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Arts & Communication Transnational mobility and art market centers

In 2004, a lot of the discussions about the region, or The success of Art Hong Kong, an art fair established
art in the region, were very much happening within in 2008, further bolstered the city’s position. Art
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the region. What was absent was how this discourse Basel acquired Art Hong Kong in 2013, rebranding the
connected with the larger global discourse about exposition as Art Basel Hong Kong. This acquisition
art. I helped facilitate that at the ICA and then also significantly elevated the global standing of the fair and
at the Singapore Biennial (Interview with Eugene propelled Hong Kong to the forefront of the global art
Tan in 2018). market. The prestige associated with the Art Basel brand
Tan returned to Singapore from Hong Kong to launch attracted an explosion of interest in Hong Kong, and
the Gillman Barracks project in 2012, an art precinct numerous international galleries such as Gagosian, White
intended to enhance the commercial gallery prospect Cube, and Perrotin established their presence in this city
(Figure 4).
of the city (Figure 3). His appointment as head of the
National Gallery and the Singapore Art Museum further This surge of international attention and investment
underscored his significant role in shaping the local art helped justify and legitimize key cultural institution
landscape. Reflecting upon his role in conceiving the projects in Hong Kong that had long remained on standby.
Gillman Barracks art cluster, Tan noted: For instance, the opening of a major museum for visual
culture named M+ in the West Kowloon Cultural District
At the time, what was really missing was commercial was facilitated by this newfound cultural and economic
galleries and art fairs. So that’s what EDB set out momentum.
to help to grow. Gillman was really part of that:
to grow the commercial gallery. But then I also Gallerist Adriana Alvarez-Nichol epitomizes the impact
thought of it as a way to fill in some of the gaps in exerted by hypermobile individuals on local art scenes.
the ecology, and it’s the Centre for Contemporary Alvarez-Nichol is the founder of Puerta Roja Gallery and
Art and its focus on research, curatorial research, co-founder of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association.
as well as residencies (Interview with Eugene Tan She entered Hong Kong’s art market with a wealth of prior
in 2018). international experience: born in Mexico, she lived in
London for 20 years and worked as a banker in Hong Kong,
Tan’s remarks reflect the critical roles enacted by Japan, and Korea before deciding to open her gallery in
hypermobile individuals in recognizing and addressing 2009. A combination of personal and professional factors
deficiencies in local art environments based on their
experiences in other cities. His strategic initiatives
expanded Singapore’s commercial gallery scene and
bolstered the nation-state’s curatorial research and artist
residency programs. Tan integrated these elements to
facilitate the creation of a more robust and interconnected
art ecosystem in Singapore.
6. Hong Kong: Hypermobile dealers
Several factors impelled Hong Kong’s sudden rise as a key
global art market center in the late 2000s. First, Hong Kong
represented an ideal location for global art market centers
seeking to tap into Asia’s promising art markets because of
its long-standing status as an interface between the West and
China and generally with the rest of the region. Second,
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Hong Kong’s favorable tax and business environment
delivered a competitive advantage over cities in mainland Figure 3. The Gillman Barracks. Source: Photograph by the author, 2021
China, which imposed high import and export taxes and
presented administrative complications to foreign players.
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Hong Kong’s advantageous environment attracted major
auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, which acted
crucially to drive the prices of Chinese contemporary art
in Hong Kong. Skyrocketing prices offered and received at
auctions garnered significant global attention and attracted
numerous art market actors to the Hong Kong art vista. Figure 4. The Pedder Building. Source: Photographs by the author, 2016

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 8 doi: 10.36922/ac.3734