M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, hosted its fundraising M+ Gala 2024 in the museum’s Main Hall tonight. The gala was attended by more than 300 esteemed guests from across the world, including top leaders of the international art circle such as Maria Balshaw, Director, Tate, United Kingdom; Gong Yan, Director, Power Station of Art, Shanghai; Mami Kataoka, Director, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Glenn D. Lowry, Director, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Dr Uli Sigg, collector and member of the M+ Board, Switzerland; and Xu Bing, artist, Beijing. Also in attendance were Hong Kong film director Peter Chan, actresses Carina Lau, Sandra Ng, Kamiyama Anna, model Kathy Chow, and Korean singer and actor Siwon Choi, as well as other cultural icons, business and community leaders, art patrons, and benefactors. All attendees walked the red carpet in Artist Square before attending the gala.

The highlight of the gala was the Couture Showcase by legendary couture artist Guo Pei. The fifteen showcased pieces include garments from two thematic collections released by Guo Pei during Paris Haute Couture Week and her latest creations of ceremony gowns. The glamorous evening also included the very first preview of M+’s new Special Exhibition Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination, Guo Pei’s first major exhibition in East Asia, which will open to the public on Saturday, 21 September. The live charity auction by renowned auctioneer Danielle So was a tremendous success, boasting prominent lots like Empress Gown with Dragons, designed by Guo Pei and produced by Rose Studio, and fine wine donated by Henry Tang, Chairman of the Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. A live performance by award-winning local dance crew ChestRoll was held.

Bernard Chan, Chairman of the M+ Board, presenting a speech at the fundraising event, says, ‘The M+ Gala is an important part of the museum’s fundraising strategy, supporting initiatives that are conducive to the institution’s long-term growth. The gala provides M+ with a source of funding for exhibitions, commissions, programmes, international outreach, and museum operations, ultimately strengthening Hong Kong’s role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. This event sustains and promotes contemporary visual culture, ensuring that it continues to enrich people’s lives for generations. As part of WestK, M+ contributes to the development of a new culture of philanthropy for the arts in Hong Kong.’

Paulo Pong, Chairman of the M+ Gala Board, says, ‘I am pleased that M+ Gala 2024 has successfully raised funds to support our extraordinary museum, M+. I am immensely grateful to the M+ Gala Board and all the guests coming from Hong Kong and all over the world for their goodwill and their extremely generous contributions at this fundraising event which enables M+ to fulfil its vision of bringing contemporary visual culture to the world.’

All proceeds raised from M+ Gala 2024 will go towards the museum’s operations and development in the coming years. The funds will make contemporary visual culture more accessible, enabling M+ to acquire and preserve collections, deliver inspiring exhibitions and programmes, and nurture artists and creative practitioners. The generosity of M+’s supporters enable the museum to realise its vision to become one of the world’s leading cultural institutions.

Food and beverages for the M+ Gala were generously supported by Catering Partner Grand Hyatt Hong Kong and Supporting Sponsors Altaya Group and Champagne Perrier-Jouët.

About M+

M+ is a museum 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. In Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK), it is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the world, with a bold ambition to establish ourselves as one of the world’s leading cultural institutions. M+ is a new kind of museum that reflects our unique time and place, a museum that builds on Hong Kong’s historic balance of the local and the international to define a distinctive and innovative voice for Asia’s twenty-first century.

About the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK)

WestK is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on forty hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, WestK produces and hosts world-class exhibitions, performances, and cultural events, providing twenty-three hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.