The Slick and the Raw: Hong Kong Art Week 2026

Each year, Art Week in Hong Kong continues to grow. Anchored by Art Basel and its satellite fair, Art Central, the city’s contemporary art scene has expanded dramatically over the past two decades, creating a multitude of events to navigate each March.

Australian commercial galleries were well represented across both fairs. Ames Yavuz, Neon Parc, Station, and Sullivan+Strumpf returned to Art Basel, while The Commercial made its debut. At Art Central, N. Smith Gallery also debuted in Hong Kong and was the sole Australian participant in this edition.

Presentations were notably strong, with particular interest in First Nations artists. Station followed last year’s large-scale installation by Pedro Wonaeamirri with a more focused presentation of his work. Pieces by Brook Andrew at Ames Yavuz were highly sought after, while paintings by Thea Perkins stood out at N. Smith Gallery. Archie Moore‘s first appearance on the international commercial gallery circuit was marked by the institutionally significant Blood Fraction(2015) at The Commercial.

Outside the fairs, major auction houses hosted significant sales, while Lee Bul‘s impressive exhibition at M+ drew considerable attention. The city’s longest-running not-for-profit, Para Site, marked its thirtieth anniversary, alongside a host of smaller, bespoke art fairs and exemplary presentations across blue-chip galleries in Central.

For those who revel in night frivolities, Art Week did not disappoint, with galleries, foundations, and museums hosting dinners, parties, and boat trips throughout the week. Yet, through all this noise, the talk of the town was the emergence of new small-scale galleries. Clustered on the south side of Hong Kong Island in Wong Chuk Hang, these spaces embrace entrepreneurial and expanded approaches to presentation, their experimental rhythms offering a welcome antidote to the slickness of the fairs. The new additions of Antenna Space, GOLD, Zheng-Lan’s Corner, and Knotting Space round out the city’s contemporary art offerings, cementing Hong Kong as a leading cultural node of Asia.