The New Hong Kong Museum of Art Unveiled

After four years of renovations, the Hong Kong Museum of Art reopens with a fresh new look that includes a contemporary glass facade and new galleries

In August 2015, the Hong Kong Museum of Art closed its doors to undergo a refurb that would take four years and run up a bill of almost HK$1 billion. In December 2019, the museum finally reopened with a brand new look and upgraded facilities. The most significant change is a 40 per cent increase in exhibition space, with the museum expanding to approximately 10,000 square metres to accommodate five new galleries, bringing the total up to 12. Among the 11 new exhibitions is HKMoA’s first special exhibition, an ambitious collaboration with Tate that sees some of the most famous British landscape paintings from the London museum on show in Hong Kong.

Perhaps most noticeable, however, is the museum’s new facade. Gone is the uninspiring institutional pink of yore, which had the building blending in unobtrusively with the other cultural establishments in the area. In its place is a contemporary geometric design that instantly catches the eye while staying true to the museum’s traditional roots. ‘The new cladding provides tangible texture that echoes Chinese masonry patterns,’ explains Vivien Fung, senior architect at Hong Kong’s Architectural Services Department, which was behind the renovations. ‘On the other hand, the ripple effect echoes the waves of the Victoria Harbour, which the museum directly faces.’

The museum’s new design also integrates it more closely with the surrounding outdoor environment. In fact, Art Square at Salisbury Garden was opened in 2014 as a prelude of sorts to the museum’s renovations, allowing large-scale installations to be featured in the garden for the first time. ‘The rearranging of trees and removal of the central aisles of planters allows outdoor sculptures to be displayed along the vista line of Nathan Road,’ Fung says. A new transparent rooftop gallery and plenty of windows further remove the barriers between indoors and outdoors. The new annex wing also houses a nine-metre tall gallery, where even more large-scale works can be displayed. 

‘Hong Kong has always been recognised as a city of contrasts and a mixed culture. This is expressed through the architecture: light versus shadows, openness versus enclosures, new versus old. Hopefully visitors will sense that contrasting expression,’ says Fung. ‘Having said that, architecture is only the backbone of the museum. Art will play the leading role, which opens up imagination and inspiration for all.’

Text / Leanne Mirandilla

Images / Daniel Wong, iMAGE 28