Hong Kong’s six most exciting museums and art galleries

1. Best for contemporary visual art: M+

At around 700,000 sq ft, M+ is one of the world’s largest museums of contemporary arts, nearly double the size of London’s vast Tate Modern. So, it’s no surprise that it tops Raffel’s own list.

“M+ stands for museum and more. We’re a museum of visual culture, meaning art, design, fashion, film and moving image and architecture,” she said.

It’s the undeniable jewel in the crown of the West Kowloon Cultural District, costing some US$750m (£609m) and boasting a collection of more than 8,000 pieces, many of which are on show across 33 galleries. Raffel likens its cross-disciplinary focus to Paris’ Pompidou Centre and MOMA in New York. “It’s many things to many people: an architectural icon, a beautiful social space and an institution with collections that speak to different people in different ways,” she explained.

Although there’s myriad things to see and do, she suggest that visitors first visit the Sigg Collection – “one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of contemporary Chinese art”.

Next, she recommends a stop at the Kiyotomo sushi bar in the design galleries: “It’s an absolutely beautiful piece of the collection made by the great Japanese conceptual architect and furniture designer Kuramata Shiro. It’s quintessential Japanese design, an architecture within our architecture.”

TIP: Become a member to get access to M+ Lounge, a sleek exclusive area with stellar views over Hong Kong and 90 artworks from the Living Collection, established by architect William Lim and his wife, interior designer Lavina Lim.

Website: https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/
Address: 38 Museum Drive, West Kowloon
Phone number: +852 2200 0217
Instagram: @mplusmuseum

2. Best for Chinese treasures: Hong Kong Palace Museum

Just a short stroll from M+, the Hong Kong Palace Museum is another art institution within the West Kowloon Cultural District. Its collection of more than 900 priceless artefacts, many from the Ming and Qing dynasties, comes from the National Palace Museum at the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Raffel reveals what makes it so unique: “There’s a rotating roster of loans of extraordinary pieces of art and archaeology. The Beijing Palace Museum is a historic site, not a museum really, but it has these amazing collections of bronzes, gold, the decorative arts, scrolls, lacquerware and beautiful porcelain –­ the big, deep history of Chinese art.”

Some are on show in Hong Kong for the first time, while some have never been on public display anywhere.

Special thematic exhibitions also shine a light on Chinese regional treasures, such as a focus on new archaeological discoveries from Sichuan Province, a dazzling collection of jade, gold, bronze and ceramics that date back 4,500 years. Look out for the exquisite, if haunting, 8th Century burial mask that combines gold with turquoise and inlaid rock crystal.

TIP: Regular talks and workshops are offered by esteemed experts across a number of artistic disciplines – just be sure to check whether they are offered in English.

Website: https://www.hkpm.org.hk/en/home
Address: 8 Museum Drive, West Kowloon Cultural District
Phone number: +852 2200 0217
Instagram: @hongkongpalacemuseum

3. Best for Hong Kong art and Chinese antiquities: Hong Kong Museum of Art

Hong Kong’s first public art museum opened in 1962, albeit in a different location than today’s site in the heart of the bustling Tsim Sha Tsui district, just along from the city’s iconic Star Ferry terminal.

“They had a wonderful expansion which opened in 2019, it really stepped up their programmes,” said Raffel.

Chinese antiquities, calligraphy and Hong Kong art are some of the features that draw visitors to the Hong Kong Museum of Art from around the world, part of a curated collection of close to 19,000 pieces. For Raffel, the special draw is “their prize collection [of] export ware that came from China into the world: blue and white porcelain, beautiful reverse glass paintings, some extraordinary holdings.”

She explained that the museum particularly chronicles the rise of art in Hong Kong since the 1920s as the city grew increasingly culturally diverse and pluralistic through the influx of people from all over the world. “Don’t miss their collection of works by contemporary Hong Kong artists,” she advised.

As part of their aim to “make art relevant to everyone”, the museum also offers a wide range of learning resources, including some specially targeted for children aged from two to six to explore selected artworks with their parents.

TIP: If you’re still not sated, The Hong Kong Museum of Art has a sister museum in Hong Kong Park: the Museum of Teaware in Flagstaff House, a heritage building that dates from 1846.