Venice Biennale 2022: Hong Kong opening impresses despite officials’ noticeable absence - event overview
- Blaming Hong Kong’s compulsory seven-day hotel quarantine, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council was not present at Venice for the first time since 2001
- The lone government representative looked quite ill at ease when asked his opinion of Angela Su’s exhibition that clearly reflects tensions felt in Hong Kong
The official Hong Kong contingent at this year’s Venice Biennale was peculiarly noticeable – by its absence.
Bigwigs from the government’s Home Affairs Bureau, and co-presenters the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and M+ Museum, would normally be at the official opening of the Hong Kong exhibition, host lavish receptions in one of the city’s historical venues, and be on hand to greet prominent curators, museum directors and the press during the fiercely competitive opening week crush.
Blaming Hong Kong’s compulsory seven-day hotel quarantine, the arts council did not have a presence at the world’s biggest art event for the first time since it launched the inaugural “China-Hong Kong Pavilion” in 2001.
M+, which has been a co-presenter since 2013, only sent Jenny Tam, an assistant manager who provided valuable on-the-ground support but stayed very much behind the scenes. Suhanya Raffel, director of M+ since 2016, had gone to the previous two editions of the biennale to promote the museum when it was still under construction, but did not attend the first Venice Biennale since the museum opened in November 2021.
Officialdom’s muted presence might have helped to keep the spotlight on Su’s impressive exhibition.