Cover Claire Hsu and Benjamin Vuchot at China Club on November 6 (Photo: courtesy of Asia Art Archive)
Claire Hsu and Benjamin Vuchot at China Club on November 6 (Photo: courtesy of Asia Art Archive)
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Paddles aloft and with cheers ringing out, Hong Kong’s art community came together at The China Club for Asia Art Archive’s annual fundraising dinner, an evening of live and silent auctions, old friends and one very popular sale
There are fundraising dinners, and then there are evenings that feel like a family reunion that just so happens to have a professional auctioneer involved. On November 6, Asia Art Archive (AAA) welcomed its extended community to China Club for its 2026 annual fundraiser, with Tatler proud to be a media partner.
The theme, Seed to Forest, came from longtime AAA friend and artist Song Dong, who likened the organisation to a seed planted in 2000 that has grown into a tree. The next chapter, as executive director Özge Ersoy wrote in the evening’s booklet, is about that tree becoming part of a forest, “where knowledge moves between roots”. Her heartfelt speech echoed that sentiment, thanking the artists, galleries, patrons and friends who have helped the archive flourish. It was a fitting note for the year in which AAA marked its 25th anniversary, and for a room that felt as much like a gathering of friends as a gala.
Among those were AAA co-founder Claire Hsu with her husband, Benjamin Vuchot and AAA co-founder and collector Johnson Chang, all of whom helped keep the energy high from the first bid to the last.
Özge Ersoy (Photo: courtesy of Asia Art Archive)
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Taking the rostrum was Sara Mao, formerly of Christie’s and now executive director at Villa Haw Par, who stepped in to cover for auctioneer Georgina Hilton, who was due to give birth. Mao kept the pace brisk and the room laughing through 25 live lots, with a silent auction running alongside for those who preferred to bid at their own pace.
The loudest cheers of the night went to artist Christopher K Ho, a member of AAA’s board of directors who, with Ellie Rines Gallery, donated his piece Interlude, a nickel-plated stainless steel candelabrum that doubles as an ashtray. It went for HK$180,000, well above its estimate of HK$40,000-HK$70,000.
Even those who didn’t win at auction went home with something to remember the night by. Designer Saloni Lodha, a longtime friend of AAA, created a pillow for every guest to take home. It was a fitting gesture from someone who has celebrated craft and community with the archive before: at AAA’s 2021 gala, her social impact initiative Connecting for India worked with 14 Ajrakh block-print artisans from Kutch, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, to dress the tables in handmade textiles.
It was a night where generosity and good company went hand in hand, with all proceeds going directly to AAA’s work—collecting, creating and sharing knowledge about recent art from Asia; with all those present, as Ersoy put it, contributing to “growing the forest together”.
As Content Director at Tatler Hong Kong, Tara shapes the brand's editorial vision across social, digital and print. She also drives the planning and execution of Tatler's flagship IPs. In her dual role as Head of VIP, she reports on Asia's most influential figures — from CEOs and leaders across business, style and the arts — curates star-studded events, and builds the relationships and communities that define the brand. Born and raised in the Middle East, she honed her craft in Dubai, building communication strategies for luxury brands across the Gulf. Follow her on Instagram @tarasobti.
