Global Impact: caution over economy, national security law looms over Hong Kong’s ‘Art March’ as city seeks to paint a better picture

Name: Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 opens as city boosts mega-events to draw visitors
Uploaded: 2024-04-01T06:00:20.000Z
Duration: 3 min 44 s
Description: Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 opens as city boosts mega-events to draw visitors

Global Impact is a weekly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world

In this week’s issue, we take a look at Hong Kong’s ‘Art March, as the city seeks to hang on to its tag as Asia’s commercial art hub

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Kevin Kwong

Published: 2:00pm, 1 Apr 2024

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Google “commercial art hub in Asia” and Hong Kong will top the search results. How that translates in reality is harder to gauge, given the 2019 anti-government protests and strict Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in the subsequent three years had tarnished the city’s reputation.

Rival cities, including Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and even Shenzhen, have either hosted or introduced arts events to position themselves as the destination for buyers and collectors from around the region.

This week’s Art Basel Hong Kong, which ended on Saturday, left little doubt that the city is still Asia’s premier art hub – at least for now.

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Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 opens as city boosts mega-events to draw visitors

The fair received a more international crowd compared with last year and early sales were brisk for bigger galleries, such as Hauser & Wirth and David Zwirner, during the VIP preview day early in the week.

But the overall mood was one of caution, as China is still grappling with property market woes, which have tough implications not only for the country’s economy, but also the global luxury goods sector. Many believe the art market will not be spared.

According to the Art Market Report 2024, released by UBS and Art Basel this month, sales in China in the second half of 2023 were “considerably slower, with projections of weaker economic growth and a persistent real estate slump weighing on demand”.

But the report also pointed out that while the United States remains the leading market worldwide, accounting for 42 per cent of sales by value, China – including the mainland and Hong Kong – had overtaken the UK to become the second-largest global art market, with its share rising to 19 per cent.