M+ museum: what to see at the jewel in Hong Kong art’s crown
- After a wait of almost 20 years the building finally opened on Friday attracting more than 11,000 people
- In no particular order, here are some of the highlights according to early visitors and art critics
Many Hongkongers grew up knowing about an ambitious yet distant plan to develop the harbourfront in West Kowloon into a cultural hub, with a museum of visual arts being the crown jewel of the monumental project. After a wait of almost two decades, the M+ finally opened on Friday, attracting more than 11,000 people. The museum is showcasing six exhibitions consisting of 1,500 works from its collection of 6,413 pieces. The Post spoke to early bird visitors, art critics and our specialists to create a list of their favourite must-see items, given here in no particular order.
The M+ building itself
The megalithic structure in the shape of an inverted T is a visually arresting work in itself. The shimmering dark-green glazed ceramic tiles covering the exterior change colour according to the weather, offering a unique addition to Hong Kong’s skyline of glass and steel skyscrapers.
Herzog & de Meuron, the Swiss firm behind London’s Tate Modern and the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, won the design contest for the building, with the jury describing the concept as a “memorable design that draws power from the simplicity and clarity of its parts”.
The building had a carefully constructed internal layout, the jury said, which they felt invited the public into a space that would be easy to understand and navigate. Natural light from the ceiling windows floods the central atrium, reaching all the way down to lower floors.
