Cover Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2019. Photo by Rupert Harding-Newman.

Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2021 spotlights homegrown talents and brings historic international art galleries to the city.

Here’s everything you need to know about the galleries and contemporary offerings at this year’s Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong. 

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Above Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2019. Photo by Rupert Harding-Newman.

Opening on August 26, the annual Affordable Art Fair returns for the eighth time to Wan Chai’s Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with 44 local and international galleries. Of the 16 new galleries added this year, 13 are from Hong Kong, making the local line-up one of the biggest in the history of the fair.

This means a spotlight on a number of rising homegrown artists, including the popular photographer and graphic designer Tommy Fung, aka @surrealhk, who creates outlandish images of the Hong Kong cityscape; and Angel Hoi Kiu Hui who captured the sentiments experienced during the pandemic in blue ink on tissue and rice paper. Aside from individual artists, the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre, the city’s first factory-turned-artist village, will exhibit 20 local artists. There are also several Hong Kong galleries which will look at adapting traditional art practices to the contemporary times.

As usual, the fair is also a place for international galleries to share their works. This year, they come from mainland China, Peru, Italy, South Korea, Singapore, the UK and Australia. A variety of genres will be presented, including traditional ink art, calligraphy, watercolours, pop art, digital art, installations and photography. All the artworks are priced between HK$1,000 and HK$100,000.

See also: 10 Hong Kong Art Exhibitions To See In August 2020

Tatler Asia
Above In The Sea by Beavis Yeung Tsz King. Photo by Rupert Harding-Newman.
Tatler Asia
Above In the Presence of You by Mandy Ma Wing Man. Photo by Rupert Harding-Newman.

As well as the chance to look at and buy art, visitors can get creative with some interactive projects. Mandy Ma Wing Man created In the Presence of You from kids’ woollen fabrics that have been dismantled and pieced together for viewers to explore the concept of collectivism. Beavis Yeung Tsz King’s In The Sea allows visitors to experience a “voyage” as they create patterns of waves out of ceramic tiles. At the booth of duo The Collective, the new VR work Break the Chain combines mural art and technology to create the illusion of wild animals roaming in the city, in a bid to raise awareness of the fight against illegal wildlife trafficking. And the aforementioned toilet paper artist Hui has ventured beyond her field of expertise in ink art, creating a photo booth made out of LED lights that references the classic “thousand-hand bodhisattva” image with a contemporary twist.

See also: 5 Galleries Not To Miss At Affordable Art Fair 2021

Tatler Asia
Above An art workshop at Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2019. Photo by Rupert Harding-Newman.
Tatler Asia
Above Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2019. Photo by Rupert Harding-Newman.

Kids and families can also take part in workshops and activities over the four-day fair. Art Loop, a long-time partner of the Affordable Art Fair, will host art appreciation workshops for children, while the Hong Kong Association of Art Therapists, which provides art therapy training opportunities for therapists and professionals from mental health institutions and schools, will provide three different interactive therapy sessions. And the Sovereign Art Foundation is running workshops where young art fans can create their own “affordable art piece”. Events range from HK$100-HK$200.

From August 26-29. Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai. Find out more and purchase tickets at affordableartfair.com

See Also: 5 Artists Who Have Been Inspired By Hong Kong

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