Billionaire Hong Kong businesswoman presents art show on the theme of ‘One Belt, One Road’
Pansy Ho curates an exhibition showcasing the work of 15 female artists from places along the road, including Hong Kong, the mainland, Russia and Poland
It has been brought up multiple times in policy addresses and in the political realm, but the belt and road initiative also has a role to play in the arts, as shown in an exhibition opening to the public on Monday.
The belt and road initiative was not just about economic development but was also an avenue for Beijing to showcase its soft power by taking the lead in bringing arts and culture from countries and regions along the 2,000-year-old exchange route, said Pansy Ho Chiu-king, the billionaire businesswoman who made her debut as curator for an art exhibition set around that theme.
What is the One Belt, One Road strategy all about?
“What was put forward was not just simply about economic development. When President Xi Jinping came up with the idea ... we all wanted to see exchanges in the cultural context and the assimilation of different ethnic groups [with the aim of] creating a sustainable and harmonious integration for the whole region working towards common goals, human objectives and social well-being,” Ho said on Monday in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post.
“The belt and road initiative isn’t just a China policy. It is a way of allowing people to get together to discuss and share views.”
Ho, as vice-chairwoman and visual arts committee co-convenor of the Hong Kong Federation of Women, said she came up with the idea of staging a visual arts exhibition to showcase the power of female artists from across the belt and road region.
“Not only women artists in Hong Kong are showcased and heralded. The show also expands the understanding of women’s role in the arts,” she said. “Hong Kong is an international city and we should not be just looking at ourselves.”
One Belt One Road Visual Arts Exhibition, curated by Ho, highlights 15 female artists. Works by Vivienne Tam from Hong Kong, Hong Wai from Macau and Peng Wei from the mainland were juxtaposed against those created by award-winning artists such as Saule Suleimenova from Kazakhstan, Moroccan Lalla Essaydi, Polish artist Paulina Olowska and Yelena Popova from Russia.
Works on show range from paintings and photographs to installations, ink art and tapestry. Ho said the exhibition at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery was not about validating the artworks in monetary terms.
Hong Kong banking on a big role in financing China’s One Belt, One Road plan linking Asia to Europe and the Middle East
She said the works selected were to demonstrate the power and sensibility of female artists, who have long been overshadowed by their male counterparts in the art world.
“The belt and road initiative is a good theme. Since we are not an arts institution but a women’s association, this theme offers participants a common topic and lets people know that we are at the beginning of a new era in embracing collaboration,” she said.
Ho, a long-time collector and patron of the arts, said the private sector should play a stronger role in cultivating cultural development in Hong Kong.
The exhibition runs until April 16. But it could move to Venice, which is in the belt and road region and which will host the next Venice Biennial next year. Ho said greater support from the government and the private sector would be needed to realise this goal.
