Hong Kong art galleries priced out of Central return as commercial rents drop
- Galleries including Rossi & Rossi, Kwai Fung Hin, Ora-Ora, 3812 and Novalis have all signed new leases in the Central/Sheung Wan area or are planning to
- Average commercial rents have gone down in the area by 30 per cent since 2019, property analysts say
A major reshuffle of locally owned galleries is under way in Hong Kong as small-to-medium-sized businesses suddenly find themselves able to afford space in the heart of Hong Kong Island again after nearly two years of unprecedented turmoil in the city.
Rossi & Rossi, Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery, Galerie Ora-Ora, 3812 Gallery and Novalis Contemporary Art Design have either signed new leases in the Central/Sheung Wan area or are planning to, with property analysts saying that average commercial rents have gone down in the area by 30 per cent since 2019.
Fabio Rossi, owner of Rossi & Rossi – a 6,500-square-foot (600-square-metre) gallery in Wong Chuk Hang, on the south side of Hong Kong Island – is opening a second space on Hollywood Road. The gallery sells both contemporary art and historic Buddhist art, so it makes sense to have a shopfront on the street, which is a famous antiques district, Rossi says.
Rossi bought the space in Wong Chuk Hang in 2012 and is one of the most vocal advocates of the new art district in that area. But when he found out that he could rent the street-level shopfront on Hollywood Road for less than half what he expected, he talked it over with his 88-year-old mother Anna Maria, who has just become a permanent resident in Hong Kong. He ended up signing a two-year lease with the family of businessman and antiques collector Peter Fung for the 1,000-square-foot space below their Liang Yi Museum.
Kwai Fung Hin Gallery is also setting up a new Central showroom a year after vacating its previous home in the area on Ice House Street. Founder Catherine Kwai Yuk-nin is finalising plans to rent a 3,600-square-foot space in Tai Kwun, the former Hollywood Road police station turned heritage and arts centre.
Kwai says the gallery left Central before for two reasons. It failed to reach an agreement with the landlord over costs of maintenance, and insurance companies were charging a premium for any artwork that passed through Central during the 2019 anti-extradition-bill protests.