M+ announces first three major exhibitions at M+ Pavilion, the first dedicated space to open in the West Kowloon Cultural District

M+, the new museum for visual culture under construction in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, is delighted to announce the first three exhibitions to go on display at the new M+ Pavilion, the first permanent structure to be completed in the District. From September 2016 to May 2017, M+ will present Nothing, a solo exhibition by Hong Kong artist Tsang Kin-Wah, a new commission following the artist’s critically acclaimed solo exhibition representing Hong Kong at the 2015 Venice Biennale; Shifting Objectives: Design from the M+ Collection, the museum’s debut of its unprecedented, ground-breaking design collection, and an exhibition that looks at how women have been represented through the lens of popular culture in Hong Kong since the 1980s.

Representing a diversity of disciplines, themes, subject matters, and approaches, this trio of exhibitions will inaugurate an ongoing program of exhibitions that will make the M+ Pavilion the public home of the museum until the opening of the permanent M+ building in 2019. Following the popular and successful Mobile M+ series of itinerant exhibitions—ten exhibitions in diverse venues throughout Hong Kong and Kowloon--M+ opens a new chapter in its development in the temporary venue adjacent to its final home, scheduled to open in late 2019, in the West Kowloon Cultural District.

With a cantilevered deck, mirrored façade reflecting the future greenery around it, and 300 sqm of gallery space, the M+ Pavilion was designed by Hong Kong-based architects VPANG architects ltd + JET Architecture Inc + Lisa Cheung, who won the commission in an international competition. Upon the opening of the M+ building in 2019, the Pavilion will be made available to other cultural organisations for exhibitions and events.

Tsang Kin-Wah: Nothing 
9 September – 6 November 2016

Inaugurating the M+ Pavilion, Nothing is a multimedia video installation by Tsang Kin-Wah that will expand on The Infinite Nothing, the artist’s solo presentation representing Hong Kong at the 56th Venice Biennale. Echoing the earlier work, Tsang combines metaphors and allegories drawn from philosophy, literature, and religion, alongside cinematic, musical, and other popular culture references, to construct an intellectual and immersive experience. The new commission continues his exploration of the significance of life, while retaining an awareness of the potential futility of such effort. A form of awakening and a re-examination of the concept of existence, Nothing suggests that life may well be an endless journey of epiphany, betrayal, and emancipation of the self.

Organised by Doryun Chong, Deputy Director and Chief Curator and Stella Fong, Lead Curator, Learning and Interpretation; with Sharon Chan, Assistant Curator and Winnie Lai, Assistant Curator, Learning and Interpretation.

Shifting Objectives: Design from the M+ Collection
25 November 2016 – 5 February 2017

Shifting Objectives: Design from the M+ Collection is the inaugural presentation of works from the museum’s ground-breaking design collection, which is the first of its kind in Asia. Spanning the post-Second World War period until now, this tightly-edited survey will highlight the museum’s unprecedented efforts in constructing the histories of 20th and 21st century design from a multiplicity of Asian perspectives—all the while investigating the ever-shifting agendas, priorities, and conceptual frameworks that are transforming the way we define design today. Included are more than 100 objects, works, and other materials drawn from mid-twentieth century Japan and India, Hong Kong’s post-war manufacturing boom, and Mao-era China, alongside more recent drones, ‘copied’ goods, and digitally-enabled and open-source practices.

Organised by Aric Chen, Lead Curator, Design and Architecture, with Jennifer Wong, Assistant Curator, Design and Architecture.

(Title to be confirmed)
24 February – 7 May 2017

The exhibition examines how women have been represented in Hong Kong popular culture since the 1980s. Using key examples from film, music videos, fashion, photography, and print media, the exhibition will include representations of archetypes and familiar icons, such as the late pop diva Anita Mui, to explore female identity in Hong Kong. Drawing on scholarship in gender and popular culture studies, Hong Kong popular media will be proposed as a progressive space within which alternative female role models, many in defiance of conventional gender stereotypes, have proliferated.

Organised by Tina Pang, Curator, Hong Kong Visual Culture and Chloe Chow, Assistant Curator, Hong Kong Visual Culture; with Janis Law, Curatorial Assistant, Moving Image.

M+ Pavilion is located in the heart of the West Kowloon Cultural District. For more information, please visit www.westkowloon.hk/en/visit/visit-west-kowloon.

Remarks

About West Kowloon Cultural District

Located on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, the West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong. With a complex of theatres, performance spaces, and M+, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances, and cultural events, as well as provide 23 hectares of public open space, including a two kilometre waterfront promenade.

About M+

Hong Kong’s museum for visual culture – encompassing 20th and 21st century art, design and architecture, and moving image from Hong Kong, China, Asia, and beyond – M+ will be one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the world. Located adjacent to the park on the waterfront, the museum building is scheduled to open in 2019.