Artist Lee Kit mulls how to put Hong Kong's best foot forward
Local curator Lee Kit has been tasked with presenting Hong Kong to the world at the 'art Olympics' in Italy this summer
M+, the West Kowloon Cultural District's upcoming visual culture museum, will mark its debut on the international art scene this summer, with an exhibition at the Venice Biennale that the museum says will showcase personal and collective memories.
The Venice Biennale, often considered the "art Olympics", is one of the world's biggest contemporary art events. More than 80 countries will send exhibits to Italy in June as they compete to showcase their brightest talent on a global stage.
Local artist Lee Kit has been given the task of formulating the concept of the Hong Kong pavilion and will also have his solo exhibition, "You (you).", on display.
A winner of the Art Futures Award at last year's Hong Kong International Art Fair, Lee is fast gaining a reputation as a hot property on the international art scene.
He said he was given the utmost freedom by the M+ team, led by museum executive director Lars Nittve and assistant curator Yung Ma, to present his own vision in Venice.
The 34-year-old was also keen to avoid the pavilion being simply a retrospective of well-known works of art from the Hong Kong art community, so instead it will feature mostly new paintings, photography, videos and performances.