M+, described as Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture, has opened in Hong Kong. Located in the city state’s West Kowloon Cultural District, the museum features six thematic exhibitions housing more than 1,000 works. Designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron, M+ acts as a cultural centre for 20th and 21st-century art, design, architecture, and the moving image. As well as the 33 exhibition galleries, the complex houses retail areas, restaurants, cafés, a research centre and multi-purpose halls. M+ is set to become a centrepiece of The West Kowloon Cultural District. Director Suhanya Raffel spoke to Attractions Management about M+’s aims.
How would you sum up M+ offers? M+ is special because it is Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture and it is located here, in the global city of Hong Kong.
Over the past few years, the art market has exponentially grown in Hong Kong, however to transform the city into an international cultural hub, it required a leading institution for visual culture.
M+ offers a brand-new centre for visual culture and a world-class landmark for a great international city. Dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual culture of the 20th and 21st centuries, the collections span visual art, design and architecture, and moving image. I want M+ to be a major platform for fostering cultural exchange between Hong Kong and the rest of the world.
M+ aims to offer an Asian perspective on contemporary visual culture. Why is this important? Great museums change global perceptions of cities and nations. A museum such as M+ can have a transformative effect by expressing the identity, creativity, and energy of the city.
At M+, we represent the histories that emanate from this part of the world, so we can take purchase of these important discussions. We want to tell our stories through multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and interregional narratives. When we look at Hong Kong – the skyline, the art and design, the architectural histories of this city, its regional authenticity and international influences reflect a rich and entirely unique history.
How is the museum and its content rooted in its place? For us, Hong Kong, its history, position and place in the world, is an integral part of many stories that are configured across various disciplines within the exhibitions in M+. One of the opening exhibitions is dedicated to Hong Kong and Beyond, which considers the transformation and unique visual culture of Hong Kong from the 1960s to the present.
Through our programming, we want to ensure that Hong Kong artists and designers are shown as equal to their international colleagues. We also take Hong Kong to the world, for example, we’ve worked with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council to present local artists in the Venice Biennale, while simultaneously bringing the international to Hong Kong. This two-way street lies at the very heart of M+.
How would you sum up the architecture? How does it support the content of the museum? Herzog & de Meuron have created a superb and extraordinary museum building that extends that public space into and on top of the museum through a design that’s porous and inviting.
It is truly a gift to Hong Kong that will become one of its most recognised architectural icons. Indeed, we regard the building itself as part of the M+ Collections.
Can you tell us about the opening exhibitions and what you have planned for the longer term? Our six inaugural exhibitions will provide different avenues through which its possible to enter our collections. By offering various approaches, we want to educate our visitors on the many paths that they can take to perceive the variety of histories on display. Some visitors will prefer observing clear chronologies, such as the M+ Sigg Collection: From Revolution to Globalisation, which explores the development of contemporary Chinese art from the 1970s through the 2000s. Others may find a much richer experience when looking from a thematic approach, as seen in Individuals, Networks, Expressions – a narrative of post-war international visual art told from the perspective of Asia.
Moving forwards, our plans for collaborations are well underway. We’ve already loaned our collections to institutions, such as MOMA, Tate and the Mori Art Museum; sharing our artwork is a way of sharing our stories. And, exhibitions are always being discussed with many institutions internationally. So watch this space!
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2021 issue 4
Editor's letter: Eco drivers
Therme Group and The Eden Project are going global, on an environmental mission says Magali Robathan
AM People: Julia Baird
On why her brother John Lennon would have loved the Strawberry Field attraction and the work it’s doing for the local community
AM People: Åsa Caap
The thrill of opening the Space Stockholm digital culture centre
Interview: David Harland & Sir Tim Smit
With projects underway around the world, the Eden Project is going global with its call to arms for the future of the planet
Museums: Getting creative
How the Young V&A will aim to provide children with the creative tools stripped out by the pandemic
Interview: Richard Land
Mixing waterslides with wellbeing, the Therme Group is creating a category all of its own while taking on the world, says the group’s chief development officer
Museums: Kunsthaus Zurich completes
A David Chipperfield extension has more than doubled the museum’s exhibition space, making Zurich a major destination for the arts
Interview: Julien Kauffmann
As Farah Experiences prepares to open SeaWorld Abu Dubai, its CEO talks COVID-19, branding and branching with David Camp
Research: Making pre-booking work
Attractions are benefiting from the switch to pre-booking, but must cater for spontaneous, disorganised visitors too, says Jon Young
Research: All creatures great and small
Zoo enrichment and research can’t just be focused on the large animals most popular with visitors, argues Dr Paul Rose. All must be represented
Research: Popularity game
Research on zoo animals focuses more on ‘familiar’ species such as gorillas and chimpanzees, rather than less well known ones such as the waxy monkey frog, scientists say
Analysis: Light in the dark
A successful winter light show can see margins upwards of 30 per cent. Kathleen LaClair and
Yael Coifman look at some of the operators getting it right
Museums: Munch Museum opens in Norway
The iconic new attraction has opened on Oslo’s waterfront with the world’s largest collection of works by Edvard Munch
Mystery Shopper: Galleries & Gourds
It has transformed the sleepy town of Bruton, UK, but does Hauser & Wirth Somerset live up to the hype? Magali Robathan mystery shops to find out
M+, described as Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture, has opened in Hong Kong. Located in the city state’s West Kowloon Cultural District, the museum features six thematic exhibitions housing more than 1,000 works. Designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron, M+ acts as a cultural centre for 20th and 21st-century art, design, architecture, and the moving image. As well as the 33 exhibition galleries, the complex houses retail areas, restaurants, cafés, a research centre and multi-purpose halls. M+ is set to become a centrepiece of The West Kowloon Cultural District. Director Suhanya Raffel spoke to Attractions Management about M+’s aims.
How would you sum up M+ offers? M+ is special because it is Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture and it is located here, in the global city of Hong Kong.
Over the past few years, the art market has exponentially grown in Hong Kong, however to transform the city into an international cultural hub, it required a leading institution for visual culture.
M+ offers a brand-new centre for visual culture and a world-class landmark for a great international city. Dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual culture of the 20th and 21st centuries, the collections span visual art, design and architecture, and moving image. I want M+ to be a major platform for fostering cultural exchange between Hong Kong and the rest of the world.
M+ aims to offer an Asian perspective on contemporary visual culture. Why is this important? Great museums change global perceptions of cities and nations. A museum such as M+ can have a transformative effect by expressing the identity, creativity, and energy of the city.
At M+, we represent the histories that emanate from this part of the world, so we can take purchase of these important discussions. We want to tell our stories through multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and interregional narratives. When we look at Hong Kong – the skyline, the art and design, the architectural histories of this city, its regional authenticity and international influences reflect a rich and entirely unique history.
How is the museum and its content rooted in its place? For us, Hong Kong, its history, position and place in the world, is an integral part of many stories that are configured across various disciplines within the exhibitions in M+. One of the opening exhibitions is dedicated to Hong Kong and Beyond, which considers the transformation and unique visual culture of Hong Kong from the 1960s to the present.
Through our programming, we want to ensure that Hong Kong artists and designers are shown as equal to their international colleagues. We also take Hong Kong to the world, for example, we’ve worked with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council to present local artists in the Venice Biennale, while simultaneously bringing the international to Hong Kong. This two-way street lies at the very heart of M+.
How would you sum up the architecture? How does it support the content of the museum? Herzog & de Meuron have created a superb and extraordinary museum building that extends that public space into and on top of the museum through a design that’s porous and inviting.
It is truly a gift to Hong Kong that will become one of its most recognised architectural icons. Indeed, we regard the building itself as part of the M+ Collections.
Can you tell us about the opening exhibitions and what you have planned for the longer term? Our six inaugural exhibitions will provide different avenues through which its possible to enter our collections. By offering various approaches, we want to educate our visitors on the many paths that they can take to perceive the variety of histories on display. Some visitors will prefer observing clear chronologies, such as the M+ Sigg Collection: From Revolution to Globalisation, which explores the development of contemporary Chinese art from the 1970s through the 2000s. Others may find a much richer experience when looking from a thematic approach, as seen in Individuals, Networks, Expressions – a narrative of post-war international visual art told from the perspective of Asia.
Moving forwards, our plans for collaborations are well underway. We’ve already loaned our collections to institutions, such as MOMA, Tate and the Mori Art Museum; sharing our artwork is a way of sharing our stories. And, exhibitions are always being discussed with many institutions internationally. So watch this space!
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2021 issue 4
Editor's letter: Eco drivers
Therme Group and The Eden Project are going global, on an environmental mission says Magali Robathan
AM People: Julia Baird
On why her brother John Lennon would have loved the Strawberry Field attraction and the work it’s doing for the local community
AM People: Åsa Caap
The thrill of opening the Space Stockholm digital culture centre
Interview: David Harland & Sir Tim Smit
With projects underway around the world, the Eden Project is going global with its call to arms for the future of the planet
Museums: Getting creative
How the Young V&A will aim to provide children with the creative tools stripped out by the pandemic
Interview: Richard Land
Mixing waterslides with wellbeing, the Therme Group is creating a category all of its own while taking on the world, says the group’s chief development officer
Museums: Kunsthaus Zurich completes
A David Chipperfield extension has more than doubled the museum’s exhibition space, making Zurich a major destination for the arts
Interview: Julien Kauffmann
As Farah Experiences prepares to open SeaWorld Abu Dubai, its CEO talks COVID-19, branding and branching with David Camp
Research: Making pre-booking work
Attractions are benefiting from the switch to pre-booking, but must cater for spontaneous, disorganised visitors too, says Jon Young
Research: All creatures great and small
Zoo enrichment and research can’t just be focused on the large animals most popular with visitors, argues Dr Paul Rose. All must be represented
Research: Popularity game
Research on zoo animals focuses more on ‘familiar’ species such as gorillas and chimpanzees, rather than less well known ones such as the waxy monkey frog, scientists say
Analysis: Light in the dark
A successful winter light show can see margins upwards of 30 per cent. Kathleen LaClair and
Yael Coifman look at some of the operators getting it right
Museums: Munch Museum opens in Norway
The iconic new attraction has opened on Oslo’s waterfront with the world’s largest collection of works by Edvard Munch
Mystery Shopper: Galleries & Gourds
It has transformed the sleepy town of Bruton, UK, but does Hauser & Wirth Somerset live up to the hype? Magali Robathan mystery shops to find out
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
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