Hong Kong Harbor to West Kowloon, where Asia's biggest museum is going to be built.
Art HK 12 kicks off
West Kowloon, 10 am
Tobias Berger is one of the cultural managers behind the M+ museum project. Although the architect has yet to be chosen, the museum is due to become Asia's biggest center for visual arts, film, design and architecture.
Art HK 12 kicks off
West Kowloon Cultural District
The monumental financial towers and apartment blocks overlook West Kowloon Cultural District. Apart from Museum M+, which is due to open in 2017, an opera house, concert halls and dance stages are planned to populate the harbor area. Only 20 percent of the surface has been allocated to shopping - surprisingly little for Hong Kong.
Art HK 12 kicks off
The fair at 2 pm
An exclusive private view! Neugerriemschneider is just one of the prestigious galleries displaying art at this year's fair. Ai Weiwei's blobs of oil seem to have dropped from Olafur Eliasson's objects in the starry sky, while Pae White's tapestries obscure the view. Over 50 percent of the galleries are Asian.
Art HK 12 kicks off
Convention center, 3 pm
Zaha Hadid's "Liquid Glacial" is at once a work of art and a table. With its price tag of 380,000 US dollars, Art HK12 is banking on Asia's new magnates.
Art HK 12 kicks off
Sichuan earthquake
Freedom of artistic expression. Urs Meile, a Beijing-based gallery, is showing a work by Ai Weiwei. The installation comprises documents and lists featuring the names of the 5,200 victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Art HK 12 kicks off
Fo Tan, 5 pm
In a bleak industrial complex in the suburb of Fo Tan, two pioneers of the local art scene are working on their new piece. Sara Wong Chi Hang and Chi Wo Leung co-founded Hong Kong's first space for contemporary art in the 1990s - "Para/Site". They hope to benefit from the current hype about art in Hong Kong.
Art HK 12 kicks off
Hong Kong Island, 6 pm
Chinese art - from porcelain to contemporary works - has been selling at record prices for about a decade now. Most of it is auctioned off by Sotheby's or Christie's. Thanks to Hong Kong, more art is sold in China than in New York or London.
Art HK 12 kicks off
Hong Kong Central, 7 pm
Butterflies at the Gagosian Gallery: The private view of its Andreas Gursky exhibition is beginning in just a few minutes. The Gagosian is one of the most important galleries in the world. It recently opened a branch in Hong Kong hoping to cash in on Asia's boom.
Art HK 12 kicks off
Hong Kong Central, 8 pm
Musing in front of an Andreas Gursky. The exhibition - the German artist's first in Asia ever - runs through June 16.
Art HK 12 kicks off
By taxi to Kowloon, 9 pm
Not all art has to be flown into Hong Kong however. A lot of it is already here. In Kowloon, a more run-down area with street markets on the edge of the red light district, there is plenty. During the art fair, Museum M+ wants to show it is already live and kicking before even having opened.
Art HK 12 kicks off
Yau Ma Tei, 11 pm
The exhibition is open! An empty store in the middle of Kowloon is the location. The M+ project has created a "nomadic" tour of six places in Yau Ma Tei with works by young artists. It seems a bit like Berlin or New York.
Art HK 12 kicks off
Yau Ma Tei, midnight
Yu Lik-wai is scaring midnight visitors with his installation Fantomas. Outside, the day has come to an end with wine and spicy meatballs. The euphoria will go on to May 20 and beyond...
