MIEKE de Weerdt realised she was in for lean times soon after she arrived in Hongkong two years ago.
''I knew what I liked and it definitely wasn't available here,'' says the pert Dutch-born Belgian.
''It was very disappointing. I didn't expect Hongkong to be the cultural centre of the universe, but what was available was quite conservative, mainly Oriental and not to my taste.'' She means art. As from yesterday, the determined Ms De Weerdt, founder of M & W Art, also means business.
A thousand invitations went out for the opening of her inaugural exhibition at the Repulse Bay's Verandah Restaurant and by Thursday, she was smiling.
''So far, I've had 267 acceptances and I expect there will be more. I can't tell you what that means to me. This exhibition marks the delivery of my baby and it's been a tough gestation; two years' hard work, night and day.'' Contemporary Western art is Mieke de Weerdt's passion. For years she was ''a little collector'', she confesses. Faced with a dearth, the former public relations executive started to think big and in January last year, she swung into action.
''I went to South America, the United States and Europe and by the end of my trip, I had visited 152 galleries and seen 53 artists in their studios.
