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Hong Kong
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Asia Art Archive (AAA) announces its spring 2026 programmes, spotlighting the crucial role of art archives in understanding and reinterpreting art history. Presented as part of AAA’s 25th anniversary programme series Archive for All: Growing with Communities, At 25: Artists’ Early Worlds is a two-part exhibition that brings together eight leading contemporary artists from across Asia to reflect on their artistic origins at the age of 25. The Annual Artist’s Lecture features renowned Beijing-based artist Zhang Xiaogang. AAA will also launch the publication Hong Kong Art: A Curator’s History (1987–2004) by Oscar Ho, one of Hong Kong’s most influential cultural advocates, at its booth at Art Basel Hong Kong.
Exhibition: At 25: Artists’ Early Worlds, Part I
March 17–June 27, 2026
For its 25th anniversary, AAA presents At 25: Artists’ Early Worlds, a two-chapter exhibition that invites eight contemporary artists from Asia to respond to a seemingly simple question: What were you like at 25? Part I of the exhibition features Ho Tzu Nyen, Tehching Hsieh, Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, and Zhang Xiaogang. The exhibition presents artworks alongside rare archival materials to portray the worlds that shaped each artist at 25.
Media partners: ArtReview Asia, The Art Journal
Annual Artist’s Lecture: Zhang Xiaogang
March 26, 2026, 11–12:30pm
This year’s Annual Artist’s Lecture welcomes renowned Beijing-based artist Zhang Xiaogang, a graduate of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and a leading figure in contemporary Chinese art. Rising to prominence in the 1990s with his iconic figurative and surreal works that explore Chinese history, identity, and collective memory, Zhang first collaborated with AAA in 2007 to digitise his personal archive. As part of AAA’s 25th anniversary programme series, he returns this March to participate in At 25: Artists’ Early Worlds, Part I, and to deliver a lecture reflecting on his archive and his relationship to personal history.
The Annual Artist’s Lecture is generously supported by Octone Foundation, Stephen King, and Jason Zhai. The breakfast reception at the lecture is supported by Jina Lee.
Book launch: Hong Kong Art: A Curator’s History (1987–2004)
March 27–29, 2026
The publication Hong Kong Art: A Curator’s History (1987–2004) will be launched at AAA’s booth at Art Basel Hong Kong. This publication is the first illustrated art historical study of Hong Kong, focusing on the period from 1987 to 2004. A fascinating insider account by curator, artist, art critic, art educator, and leading cultural figure Oscar Ho Hing Kay, the book will be published by Rizzoli International Publications and is supported by AAA in the areas of research, archival material gathering, and translation.
AAA’s 2026 presentation at Art Basel Hong Kong is generously supported by Christopher K. Ho, Stephen King, and Nelson Leong.
AAA is a Cultural Partner of Art Basel Hong Kong 2026.
Archiving Handbook and workshops in Hong Kong and beyond
Through June 2026
To support artists and independent practitioners in preserving their legacies, AAA consolidates its archiving expertise into the upcoming Archiving Handbook. Introducing fundamental preservation principles, the handbook will be activated through workshops engaging art schools and communities across Hong Kong, Chengdu, Macau, Hangzhou, and Riyadh, and will be made available as a free online resource in summer 2026.
Assembling Art Archives: Workshops for South Asia
Through May 2026
Asia Art Archive in India, in collaboration with Art South Asia Project, hosts Assembling Art Archives: Workshops for South Asia, a closed-door online programme to facilitate discussions on archival practices in the field of visual arts across South Asia. Made possible with support from the Hauser & Wirth Institute, the programme brings together a cohort of twenty archivists and researchers to deliberate on the conventions, methods, and context-specificities involved in working with visual art archives in the region.
Archive for All: Growing with Communities is supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, as well as Mimi Brown & Alp Erçil and Wendy Lee & Stephen Li.
The Hong Kong Arts Development Council supports freedom of artistic expression. The views and opinions expressed in this project do not represent the stand of the Council.
