Hong Kong & Shanghai

HONG KONG & SHANGHAI CONTEMPORARY ART IN CHINA MARCH 18-26, 2020 TOUR LEADER: DR ANITA ARCHER HONG KONG Overview & SHANGHAI Hong Kong and Shanghai are China’s most cosmopolitan cities. Both cities have been shaped by their historic role as the point of contact Tour dates: March 18-26, 2020 between Chinese and western cultures, but they have retained distinctive local identities which is reflected in their architecture, cuisines, way of life Tour leader: Dr Anita Archer and in their art. Yet their unique histories make them vastly different, revealing distinctive aspects of China’s past and present. Tour Price: $5,880 per person, twin share Both cities share in common an extraordinary reputation as centres of Single Supplement: $1,210 for sole use of contemporary art. Hong Kong’s profile has grown substantially over the double room past decade, thanks in part to the transformation of the Hong Kong art fair into Art Basel, and the growing number of art shows taking place around Booking deposit: $500 per person this signature event in March. Recommended airline: Qantas or Cathay Shanghai – the colonial ‘Paris of the East’ and the third largest city in the Pacific world – has extended its role as a creative capital, with former industrial spaces being transformed into galleries, studios and art venues. The Maximum places: 20 growth of world-class private collections has been remarkable too, and ranges from museums of traditional art, such as the Tadao Ando designed Itinerary: Hong Kong (3 nights), Shanghai Aurora Museum, to China’s largest private art collection (whose owner, Liu (5 nights) Yiquan, made headlines when he bought a Modigliani for US$170 million). Date published: September 23, 2019 This 9-day tour explores the art and history of these two cities, with a special focus on modern and contemporary art. The tour starts with three nights in Hong Kong, with visits to Art Basel and specially organised talks by artists and curators, and exploring the city’s architecture and history. It continues with five nights in Shanghai, home to many of the finest collections in China and its most stunning contemporary architecture. The tour is rounded out with fine dining, an exploration of traditional Chinese art and architecture, and a day trip to Suzhou to visit its UNESCO World Heritage listed gardens. Your tour leader Dr Anita Archer holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne. Her academic knowledge of the Chinese contemporary art market has grown from her distinguished (and ongoing) career as an arts consultant and auctioneer, working in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing and London. Anita grew up in the UK and, after completing Enquiries and her study of art history, trained as an bookings auctioneer and evaluator at Sothebys, London. For further information and to Anita has led and organised tours for the University of Melbourne as well secure a place on this tour as for small groups of art collectors in Asia and the Middle East. please contact Rebecca Fussell at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email [email protected]. au Tour Highlights ART BASEL IN HONG KONG Art Basel Hong Kong is the Asia-Pacific region’s premier art fair. Each year over 200 commercial galleries from around the world show off their best works of modern and contemporary art. The scale and quality of the work on display is extraordinary, and it has become the centrepiece of Hong Kong’s thriving arts scene. HISTORIC CHINESE ART Contemporary art in China often draws on millennia old traditions. Explore how these traditions – from porcelain, to bronze, lacquered wood, painting and calligraphy – inform recent generations of artists, or just appreciate these works in their own right for their beauty, refinement and the insights they give into an ancient civilisation. SHANGHAI Get to know China’s most glamorous city, from the fusion of Chinese and Western colonial cultures that helped make it the Pearl of the Orient, to its stunning transformation into the country’s cultural capital. Explore its streetscapes, cuisines and fantastic art collections, and enjoy a day trip to Suzhou, with its excellent World Heritage Listed Gardens. PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Hong Kong and Shanghai are global financial centres, like New York and London. As such they attract residents whose wealth and love of art have led them to create exceptional private collections, such as the Aurora Museum and the Long Museum in Shanghai, and to attract exceptional artists, curators and gallerists to these cities. STUNNING ARCHITECTURE From traditional temples to playful contemporary museums and soaring towers, the architecture of China is stunning. See masterpieces by I. M. Pei, Tadao Ando, Norman Foster and the host of others who’ve found patrons with the will (and money) to enable them to unleash their creativity and push what is possible with modern engineering. Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D. Tour Start & Finish Time The tour starts on Wednesday 18 March at 7.30pm, in the Park Lane Hong Kong hotel. The tour ends on Thursday 26 March after breakfast, at the Central Hotel, Shanghai. Wednesday 18 March Arrive Flights from most Australian cities arrive in Hong Kong in the late afternoon or early evening. We meet in the hotel for an Above and below: The vibrancy and colour of Hong Kong Central in aperitif and then enjoy dinner. Overnight Hong Kong. (D) painting and photography Thursday 19 March Below: Large sculpture and installations are exhibited among the Hong Kong and Art Basel Galleries section at Art Basel Hong Kong. In this case Dan Buren’s work captures the colour and forms of urban living Hong Kong’s extraordinary history, from its early foundations, to its growth as the centre of British trade and finance in Asia and its transfer back to China almost 20 years ago, is evident everywhere. This morning we explore the island’s history and culture through a tour of Central – originally Victoria City – whose architecture ranges from British Colonial through to stunning buildings designed by I.M. Pei and Norman Foster. Our walking tour includes visits to galleries and to Tai Kwun, the former police headquarters converted into an art centre by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. After a break for lunch, we visit Art Basel Hong Kong, where well over 200 internationally respected commercial galleries, mostly from the Asia-Pacific, showcase their wares. Your tour leader has extensive knowledge of the work on display and of the Asian art world, enabling you to meet and talk to the artists and curators. After a structured visit, there is time for independent exploration, and you may want to visit some of the other sections of the fair. Overnight Hong Kong. (B) Friday 20 March Art in Hong Kong Hong Kong’s colonial past is present everywhere in the city, but the density of the high rise can make it difficult to find. This morning we explore the past and present of Hong Kong by visiting the Asia Society of Hong Kong Center. Today the Asia Society inhabits the former Victoria Barracks, and its main building is the colonial barrack’s magazine. After touring the historic architecture and visiting the art exhibitions on view, we continue exploring the contemporary art on display in and around Art Basel, including the exhibition Sotheby’s puts on above Art Basel to show off what is about to go up for auction. Evening at leisure. Overnight Hong Kong. (B) Saturday 21 March To Shanghai This morning we explore the local art scene in Hong Kong, before taking a mid-afternoon flight to Shanghai. After checking into our hotel, we tour the local area – a short stroll from the historic Bund district whose art deco and colonial buildings look across to the towers of Pudong, symbols of Shanghai’s rebirth as an international financial and cultural centre. Dinner and overnight Shanghai. (B, D) Sunday 22 March art and architecture in Shanghai Shanghai’s museums have collections befitting the cultural capital of one of the world’s largest economies. After a talk in the hotel this morning, we visit the China Art Museum, the main state-owned collection of modern and contemporary art to see its collection, including the 27-metre long animated version of the 900-year old Zhang Zeduan’s Along the River During the Qingming Festival. After lunch we contrast the state-owned museum with one of the Shanghai’s many private collections. The Aurora Museum is a five-floor building designed by Tadao Ando to house the chairman of the Aurora Group’s private collection of antiquities, from ancient pottery to Ming Dynasty Porcelain, exquisite works in jade and Buddhist sculpture. The building itself is one of the architectural symbols of Pudong – Shanghai’s financial district – which also includes the twisting form of the 632-metre-high Shanghai Tower and the Pearl Radio Above: part of Tai Kwun arts centre in Hong Kong, designed by Herzog Tower. In the mid-afternoon, we return to the colonial city, and and de Meuron and incorporating the buildings of the colonial police tour the Peace Hotel, perhaps the best-preserved art deco headquarters; the stunning art deco interiors of the Peace Hotel, on the building on the Bund. Evening at leisure. Overnight Shanghai. Bund, Shanghai (B) Below: The Humble Administrators Garden – one of the many UNESCO World Heritage listed gardens of Suzhou Monday 23 March Suzhou Today we visit Suzhou, the Shanghai region’s most beautiful watertown. The town, once called the Venice of the East for its canals, has thrived as the headquarters of Samsung and Nike, making it one of the richest cities in China.

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