The artists opening new independent art spaces in Hong Kong, going against the flow as many others leave the city

Daniel Stempfer and Jeremy Ip were driven by a desire to help fellow artists struggling to find exhibition space without commercial pressures

Despite the challenges for independent venues, new operational models keep appearing as entrepreneurial individuals look for ways to sustain their projects

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Austrian artist Daniel Stempfer opened Feyerabend, a new independent art space, in Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong, in 2022. Photo: Jin Huang

Published: 6:16pm, 7 Apr 2022Updated: 10:01am, 8 Apr 2022

It doesn’t take a hundred new galleries to show that Hong Kong’s art scene is alive and well – just a few will do it, says Austrian artist Daniel Stempfer as he unveils the second exhibition at Feyerabend, a 700 square foot (65 square metre) exhibition space in Hong Kong’s Tai Kok Tsui area that doubles as his own studio.

The 37-year-old is going against the flow.

People are leaving Hong Kong in droves every day because of its strict Covid-19 rules and political situation, including local artists who fear, most of all, that they can no longer create freely because of the national security law introduced in 2020.

But in 2021, Stempfer decided that it was time to do something “permanent” after living here since 2019, and opened up his space this year to other artists to show their works.

“I used to run an art space in Frankfurt and at the root of it, this is driven by the same desire to select works [that I like] and give them a platform, and to contribute something to the local scene,” he says.