PMQ
Built in 1889 as Hong Kong’s very first government school, then demolished and rebuilt in 1951 as the Police Married Headquarters, government-subsidised housing for Hong Kong’s junior police officers and their families, this now buzzing hub remained unused for 15 years before it was restored and resurrected in 2014 as a creative lifestyle venue named PMQ.
Today, it is home to around 130 studio units that local designers and artisans use as workshops and retail spaces. A number of stylish restaurants and cafés such as Aberdeen Street Social have also set up shop at PMQ, while vibrant design and food markets draw a hip crowd.
Gallery EXIT
Gallery EXIT was established in 2008, aiming to present artwork that is not afraid to shock, an antidote to the predominantly safe art environment of Hong Kong. Four years later, it is still on message, a recent exhibition by local artist Angela Su consisted of video installations of the artist having 39 lines of text tattooed or "slashed" on to her back. Its centrally located, two-level shopfront building attracts a young, local and well-versed crowd, and the programme is a pretty good indicator of what is happening in East Asian art at ground level.
Sun Museum
This non-profit museum in Kowloon’s Kwun Tong neighbourhood was set up with the goal of increasing public awareness and appreciation for local Hong Kong art, along with art from the wider region that makes use of traditional Chinese aesthetics. The Sun Museum runs a vibrant programme of exhibitions, lectures and publications, all with the aim of promoting awareness and understanding of Chinese art and culture.
AfricArt Gallery
The only art gallery in Hong Kong to specialise in African contemporary art, hence the name, this Sai Kung-based establishment paves the way for Hongkongers to interact and be exposed to exciting artists from the African continent. Encounter painters like Mulala Landry, who hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Bodo Fils, who is known for his allegorical portraits. Founded by Michael Piette, AfricArt Gallery is here to help change things up in the Hong Kong art scene.
Liang Yi Museum
Set within a 20,000-square-foot (1,858-square-metre) warehouse, the Liang Yi Museum is the largest private museum in Hong Kong. Founded by a local collector in 2014, the museum centres on design, craftsmanship and heritage, specialising in Chinese antique furniture made from huanghuali (rosewood) and zitan, precious woods that were used for furniture making in China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. With the world’s finest collections of classical Chinese furniture and European vanity cases, the Liang Yi Museum is the place for lovers of traditional Chinese craft or European history.