M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK) in Hong Kong, is proud to present 3 to 12 Nautical Miles (2026) by Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander. Co-commissioned by M+ and Art Basel, and presented by UBS, this radiant cinematic tableau, animated from hand-painted images, navigates the enduring currents of power and trade that have shaped the global landscape from the nineteenth century to the modern era. The work will be shown on the M+ Facade every night from Monday, 23 March to Sunday, 21 June 2026. The commission marks the fifth consecutive year of collaboration between M+ and Art Basel, presented by UBS, in activating the M+ Facade.

In 3 to 12 Nautical Miles, Sikander traces the entangled histories of empire, trade, and maritime power that linked the British East India Company, Mughal India, and Qing China. This animation charts the decline of Mughal authority under Akbar II, the internal strains of the Qing dynasty, and the East India Company’s rise from commercial venture to territorial power. Within this context, the work interrogates Britain’s opium cultivation in India, its coercive trade with China, and the First Opium War, exposing the mechanisms of imperial extraction and the deep power asymmetries between Britain and China at the time.

Featured on the M+ Facade, Sikander’s animation magnifies the painted gestures, objects, and symbols that signal how authority was constructed, distributed, and contested, from Indian fields and ports to Chinese treaty cities and British naval power. It also examines how authority remains vulnerable, especially in places like the sea, where boundaries are never fully fixed. Grounded in research on China trade art at the Hong Kong Museum of Art and Hong Kong Maritime Museum, the work is rooted in historical detail and visual specificity. Through these complex histories, Sikander highlights empire as an interconnected global imperial economy built of coercion, extraction, and shifting power.

Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+, says, ‘As we mark our fifth year of collaboration with Art Basel and UBS, we are thrilled to showcase a work on the M+ Facade that thoughtfully explores the interplay between empire, power, and trade within a transnational, historical context. Shahzia Sikander’s practice, rooted in Central and South Asian miniature painting, offers a distinctive perspective on past and present globalisation through art. Presenting this commission on the M+ Facade reaffirms our commitment to innovative moving image practices and highlighting the diverse trajectories of Asian artists. This project explores the nuanced, multifaceted colonial history of Asia, underscoring the museum’s role in tracing cultural development in the region, fostering dialogue with audiences locally and globally.’

Angelle Siyang-Le, Director, Art Basel Hong Kong, says, ‘It has always been our goal to act as a connector, bringing together the private and public sectors to create spaces where meaningful intersections spark collaboration and innovation. Our ongoing partnership with M+ and UBS truly embodies this vision. Seeing Shahzia Sikander’s work transform the M+ Facade and engage contemporary art with civic space is incredibly rewarding. It invites audiences to pause and reflect on urgent global themes in an increasingly interconnected world. Projects like this remind us why art matters—it opens conversations that transcend boundaries and bring people together.’

Amy Lo, Chairman, Global Wealth Management Asia, Head and Chief Executive, UBS Hong Kong, says, ‘For five consecutive years, our partnership with M+ and Art Basel has stood as a powerful testament to UBS's enduring commitment to the arts and to fostering cultural dialogue. Shahzia Sikander's newly commissioned work exemplifies exceptional craftsmanship and invites us to engage deeply and thoughtfully with the intricacies of our shared histories. Together, we celebrate the power of art not only to illuminate the past, but also to inspire compelling narratives that help us build a more interconnected future.’

Ulanda Blair, Curator, Moving Image, M+, says ‘By reimagining the intimacy of miniature painting on this monumental scale, Sikander’s animation presents exciting new possibilities for storytelling and interdisciplinary visual culture in the public realm. Watercolour, as the work’s central medium, serves as a bridge across territories and time, fluidly connecting historical memory to contemporary experience. Through densely layered imagery, viewers are invited to reflect on Hong Kong’s dynamic history of international exchange and the often opaque systems that continue to influence economies today.’

Shahzia Sikander says, ‘This commission to create a new work for M+’s iconic facade has offered me an opportunity to extend my previous projects in Hong Kong into a deeper historical inquiry. 3 to 12 Nautical Miles traces the city’s emergence at a locus of intersecting empires, markets, and cultures, where the opium trade and the sea converged. This time-based cinematic work echoes the idea of the sea through ink, movement, and particle systems, alluding to water and ocean as conduits of imperial power, commercial exchange, and political control.’

Public programmes and limited-edition merchandise

In conjunction with the commission, the artist will present a free illustrated lecture about her trailblazing art practice on Thursday, 26 March at 17:00, in the M+ Cinema. The lecture will be held in English, and no prior registration is required. For more details, please refer to M+ Website.

As part of Art Basel Hong Kong's Premiere Artist Talk, Sikander will discuss her unique perspective on power, trade, and global exchange in a conversation with Doryun Chong, Artistic Director and Chief Curator of M+, on Wednesday, 25 March, at 15:00 in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Timed to coincide with the unveiling of her work 3 to 12 Nautical Miles on the M+ Facade, this free event offers deeper insights into the brand-new work. Further details will be announced on the Art Basel website.

A selection of the artist’s earlier animations, created over the past two decades, will be presented as free drop-in screenings, all day, every day from Tuesday, 24 March to Sunday, 29 March, also in the M+ Cinema. The programme includes a series of short animations and is designed to give audiences added insights into the development of her moving image practice over this period. Further details of the screening programme will be announced on the M+ website.

For the first time, a limited-edition T-shirt in two designs, featuring images from 3 to 12 Nautical Miles will be available at the M+ Shop and online, as well as the physical and online Art Basel Shop.

For details of the 3 to 12 Nautical Miles on the M+ Facade, please refer to the M+ website.

About Shahzia Sikander

Shahzia Sikander (American, born Pakistan, 1969) is widely celebrated for her pioneering work in subverting Central and South-Asian miniature painting traditions into dialogue with contemporary international art practices, launching the form known today as ‘neo-miniature’. Engaging ideas of language, trade, empire, and migration through fluid and surreal permutations, Sikander’s work resonates with a postmodern world and a contemporary feminist perspective. Her iconoclastic multimedia practice expands painting, video animation, mosaic, and sculpture to explore gender, sexuality, racial narratives, and colonial histories. She is a recipient of the MacArthur Award and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation’s Pollock Prize for Creativity, among others.

About the M+ Facade Commissions

The M+ Facade is an expansive, light-powered canvas featuring thousands of LEDs on the south face of the M+ building, making it one of the largest media screens in the world. Overlooking Victoria Harbour, the facade showcases a dynamic mix of works from the M+ Collections, moving image commissions, and the museum’s identity, offering moments of play, humour, poetry, intellectual reflection, and artistic contemplation to thousands of onlookers each evening. Throughout the year, M+ collaborates with leading artists from all over the world, commissioning works for the facade that champion new moving image practices and deepen the museum’s connection with a global audience. These commissions speak to M+’s role as a pioneering global museum of contemporary visual culture engaged with technology and digital media while contributing to the thriving arts scene in Hong Kong.

About M+

M+ is Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture. Located in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK), it is dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual art, design and architecture, moving image, and Hong Kong visual culture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The landmark M+ building on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbourfront was designed by the world-renowned architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron in partnership with TFP Farrells and Arup. It spans a total floor area of 65,000 square metres, featuring thirty-three galleries alongside a Learning Hub, Moving Image Centre, Research Centre, and Roof Garden, among other event and programming spaces. The M+ Facade is one of the largest LED screens in the world, showcasing commissioned artworks on the Hong Kong skyline every evening. The museum stewards a multidisciplinary permanent collection that includes objects from regions across Asia and beyond. A highlight is the M+ Sigg Collection, one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of Chinese contemporary art. Today, M+ is a nexus for researching and presenting contemporary visual culture, inspiring thought and curiosity.

About the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK)

WestK is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural hubs in the world and Hong Kong’s new cultural tourism landmark, spanning forty hectares alongside Victoria Harbour. WestK comprises a mix of landmark arts and cultural facilities, including world-class museums M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, intricately designed performing arts venues the Xiqu Centre and Freespace, the eleven-hectare Art Park with a waterfront promenade, and the upcoming WestK Performing Arts Centre.

Hosting over 1,000 exhibitions, performances, programmes, and events each year, WestK provides a vital platform for both emerging and established artists. WestK welcomes more than ten million visitors each year, evolving as the international cultural brand of Hong Kong and strengthening the city’s strategic role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.

About Art Basel

Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world’s premier art shows for modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, Paris and Qatar. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through new digital platforms and initiatives, such as The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, the Art Basel Shop, and the Art Basel Awards. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.