Para Site Fundraising Auction 2016
Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2016
Preview Exhibition: Oct 27 – Oct 31, 2016
K11 Art Foundation Pop-up Space
G/F Cosco Tower
33 Wing Lok Street
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
20 years ago, a group of enthusiastic local artists decided to embark on an adventure that would see Hong Kong’s most beloved space for contemporary art enter the consciousness of the city, just as Hong Kong was preparing for the most momentous date in its recent history, the handover. The story of Hong Kong and that of Para Site have been interlinked ever since, with our small but energetic institution being key to the development of contemporary art in Hong Kong and a testament to the hard work that has established its position at the core of both local and international debates on the myriad links between art and society. Over the past two decades, Para Site has grown, shifted, and reflected our beloved Hong Kong, closely following the city’s rhythm. And just as it is difficult to imagine Para Site anywhere else, it has become impossible to think of Hong Kong without its oldest and most active space for encountering contemporary art. While Para Site has become one of the best known mid-size institutions on the international scene, where it often collaborates with much larger and older institutions, it has remained a uniquely Hong Kong space.
In our 20th year, Para Site has developed its programmes like never before, offering a small glimpse into what the next 20 years could bring! We have greatly expanded what we are able to offer back to the community, in the number of exhibitions, public programmes, residencies, new publications, visitor numbers, and overall impact on the local arts community. We have grown our educational programmes, including our prestigious intensive workshop for emerging art professionals from Hong Kong and abroad, held in conjunction with our annual international conference – which was, yet again, a major event on the global art agenda. We are particularly proud of the developments in our long-term project engaging with Hong Kong’s domestic worker community, which has seen dozens of workshops, meetings, events, and exhibitions organised together with this community, so often marginalised in our city.
These have all joined our much applauded exhibition programme. The World is Our Home. A Poem on Abstraction was a groundbreaking, museum-level exhibition that gathered together, for the first time, outstanding historical artists from all across the world. Afterwork, looking at the broad issues of domestic work, labour, and migration in Hong Kong and beyond, has been one of the most successful exhibitions in recent years, with thousands of visitors and hundreds of reviews in leading local and international media. Samson Young’s solo exhibition, Orchestrations, gave Hong Kong audiences a chance to see the excellent work of the artist who will represent our city at the Venice Biennale next year. This was in addition to our already-established booth at Art Basel, every year featuring a promising local artist with newly commissioned work. That Has Been, and May Be Again continued our support of young Hong Kong curators in having the chance to realise their first large-scale exhibition with all the opportunities Para Site has to offer: its space, experience, and budget. Our current exhibition, Apichatpong Weerasethakul: The Serenity of Madness, is a unique opportunity to encounter the works of one the most original artists and filmmakers of our time. Soil and Stones, Souls and Songs, a major new survey with artists from across Asia and beyond, co-organised with (Paris/San Francisco) and held at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) in Manila, showcases Para Site’s central position in debates within Asia and the international arts scene, as well as the regional and global scope of our activities. In the same vein, our exhibitions continue to travel successfully to several prestigious international venues this year, including Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC) in Mexico City, and will continue to tour the world over the coming months, with openings planned in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Rio de Janeiro, and Jakarta.
None of this would have been possible without the tremendous generosity of our Patrons and supporters. And because we would like you to know exactly how this support translates into our work, here are a few examples of the costs that went into these projects:
$3,500 is the artist fee for participating in one of our group exhibitions
$5,000 is the transportation of a visiting artist from the region
$10,000 is the electricity in the gallery for one month
$40,000 is the production of Para Site’s booth in Art Basel
$70,000 is the production of a newly commissioned installation work
$120,000 is the printing of a major Para Site publication
$500,000 is the production of a regular Para Site exhibition
$700,000 is the organisation of our International Conference
We are thus extremely grateful to all of you for supporting us; to all the artists, galleries, and friends who have donated an unprecedented set of works and experiences, to our expanding family of Founding Friends, Friends, and Associates, as well as to our Advisory Council, who have made our last year possible. Special gratitude goes to our Lead Corporate Sponsors: Phillips Auction House and The Outnet.com, to our Auction Preview Venue Partner: K11 Art Foundation, and to the following organisations for their contributions: . Last but not least, our heartfelt and special thanks to for generously hosting the anniversary gala.
