Cover From left: Art Basel Hong Kong introduces a new collective curatorial model for Encounters, which includes Isabella Tam, the curator of Visual Art, M+, Hong Kong; Mami Kataoka, the director of Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Alia Swastika, curator, researcher and writer from Jakarta; and Hirokazu Tokuyama, the senior curator of Mori Art Museum (Photo: courtesy of Ben Marans)
From left: Art Basel Hong Kong introduces a new collective curatorial model for Encounters, which includes Isabella Tam, the curator of Visual Art, M+, Hong Kong; Mami Kataoka, the director of Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Alia Swastika, curator, researcher and writer from Jakarta; and Hirokazu Tokuyama, the senior curator of Mori Art Museum (Photo: courtesy of Ben Marans)
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Art Basel Hong Kong returns in 2026 with a groundbreaking digital platform, a new curatorial team and galleries presenting at the fair for the first time.
Art Basel Hong Kong is set to return to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 27 to 29, 2026, with preview days on March 25 and 26. This year brings 240 leading galleries from 41 countries and territories. More than half of the participating galleries operate spaces within the Asia-Pacific region, including 29 galleries with spaces in Hong Kong. There will also be 32 first-time exhibitors from Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Greater China region, Turkey, France, Georgia, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the US.
In addition to an exciting line-up, this upcoming edition introduces several groundbreaking elements that signal a bold new direction for one of the world’s most influential art fairs.
Among the most anticipated debuts is Zero 10, a first-of-its-kind sector dedicated to digital-era art. Supported by OpenSea and following its premiere at Art Basel Miami Beach, Zero 10 reflects a long-term commitment to integrating digital creativity into the fair’s physical landscape. “It’s the first time that Art Basel is introducing a dedicated digital initiative to the show floor. Digital art isn’t as new as many think. It has deep historical roots. That’s why the name Zero 10 pays tribute to an early 20th-century exhibition that explored innovation, giving digital art a historical context,” says Angelle Siyang-Le, the director of Art Basel Hong Kong.
She is referring to 0,10, the seminal exhibition by the leading artist of the Russian avant-garde, Kazimir Malevich, in 1915 in St Petersburg, which was then known as Petrograd. The show was a historic point of radical shift towards pure non-objective art and away from representational painting, redefining creative language for a new century. According to Art Basel’s website, Zero 10, in the same spirit, “sets a new benchmark for how digital art can be exhibited, contextualised and collected within today’s art economy”.
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Above Art Basel Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in 2025 (Photo: courtesy of Art Basel)
Art Basel Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in 2025 (Photo: courtesy of Art Basel)
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Unlike traditional gallery sections, Zero 10 will also recruit directly from artists and digital studios, broadening participation and audience reach. “Digital art allows for a more direct connection between viewer and creator,” says Siyang-Le. She describes Zero 10 as an immersive, installation-based space that is interactive, sensorial and open to new communities. The initiative builds on Art Basel’s post-pandemic evolution from online viewing rooms to a hybrid model that connects digital-native audiences with the contemporary art ecosystem.
Complementing this innovation is the Film Programme, which will be curated for the first time by Hong Kong media art pioneer Ellen Pau. A founding figure in Asia’s video and media art scene, Pau co-founded Videotage and established the Microwave International New Media Arts Festival, both of which champion the intersection of art and technology. Her curatorial direction will deepen Art Basel’s engagement with moving image and time-based media while amplifying the voices of artists experimenting with film as a cultural and technological form.
“Ellen isn’t just a curator; she’s also a cultural connector,” Siyang-Le says. “[She and the fair’s other programme directors] represent local voices that resonate globally, bridging Hong Kong’s creative scene with the international art world.”
Above Ellen Pau, the curator of Art Basel Hong Kong 2026’s Film Programme (Photo: courtesy of Ng Tsz Kwan)
Ellen Pau, the curator of Art Basel Hong Kong 2026’s Film Programme (Photo: courtesy of Ng Tsz Kwan)
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The fair also introduces a new collective curatorial team for Encounters, led by Mami Kataoka of Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum alongside Isabella Tam of Hong Kong’s visual culture museum M+, Alia Swastika from Jakarta, and Hirokazu Tokuyama from Tokyo. Together with Pau’s direction of the Film Programme, this team will infuse the fair with renewed cross-regional perspectives and creative diversity.
“The previous curators, Alexie Glass-Cantor, Li Zhenhua, Stephanie Bailey and Para Site last year have built a solid foundation for our programming,” says Siyang-Le. “So, how do we select new voices to refresh ideas for this platform [this year]? We examined who galleries look up to and who can bring in new connections to our show.”
Through these new digital, cinematic and curatorial initiatives, Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 reaffirms the city’s stature as Asia’s global art hub, celebrating creativity that transcends boundaries, formats and generations.
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
