Phillips auction house to set up Asia HQ in Hong Kong next to new M+ museum
- The Russian-owned company will rent a third of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority’s administrative block flanking M+, including the top two floors
- Authority CEO hails the deal as momentous, but one cultural critic fears turning ‘private taste into public good’
The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) has announced it is renting out the main floors of its administrative block flanking the M+ museum to Russian-owned auction house Phillips to use as its Asia headquarters.
The deal, announced on December 16, was momentous, the public body’s chief executive officer, Betty Fung Ching Suk-yee, said, and marked the beginning of the authority’s “long-term collaboration with Phillips in contributing to local, regional and international arts and cultural development”. But a cultural critic fears it is another example of private tastes being turned into a public good.
The auctioneer, which has seen sales in Hong Kong nearly double in the past year, will take 48,000 sq ft (4,460 square metres) of space in the 16-storey building.
Phillips will have five-and-a-half floors in the building – the two top floors with a triple-height space and a 14-metre-tall glass window overlooking the harbour will be for auction previews and other exhibitions, and three lower floors as retail space. The remaining half floor will be office space.
Stephen Brooks, Phillips’ chief executive officer, said: “Phillips’ expanding presence in Asia is a critical component of our growth strategy with Asian participation in Phillips’ auctions becoming such a significant force. We have seen over 30 per cent increase in Asian client interaction with Phillips since the start of lockdown last year.