White Cube - Invest Hong Kong

Success Stories
“ We see massive and
rapid development of
the art scene
in this community.”
Graham Steele, Director
White Cube Hong Kong
White Cube to Broaden
Contemporary Art
Horizon
Hong Kong was the first choice for UK’s largest art gallery to promote
world-class artists to an enthusiastic and wealthy Asian audience
White Cube, the largest gallery in the UK with four galleries
worldwide, chose Hong Kong over other cities in the region for
expansion, soon after opening its 60,000-square foot gallery in
Bermondsey, London in 2011. That gallery is among the largest
in UK.
“Hong Kong was our immediate choice,” Graham Steele, Director,
White Cube Hong Kong, explained. “It’s such an amazing and
vibrant city. It has the energy of New York and the commerce
of China. It’s a post-colonial territory with ties to Europe but
quintessentially Asian. It offers a platform as the region’s
economic centre to do business in an incredibly easy way, far
easier than any other place in the world.”
Creating Deeper Dialogue
Opened in 2012 and situated in the heart of Hong Kong’s Central
district, White Cube’s impressive two-storey gallery space is
currently showcasing a series of Damien Hirst’s works. Previous
exhibitions included programmes from Gilbert & George,
Anselm Kiefer and Cerith Wyn Evans.
“There aren’t any museums in Hong Kong yet to see exhibitions
of new and fresh international contemporary art on the level
that White Cube is known for,” Steele said. “With a stable of artists
as broad and deep as the gallery is lucky enough to work with,
moving into a territory where they could be shown for the first
time to an entirely new and exciting audience simply made a lot
of sense.”
Most companies go to Asia for economic reasons but for a
gallery of this caliber and size, White Cube is motivated by the
challenge of doing something new. “It would’ve been easier to
do business perhaps without the exhibition. But we are here
to engage in this community, we are dedicated to producing
ambitious, challenging new shows that will excite and change
the way that people see contemporary art in Hong Kong,” Steele
said.
White Cube’s aim is to create a deeper dialogue among art
collectors, artists and curators as well as the general public in
Hong Kong.
“There are phenomenal collectors who don’t travel to London
and it’s much easier to bring them here and have discussions
with them here. We see massive and rapid development of the
art scene in this community,” Steele explained.
Commenting on local talent and government support, Steele
was very satisfied with the level of professionalism of the local
staff he hired in Hong Kong and the level of PR support that
InvestHK has been rendering White Cube.
White Cube
• Two galleries in London, one in Hong Kong and one in Sao
Paolo, Brazil
• Represents more than 50 world-renowned contemporary
artists
• Hong Kong gallery was opened in March 2012 and
employs seven staff
whitecube.com
investhk.gov.hk
Original date of publication: May 2013
© Copyright Invest Hong Kong, May 2013. All rights reserved.