Thursday, 18 April 2013
4.30pm to 11.30pm
• 70 Galleries
• 23 Restaurants and Bars
• 17 Artwalk Extras
• HK Gallery Week
Its ArtWalk night tomorrow – night of art exploration all over Hong Kong with a purpose. In its 13th year, this is probably the longest running art event that has sustained over the years and passed the test of resilience in cultivating art culture in Hong Kong, whilst being the biggest annual charity art event in the city. It is also a supporter of the annual graduation exhibitions of Hong Kong fine arts students.
The annual event began in 2001 and was organised by HK Magazine (http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/hong-kong-artwalk-remembers-its-roots/) , followed by Hong Kong Commercial Art Galleries Association (HKCAGA), subsequently by Hong Kong galleries, and now by John Batten the Hong Kong-based writer, art critic, curator and organiser.
Clearly the arts community is making Hong Kong Art Walk a must have event which has become part of the culture in this creative world. This is after all an art fair on the truly unique streets of Hong Kong, embedding art into the local culture and vice versa.
The “Artwalk EXTRA” segment this year features 17 events that promote Hong Kong artists in their works via special installations, sculptures and creative concepts. Browsing through the list, several events caught our attention – the Absolut Vodka blank canvas, the 100ft Park and the Art Bus. Who will be painting the AV blank canvas and how will this turn out? How do you turn a bus into a pop up cinema? What will the special sculptures and installations be at AW2013? Will public art really take off this time?
We are also very pleased that AW2013 continues its highly successful fundraising to the Society for Community Organization. So far HKD5.4million has been raised and donated to SOCO for policy research work, among other initiatives. This year SOCO also has a feature slot – Home, Street Home, an exhibition by photographer Lei Jih-sheng at the Schoeni Gallery.
Here is what the ArtWalk ticket gets you, in addition to visual treats at the galleries:
• Free ‘finger food’ by participating galleries and sponsoring restaurants.
• Absolut Vodka voucher
• Wines sponsored and served by each gallery
• Absolut Vodka in selected galleries
• BrewDog beer and Solé mineral water (donated by Solar Max)
• Donation to the Society for Community Organization (SoCO).
Check out ArtWalk 2011 on video:
This year’s Art Walk will also launch the Hong Kong Gallery Week which will be held from 19th – 27th April across Hong Kong. The week-long event builds on the Art Walk energy and further introduces artists to the art world. “Meet the Artist” sessions are held in several galleries during the week, giving the public the chance (its free by the way!) to get to know the artist and their work better.
For ticketing information and further information, visit http://www.hongkongartwalk.com
ArtQulture 