Cover Jonathan Crockett conducting Para Site’s auction (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
Jonathan Crockett conducting Para Site’s auction (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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Para Site celebrated its 30th anniversary with a fundraising gala, where the city’s art community—donning glamorous, 1990s-inspired outfits—supported artists from Hong Kong and beyond
Where? The St Regis Hong Kong
Who? Billy Tang, Jonathan Crockett, Serrini, Michelle Hsieh, Marisa Yu, Suhanya Raffel, Julien-Loïc Garin, Willem Molesworth, Ysabelle Cheung, Joseph Chen
Here’s what you missed:
On November 20, 2024, The St Regis Hong Kong’s Astor Ballroom was transformed into a dazzling scene of vintage splendour. Hundreds of guests from the arts community, dressed in glamorous, 1990s-inspired attire, gathered at Para Site’s fundraising gala to celebrate the local art space’s 30th anniversary.
The Nineties saw the golden days of some of the city’s most beloved pop culture icons, and in adherence to the evening’s theme, “1990s glamour”, the gala’s guests paid tribute to their favourites from the era: Frieze’s VIP consultant Michelle Hsieh donned a dress that paid tribute to Anita Mui’s iconic wedding gown; Jonathan Crockett, the chairman for Asia at Phillips and auctioneer of the evening, put on a Chow Yun-fat-inspired look with a pair of sunglasses from The Replacement Killers (1998). But the dress code was more than just an invitation to relive a bygone era: Para Site was founded in 1996, and the theme brought friends of the organisation back to where it all began.
Over the past three decades, Para Site grew from an independent artist-run space into an international art centre that went on to run an international art residency programme and global art conferences, as well as offering training to emerging curators and art professionals.
Billy Tang (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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The evening began with a speech from Billy Tang, Para Site’s executive director. He thanked the galleries and artists, who donated 69 art pieces for the auction at the gala; the proceeds will go towards Para Site’s operations and future exhibitions. “We’re here tonight to celebrate the artists who are core to everything that we do as an organisation,” he says. “This year, our journey of art connected artists and audiences from all walks of life. [The artists] have taken us to different corners of the world, from villages in the central highlands of Vietnam to museums and institutions in Birmingham, Glasgow, London and New York.” He also gave a shout-out to Hong Kong artist Trevor Young, whom Para Site represented, about his showing at the Venice Biennale in 2024 and his exhibition at Macalline Art Center in Beijing.
This was followed by a bidding war conducted by Crockett, where guests were keen to own a piece of the many paintings and sculptures by established artists such as Yoshitomo Nara, AA Murakami and Pio Abad. A silent auction also took place throughout the evening. A number of the lots were sold beyond their estimated price.
“Some of [the works] are so hard to get access to. You can’t get them—even in the primary market—very easily,” said Alan Lau, the chair of the Para Site board, to the crowd. “It feels like you’re buying art. But can I propose a different [angle]? Don’t think of it as money coming from your collecting budget. You’re investing in the future of the arts in Hong Kong. In return, we promise that we’ll continue to give a platform to all the artists who have something to say and create.”
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Jonathan Crockett (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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Apart from artworks, the rest of the auction included an experience which will bring the winner to museums and studios in Los Angeles; and a surprise lot that offered the winner ComplexCon Hong Kong concert tickets and merchandise.
The night ended on a high note with an awards ceremony, where Ida Ng, the CEO of Art Move at Helu-trans Group, was given the Best Advocacy Award; and Hsieh was crowned Best Dressed. It was a night where art took centre stage, creativity flowed and the energy was as electric as the 1990s spirit it channelled—a celebration of passion, style and the enduring power of art.
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.
