Hong Kong-based art collector puts his 200 video art films by 92 artists online
- Shane Akeroyd’s decision to make public his sizeable library of video art is an attempt to make contemporary art more accessible
- The names of creators range from video art pioneer Joan Jonas to contemporary Hong Kong-based artists such as Vvzela Kook and Wong Ping
Shane Akeroyd, the art collector who has just announced that he has put his sizeable library of video art online, has become a ubiquitous presence in Hong Kong’s contemporary art scene in just a few years.
The British finance and technology veteran moved to the city in 2016 when he became the regional head of IHS Markit, a provider of capital markets data. By then, he had spent over two decades building up a sizeable collection and was a very active supporter of institutions in London and New York, such as the Tate and Artists Space.
He dived straight in on arrival, talking to everyone who his local art guide, Yana Peel, introduced him to, and methodically expanded his local network until one day, he became an insider.
“I didn’t know anything about the Hong Kong art scene. I knew that [museum of visual culture] M+ was in discussion. I didn’t know the galleries. I had never attended Art Basel Hong Kong. I came to it green,” he says.
“But people are so generous here. Each person I met would introduce me to another five and I followed up with that. I kept a spreadsheet of everyone I met and through who, and what was going on.”
Now he is on the board of Para Site, an independent art space in Quarry Bay, and is a member of the M+ International Council for Visual Art.