Newly appointed director of Art Basel Hong Kong, Angelle Siyang-Le, speaks to Trisha Mukherjee on spearheading the 2023 edition of the fair, new collaborations and the evolving art scene in Asia
When you were appointed as the ABHK director in November 2022, what was your vision for the fair and how much of it have you been able to realise in this edition?
My number one goal for this show was to bring people back to Hong Kong. And we saw many familiar faces as well as new friends. Besides that, we introduced, for the first time, an offsite installation, beyond the floors of the fair, from the Encounters sector.
We showcased a large-scale inflatable sculpture of King Tut by Ethiopian-American artist Awol Erizku in Hong Kong’s Pacific Place. We also collaborated with the M+ Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District to showcase Swiss artist Piplotti Rist’s moving image work, Hand Me Your Trust, projected on the museum facade for all visitors in Hong Kong to enjoy.
This year only one major Indian gallery participated. Why was the representation from the country so low?
While selecting galleries, ABHK looks at their proposals and the artists they are bringing to the fair, but
we don’t have a process to have either more or fewer galleries from India. But, if you see, there were 177 galleries this year, which was lower than the previous editions because this time we closed the applications back in June last year when seven days’ hotel quarantine was still required for those coming into Hong Kong.
So, the fact that so many galleries chose to return, despite the travel restrictions, was a good sign. And, I think next year, we will be welcoming back a lot more from all over the world and definitely from India.
The art scene in Asia has been expanding with fairs such as Art Dubai, Frieze Seoul as well as Art SG. Do you see these fairs as competition to ABHK?
The increasing number of fairs in Asia is a huge asset. If you see the art scene in Europe and America, there are multiple fairs as well as other international platforms for galleries to stage different programmes.
The contemporary art scene in Asia has been developing over the last several years, but now it has matured enough to have more than one art fair. This is a good thing because it allows the rest of the world to see the diversity in the region.
