The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is the first and main art museum of Hong Kong, located on Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. It is a public museum managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government.
The HKMoA has an art collection of almost 20,000 items, and admission is free for permanent exhibitions. Its rival is the non-government-managed Hong Kong Arts Centre. These are considered to be the top two art museums in Hong Kong that dictate its discourse of art.
It has an extended branch, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, at the Hong Kong Park in Central.
History The museum was established as the City Hall Museum and Art Gallery in the City Hall in Central by the Urban Council on 2 March 1962. This was split into the Hong Kong Museum of History (HKMH) and the HKMoA in July 1975, the latter of which had since continued to occupy the rear portion of the 8th and the entire 9th to 11th stories of the High Block; these floors now house a public library. The HKMH soon relocated to Kowloon Park in 1983.
In 1991, the HKMoA moved out of the City Hall and was relocated to its present premises at 10 Salisbury Road, near the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and the Hong Kong Space Museum, in Tsim Sha Tsui. It was formally inaugurated by then Governor Chris Patten on 11 September 1992.
On 3 August 2015, the museum closed for a $400 million expansion and renovation and eventually reopened four years later on 30 November 2019.
Exhibitions The HKMoA rotates its displays and exhibitions regularly. These are mainly of paintings, calligraphy and sculptures from Hong Kong, mainland China, and other parts of the world. It has cooperated with other museums as well.
From 25 May to 4 July 1962, the museum (then still named the Hong Kong City Hall Museum and Art Gallery) held the major exhibition, Hong Kong Art Today. It was significant as the first exhibition with Hong Kong art as its theme, and also reflected how naturalism in art had become passé and that abstract art was favoured at that moment in time.
Since 1975, the museum has hosted the Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition featuring the work of contemporary Hong Kong artists. It was renamed the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Awards in 2009.
Transportation The HKMoA is within walking distance from Exit J of East Tsim Sha Tsui station and Exit E of Tsim Sha Tsui station of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). It is even closer to the Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier, with services to Wan Chai and Central.
See also List of museums in Hong Kong
References
External links
Hong Kong Museum of Art within Google Arts & Culture