Since the concept of the M+ Museum was proposed, it has always been seen as Hong Kong’s most ambitious cultural project. It officially started construction in 2015 and took 5 years to finally complete in the second quarter of last year. After a long wait, the official announcement was finally made that M+ Museum will officially open to the public on November 12th, and will offer free admission to Hong Kong residents in its first year. Everyone is eagerly anticipating what this new 40-hectare cultural hub will present in terms of contemporary art collections and cultural experiences!
M+ as a brand new museum, focuses on showcasing visual arts, design, architecture, moving images of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as visual culture in Hong Kong. In addition to hosting world-class exhibitions, the cultural district will also offer various types of performance programs and cultural arts theaters. Newly commissioned works and collections by M+ will be displayed in 33 galleries and other exhibition spaces, primarily showcasing the development of visual culture from the 1950s to the present, along with its rich and colorful stories.
The most anticipated aspect of the museum opening is the scale of the exhibits! M+ has a huge collection, having gathered contemporary art pieces, archives, and film-related items since 2012. The collection now totals 6413 pieces, with the Higg collection totaling 1510 pieces.
At the highly anticipated opening exhibition in November, we will see 6 thematic exhibitions. The “Hong Kong: Here and Beyond” gallery showcases the city’s evolution and unique visual culture from the 1960s to the present day; the works in “M+ Sigg Collection: From the Great Revolution to Globalization” demonstrate the development of contemporary Chinese art from the 1970s to the 2000s; “Objects · Spaces · Interactions” explores international design and architecture over the past 70 years by theme and chronology; “Individuals · Origins · Expressions” examines the narrative of post-war international visual arts from an Asian perspective; “Antony Gormley: Asian Fields” showcases a large installation composed of tens of thousands of clay sculptures. Finally, “Dreams of the Museum” explores global conceptual art within the unique Asian context constructed by M+, with a very rich content!
In addition to the main exhibition hall, M+ also has public spaces, including the M+ façade, grand staircase, performance spaces, rooftop garden, and “hidden space” square meters, but the exhibition space already covers 17,000 square meters. In addition, the venue also has three theaters, a multimedia center, a “schoolhouse,” a research center, two museum shops, as well as restaurants, cafes, and a rooftop garden with views of Victoria Harbour. The south-facing exterior wall of the building is a screen with over 5,000 LED light tubes that can display a rich variety of media images. When the lights are on, they echo the urban landscape of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island.
The opening of M+ is significant, both in terms of conception and design, marking Hong Kong’s ambition to promote local and even contemporary art development. With the museum’s opening, Hong Kong is believed to welcome a new landmark, creating an outstanding global contemporary visual cultural museum for Hong Kong citizens and global visitors. Let’s wait and see, looking forward to November!
Image source and learn more: M+ Museum
