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...

Author: Rainer Traube / act | Editor: Shamil Shams

Last stop: Bantar Gebang dump

Dangerous work

Muhaemin, 67, worked as a ragpicker at Bantar Gebang for 35 years. He retired two years ago. His children got him to quit, convincing him that working at the dump was too dangerous. Now he lives off of what little savings he has. As a resident of Bantar Gebang he is not entitled to receive financial help from the state.

Last stop: Bantar Gebang dump

All in the family

Muhaemin lives in a small makeshift hut with his family. His children were taken out of school to work to help the family out financially. Like their parents, the children dig through the pungent garbage from morning until night in search of things that can be used or sold.

Last stop: Bantar Gebang dump

From morning until night

Dayini, who is 56 years old, is originally from a neighboring province. She sits all day in her makeshift tent and sorts plastic bags. She and her husband sell five baskets of plastic garbage each day and earn around 30,000 rupiah (around two euros).

Last stop: Bantar Gebang dump

Health risks

The working conditions at the dump are catastrophic. Unprotected, the workers there are exposed to dangerous objects and substances mixed in with the trash. Many of the ragmen get respiratory diseases, skin rashes and diarrhea. But Davini does not fear getting sick. She is proud that she has never been sick.

Last stop: Bantar Gebang dump

Money trouble

Dayini's husband Rasja, who is 67 years old, makes extra money sewing plastic bags for other ragpickers. Not long ago, he used most of his savings to pay off his debts. Debts accumulate quickly as borrowing is often the only way to get by.

Last stop: Bantar Gebang dump

Bitter poverty

Rasja and Dayini live in a wooden hut just a few hundred meters away from the dump. There is no sanitation, no running water. Most of the items found in their kitchen are recycled garbage. A large part of their meals consist of leftovers they find in the rubbish.

Last stop: Bantar Gebang dump

Hoping for a better life

Rasja and Dayini hope for a better life when they retire. They wish to return to their village if they manage to save enough money. But they still have quite a few working years ahead.

Author: Ritzki Nugraha/sb | Editor: Shamil Shams