Aesop Art Guide: Hong Kong
Aesop’s Neighbourhood Guides demonstrate the brand’s commitment to context and community. This Art Guide, produced to mark Hong Kong Art Month 2024, is a collection of creative destinations to inspire exploration
Hong Kong’s creative industries are buoyed both by a grassroots community of individuals committed to preserving and showcasing the city’s talents, and by the interest and commitment of international galleries, investors and collectors. The introduction of art fairs like Art Basel and Art Central, as well as internationally recognised institutions like the acclaimed M+ museum, have bolstered its position, but beyond the fairs and big-name institutions is an art ecosystem comprising active, engaged local artists, art professionals and creative communities.
With this in mind, Aesop has compiled a guide to some of the best Hong Kong art destinations. Some you may be familiar with, others less so. And while this list is by no means exhaustive, we trust it will be a handy companion and inspire further exploration.
Many of the places in this guide are part of a broader creative enclave, so, as with many of Hong Kong’s best locations, a wander around the neighbourhood will reward the curious flâneur.
Just as the brand does with other Aesop publications, we turn to the five senses to help categorise the locations in this guide. In Aesop’s stores, customers are invited to smell, see, taste, hear and touch, using all of their senses to experience its products and spaces. Art in all its forms is a sensorial experience too, and we invite you to engage your senses in each of these locations.
Text by Simone Schultz
Hong Kong Island
Aesop Stores of Note
Aesop Gough Street
Designed by Melbourne-based March Studio, Aesop Gough Street is a tribute to the area’s history as a printing industry hub. The design retains parts of the original structure, and more than 3,000 glass bricks are used to preserve and showcase that history.
2 Gough St, Central
Aesop Hollywood Road
Aesop’s newest store was designed as an homage to the elements that are uniquely Hong Kong: bamboo scaffolding, neon lights, tiled facades and Hollywood Road itself.
52 Hollywood Road, Central
Aesop Fashion Walk
Local firm MLKK Studio used mosaics made of cloudy pattern board, a household finish known for its durability and low cost, and swathes of powder blue paint to create this calming cocoon in the heart of Causeway Bay.
Shop 6, 27-47 Paterson St, Causeway Bay
Asia Art Archive
See, Smell, Touch
Founded in 2000, Asia Art Archive has grown from a handful of catalogues into one of the region’s foremost art institutions. The non-profit organisation is behind a vast and valuable collection of material on the recent history of art from Asia, with some 120,000 items and counting — made accessible to the public in its library and through its website, exhibitions, talks, workshops and residencies, making AAA a space that nourishes both mind and spirit.
11/F, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan
Young Soy
See
Self-proclaimed as ‘Hong Kong’s gallery for the people’, Young Soy is dedicated to ‘the everlasting quest of cultivating and celebrating radical cultural influences’. The irreverent tone is refreshing in its honesty, and the artists in the gallery’s stable represent different backgrounds and ideologies, as well as markedly different styles — so you’re never quite sure what you’ll get at a Young Soy exhibition, though the energy is always contagious.
40A Upper Lascar Row, Tai Ping Shan
H Queen’s
See, Taste
CL3 Architects designed the H Queen’s Building for the express purpose of housing art, and art world heavyweights Pace, David Zwirner, Whitestone and Tang Contemporary are spread over several floors. Begin your gallery-hopping expedition with lunch at Michelin-starred Nordic-Japanese restaurant Arbor, whose interiors come courtesy of Yabu Pushelberg, and end your day with a cocktail on the terrace of the Joyce Wang-designed Peruvian restaurant Ichu.
80 Queen’s Road Central, Central
Crafts on Peel
See, Touch
Crafts on Peel was established to preserve and encourage appreciation of Hong Kong’s artisanal heritage. The foundation pairs traditional craftspeople with contemporary designers and artists from around the region, facilitating the creation of new works that then form part of the programming. In a 1940s heritage building on Peel Street — neighbouring lively bars, noodle shops and open-air market stalls — it hosts exhibitions and public craft workshops (keep an eye out for dates), with a retail wing and a bijou accommodation for artists in residence.
11 Peel Street, Central
JC Contemporary, Tai Kwun
See, Taste, Hear
Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, Tai Kwun is a sprawling arts and cultural landmark that has revitalised a series of heritage buildings and introduced the new JC Contemporary, which houses galleries and the Artists’ Book Library, and hosts performances, book fairs and more. Tai Kwun’s museums, restaurants and lifestyle stores are also well worth a visit, so make a day of it.
Old Bailey Street, Central
Fringe Club
See, Taste, Hear
The Fringe Club focuses on ‘innovative, avant-garde and non-mainstream art’ and houses multiple performance spaces, a gallery, a cafe, a bar and Chinese restaurant Nove. It also recently launched Supper Club, a new hybrid event that combines an art fair, a gathering space and a hub for contemporary art, with the inaugural edition taking place from 25–30 March.
2 Lower Albert Road, Central
Kiang Malingue
See
Kiang Malingue’s second outpost is in a reimagined tong lau, or tenement house, on a quiet side street near Wan Chai’s Starstreet Precinct. The building itself, designed by local firm Beau Architects, is an experiment in cultural sustainability and adaptive reuse, while inside you can expect thought-provoking exhibitions by emerging and established contemporary artists from around the world.
10 Sik On Street, Wan Chai
THE SHOPHOUSE
See, Touch
Established by local creative agency Unveil Limited, THE SHOPHOUSE is a lifestyle and exhibition space in a restored 1930s shophouse whose design maintains the building’s original features. The gallery spans three floors, while the ground floor and rooftop are also home to otherthings, a crafts store with a focus on the handmade. The nearby SIDESPACE uses Tai Hang’s garages, shops and dwellings as a space for collaboration with local underground artists and craftspeople. Save time to explore one of the city’s most charming neighbourhoods, with plenty of characterful drinking and dining spots along its tong lau-lined streets.
4 Second Lane, Tai Hang
Para Site
See
Para Site was founded in 1996 by Hong Kong artists as an independent space to exhibit art of the moment with an experimental spirit. Now, as a stalwart of the local art scene and one of the oldest and most active independent art institutions in Asia, the prolific organisation produces exhibitions, publications and educational programmes.
22/F, Wing Wah Industrial Building, 677 King’s Road, Quarry Bay
Kowloon & Further Afield
Aesop Stores of Note
Aesop Harbour City
Also designed by long-time collaborator MLKK Studio, Aesop Harbour City features a monolithic pebble wash centrepiece incorporating sinks, a bench seat and a counter, its heft and curves giving it a sculptural quality.
Shop 3317, Level 3, Gateway Arcade, Canton Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui
Aesop New Town Plaza
Referencing the continual construction and ever-changing streetscapes of Hong Kong, Aesop’s space in Sha Tin’s New Town Plaza is a futuristic mise en scène of angles and lines realised in fine-gauge steel mesh.
Shop A354, Center Street, New Town Plaza Phase 3, Sha Tin
Eaton Hotel
See, Taste, Touch
At Eaton hotel, ‘hospitality is a means for community, creativity, and culture’. A regular hangout for the city’s creative set, the terrace bar Terrible Baby and adjoining Music Room often hosts music events and pop-up markets, and the hotel regularly hosts workshops, talks and exhibitions. Another drawcard is the Food Hall, a dining complex inspired by Wong Kar-wai films and the Jordan noodle shops of Eaton founder Katherine Lo’s childhood.
380 Nathan Road, Jordan
MUM’S NOT HOME
See, Taste, Hear
If it’s quirky, off-the-beaten-track you’re after, look no further than MUM’S NOT HOME, a first-floor bolthole that defies categorisation. Part cafe, part gallery, part lifestyle store and even part hairdresser, MUM’S NOT HOME is a space for all the things founders Chow Kong Chuen and Makui Ma love. The pair host intimate music events and art exhibitions from time to time, so be sure to check what’s on when planning your visit.
1/F, 302 Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei
Broadway Cinematheque & Kubrick
See, Taste, Hear
A cult favourite among locals in the know, this bookstore and art-house cinema complex is a one-stop shop for books, vinyl, movies and coffee. Broadway Cinematheque puts on film festivals, director retrospectives and themed programmes, while the bookstore downstairs offers plenty for the creatively inclined bibliophile, from film and art titles to coffee table books and an impressive offering of independent magazines.
3 Public Square St, Yau Ma Tei
West Kowloon Cultural District
See, Hear, Touch
One of Hong Kong’s more recent cultural developments, the West Kowloon Cultural District comprises creative landmarks such as M+ museum, Freespace and The Palace Museum, as well as numerous parks, cafes, venues and viewpoints. The must-visit M+ is Asia's ‘first global museum of contemporary visual culture’, with permanent and rotating exhibitions, a cinema and events spaces; Freespace is a centre for contemporary performances and music events; and The Palace Museum has a collection of more than 900 artefacts from the Palace Museum in Beijing, and often presents exhibitions in collaboration with major global institutions.
Tsim Sha Tsui
Yuet Tung China Works
See, Hear, Touch
One could lose hours wandering the towering aisles and cramped corners of Yuet Tung China Works, the warehouse of Hong Kong's only remaining hand-painted porcelain factory. The pieces are painted in the traditional Cantonese style, and the warehouse sells plates, bowls, vases and plenty more, all covered in bright, ornate patterns. You may even catch a glimpse of a painter at work, and you can leave with a dish of your own design, a unique conversation starter for the dinner table.
3/F, Kowloon Bay Industrial Centre, 15 Wang Hoi Road, Kowloon Bay
The Mills + CHAT
See, Hear, Touch
The Mills is a heritage revitalisation project involving the transformation of three former cotton mills into a cultural and creative hub that honours its history as the home of Nan Fung Textiles. The complex is made up of The Mills Shopfloor, with boutiques, concept stores and cafes celebrating ‘maker culture’; The Mills Fabrica, an incubator for ‘techstyle’ and agrifood startups; and CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile), a textile art centre that hosts permanent and seasonal exhibitions, workshops and other programmes that educate and inspire.
45 Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan, New Territories
Lamma Art Collective
See, Hear, Touch
Far from the gleaming towers and manicured galleries of Central, Lamma Art Collective is a community space where events range from exhibitions and parties to music masterclasses, cooking classes and yoga, and plenty in between. The third-largest of Hong Kong’s outlying islands is home to a free-spirited, multicultural community, so consider Lamma Art Collective an entry point to all that the laid-back island has to offer.
1/F, 23 Yung Shue Wan Main Street, Lamma Island
My Secret Garden
See, Touch
On the small island of Peng Chau, My Secret Garden is a former leather factory and a Grade III-listed cultural monument site that now houses a fantastical collection of sculptures and installations made from waste materials — a fascinating jumble of street and found art where every surface is a canvas.
