Entrance Hall of the museumHong Kong Museum of Art before renovationSculpture in grounds of HK Museum of Art
The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is the first and main art museum of Hong Kong, located in Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. It is a public museum managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government. HKMoA has an art collection of over 17,000 items. Admission is free for permanent exhibitions.[1] Its rival is the non-government-managed Hong Kong Arts Centre. These two museums are considered to be the top two art museums in Hong Kong that dictate the discourse of art in Hong Kong.[2][3]
The Museum of History moved to Kowloon Park in 1983.[6] Before leaving City Hall in 1991, the art museum occupied the 8th (rear portion), 9th, 10th, and 11th storeys of the High Block.[7] These floors now house a public library. In 1991, it was moved to the present premises at 10 Salisbury Road, near the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and the Hong Kong Space Museum, in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The new museum was formally inaugurated by Governor Chris Patten on 11 September 1992.
The museum closed on 3 August 2015 for a $400 million expansion and renovation.[8][9][10] It reopened on 30 November 2019.[11]
Exhibitions
The museum changes its displays regularly. The exhibitions in the museum are mainly of paintings, calligraphy and sculpture from Hong Kong, China and other parts of the world. It has cooperated with other museums as well.
From 25 May to 4 July 1962, the museum (then still named the Hong Kong City Hall Museum and Art Gallery) held the major exhibition, Hong Kong Art Today. It was significant as the first exhibition with Hong Kong art as its theme.[12] The exhibition also reflected how naturalism in art had become passé and that abstract art was favoured at that moment in time.
Since 1975, the museum has hosted the Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition featuring the work of contemporary Hong Kong artists.[13] It was renamed the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Awards in 2009.[14]
^黎家怡 (5 August 2020). "【何慶基榮休專訪】志趣逢時 回流策展教學逾三十年". 立場新聞. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2021. 何慶基[Professor Oscar Ho]指,城內藝術論述當時主要由香港藝術館和香港藝術中心分庭抗禮。前者比較「保守」,後者較受年輕人關注,「當時藝術中心話俾你聽乜嘢係藝術,嗰啲嘢就會被視為藝術」
^"About the Museum". Hong Kong Museum of Art. Leisure and Cultural Services Department. 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.