Hong Kong art space Para Site’s director steps down after 11 years, to be replaced by Shanghai museum curator
- Cosmin Costinas saw Para Site continue to be a beacon for diversity, amplifying the perspectives of women and LGBTQ artists, as well as marginalised cultures
- His replacement Billy Tang, currently senior curator at the Rockbund Art Museum, was born in the UK to Vietnamese parents who were once refugees in Hong Kong
Cosmin Costinas is stepping down as executive director of Hong Kong’s Para Site art space after 11 years, to be replaced by Billy Tang, who is currently senior curator at the Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) in Shanghai.
Tang, 35, was born in the UK and has been working in mainland China since 2013.
His parents were Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong before moving to the UK, a family connection that gives special meaning to his move to the city, he says.
“In the late 1970s, my parents arrived in Hong Kong as refugees from Vietnam in hopes of a better future. This diasporic journey intersecting with Hong Kong’s history has always given me a strong sense of solidarity with the city and its culture,” he says in a statement.
Para Site was founded in 1996 by Hong Kong artists Patrick Lee, Leung Chi-wo, Phoebe Man Ching-ying, Sara Wong Chi-hang, Leung Mee-ping, Tsang Tak-ping and Lisa Cheung. It has a strong international reputation for its cosmopolitan and liberal outlook and has long included a statement in English and Chinese in its programmes in support of “the democratic aspirations of the people of Hong Kong”.