Singapore vs Hong Kong: artists rate them on freedom, cost of studios and how easy it is to get their work shown
Four Singapore-based artists who’ve worked in or regularly visit Hong Kong discuss the pros and cons of both places for their profession – and dispel a few myths
It was the dawn of a new millennium. The whole world was having a nervous breakdown about the Y2K bug, and Hong Kong and Singapore were bitten by the art bug.
The two former British trading ports turned regional economic powerhouses woke up to the fact that the arts could add gravitas and encourage a creative economy that could trump original equipment manufacturing. Museums and performance venues of ambitious scale were inaugurated, and the business of art ramped up with more fairs, galleries and auction houses opening.
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But there was a key element missing from the two places, and one that still is: a large and diverse output of artwork. They each boast their fair share of home-grown artistic talent considering their populations (7.5 million in Hong Kong and 5.6 million in Singapore), but they lack the clout of New York, London and Berlin, which pull in artists like flocks of homing pigeons. As their cultural ambition grows, both will increasingly compete to lure international artists, makers and curators.
So how do Hong Kong and Singapore stack up – not for millionaire artists represented by multinational galleries, but for less established artists trying to make a living? The Post asked Mona Choo, Claire Deniau and Wei Leng Tay, three formerly Hong Kong-based visual artists now living in Singapore, and Yeo Shih Yun, artist and owner of a Singapore art space who visits Hong Kong regularly, to rate the two cities on three factors.
1. Cost and availability of studios
Struggling artists struggle more in two of the most expensive cities in Asia than elsewhere. But Singapore, 65 per cent the size of Hong Kong, is generally more affordable.