In this edition of Tatler’s Secrets of Success series—the all-access pass to the city’s most notable business magnates and entrepreneurs—Patrick Sun speaks about how his foundation, Sunpride, is raising visibility for the LGBTQ+ community, and common misconceptions about gay art
Asia's Most Influential honouree, Patrick Sun has promoted equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community in Hong Kong and Taiwan since 2002. An avid collector of art, Sun has amassed a collection that includes work by Taiwanese American artist and filmmaker Shu Lea Cheang, Indian visual artist Sunil Gupta, Filipino artist and political activist David Medalla, leading Thai artist Arin Rungjang and Hong Kong-based sound performer and installation artist Samson Young.
A property developer by trade, Sun founded Sunpride Foundation in 2014 to raise awareness for the LGBTQ+ community through art. Three years later, Sunpride and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei opened Spectrosynthesis - Asian LGBTQ Issues and Art Now, the first LGBTQ-themed exhibition to open in an art museum in Asia. Two years later, with the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, the foundation presented Spectrosynthesis II – Exposure of Tolerance: LGBTQ in Southeast Asia. With more than 100 works on display, it marked the largest-ever exhibit of regional contemporary art exploring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer creative history in Southeast Asia.
A healthier and more equitable world for the LGBTQ+ community is the legacy Sun hopes to leave behind, and he’s inching closer to that every day through his work as a member of each of The Guggenheim Museum’s Asian Art Circle, Tate’s Asia-Pacific Acquisitions Committee, the M+ Council for New Art, and the Asia Art Archive’s Collectors Circle and, more recently, as a founding patron of the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
Here, Sun explains how exhibitions further his mission and how important queer artists are in society.
Describe what you do in one sentence.
I collect and exhibit art through the Sunpride Foundation to raise visibility and respect for the LGBTQ+ community.
How does your work make a difference?
Sunpride’s exhibitions anchor our shows at public institutions and reach out beyond our echo chamber to communicate with the public.
What do you put your success down to?
Friends and allies who share our belief that this is a worthwhile cause.
What are the top three ingredients for the success of a foundation?
Mission. Passion. Gumption.
Do you have any mentors? If so, who are they and what is the best piece of advice they have given you?
[Swiss businessman, diplomat and art collector] Dr Uli Sigg, who kick-started our work with invaluable advice, such as to organise exhibitions as a platform to further our mission.
What qualities do you look for when considering acquiring a work for the foundation’s collection?
I look to see how it [might] fit in an eventual exhibition in a public space.