M+, Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, is pleased to announce that its first Special Exhibition on photography, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Noir & Blanc—A Story of Photography, will open to the public from Saturday, 16 March 2024 at Main Hall Gallery, M+. The exhibition is co-presented by M+ and the French May Arts Festival in collaboration with the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) and is exclusively sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It marks the first M+ exhibition dedicated to the medium of photography and is the opening programme of the French May Arts Festival 2024. The exhibition includes more than 250 significant photographs from BnF’s world-renowned collection of photography, complemented by over thirty works drawn from the M+ Collections, and examines black-and-white photography as a time-honoured medium of art.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Noir & Blanc—A Story of Photography is a thematic presentation of photographic works dating from 1915 to 2019 and is the first major public exhibition of BnF’s photography collections in Asia. It features over 170 internationally celebrated photographers, including Man Ray, Diane Arbus, Mario Giacomelli, Robert Frank, William Klein, Daido Moriyama, Valérie Belin, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Over thirty works from the M+ Collections are also showcased, spotlighting how eminent Asian photographers and artists such as Chang Chao-Tang, Ho Fan, Lang Jingshan, Liu Heung Shing, Nalini Malani, Ishimoto Yasuhiro, and Yau Leung transformed this expressive medium.

The three thematic sections of the exhibition offer different perspectives to understand black-and-white image-making over the course of more than a century. ‘Aiming for Contrast’ captures moments of stark opposition in our everyday existence that intensify perceptions of reality. ‘Light and Shadow’ demonstrates how photographers ‘paint’ with light, expressing nuances of texture, mood, pattern, and structure. ‘Colour Chart’ highlights the tonal nuances of grey, which introduce infinite variations to monochrome photography.

Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+, expresses her excitement about partnering with the French May Arts Festival and BnF, ‘M+ is thrilled to host important works of photography from BnF’s illustrious collection while showcasing the richness of our own collections in this new exhibition. This fruitful partnership with the French May Arts Festival and BnF brings world-class works of black-and-white photography to trace global resonances and generations of experimentation of the medium to our visitors. We look forward to bringing this international collaboration to our audiences.’

Doryun Chong, Deputy Director, Curatorial and Chief Curator, M+, highlights the eloquence of black-and-white photography, ‘The forms and tones of monochrome photography have the power to capture reality and unveil surreal abstractions. In the face of the oversaturation of colour and digital photography in the commercial sphere and social media spaces, black-and-white photography remains compelling with its powerful and evocative poetry of contrasts. Alternately nostalgic, intense, introspective, and avant-garde, the works displayed in The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Noir & Blanc—A Story of Photography capture beautiful interpretations of the world and highlight the thread of artistic experimentation running through the practices of masters from around the world.’

Xavier Mahe, Executive Director of French May Arts Festival, highlights the importance of the cross-cultural collaboration between France and Hong Kong, ‘The French May Arts Festival proudly collaborates with the esteemed M+ and the prestigious Bibliothèque Nationale de France, uniting to showcase France’s most treasured national collection of black-and-white photography alongside the M+ photography collection. This partnership epitomises the festival’s unwavering commitment to enriching cultural exchange. Through this collaborative effort, we enable a profound and dynamic artistic dialogue between France and Hong Kong, celebrating the universal language of art, bridging cultures and inspiring mutual understanding.’

Laurence Engel, President of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, says, ‘I look forward to the presentation in Hong Kong of the exhibition, an exhilarating journey through the photography collections of the BnF, their richness, variety, and international scope. The fact that this invitation to a better understanding of these treasures in Asia is taking place at M+, an exceptional art venue as ambitious as it is demanding, and during a dynamic festival, the French May Arts Festival, which proudly showcases the colours of French culture—whether they be the colours of black and white photography—is an additional reason for great satisfaction.’

Nicholas Hunsworth, Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club says, ‘The Club has supported the French May Arts Festival as a Major Partner for the past thirteen years through its Charities Trust. This reflects the Club’s staunch commitment to building the cultural vibrancy of Hong Kong, including through close collaboration with the Association Culturelle France – Hong Kong. In particular the Club aims to make the arts accessible to people of all abilities and backgrounds, to foster creative thinking, and to give expression to a new generation of home-grown talent.’

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Noir & Blanc—A Story of Photography is supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust as the Exclusive Sponsor, together with Cathay as Travel Partner and Manifesto Expo as the Exhibition Coordinator of the exhibition.

The exhibition opening ceremony tonight will be officiated by representatives from West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, M+, the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, the French May Arts Festival, BnF, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, Cathay, and Manifesto Expo.

Public programmes

M+ and the French May Arts Festival will co-present a series of Jockey Club Education and Outreach Programmes to accompany The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Noir & Blanc—A Story of Photography throughout the exhibition period, including photographer-led guided tours, talks, and conversations. There will also be complimentary tickets for local secondary schools as well as community tours to engage a range of audiences. M+ will also host a conversation between Pauline J. Yao, Lead Curator, Visual Art, M+ and Flora Triebel, Curator of 19th-century photography, BnF at The Forum, M+ on Saturday, 16 March 2024, from 14:00 to 15:30. The talk will explore the aesthetics of black-and-white photography in the context of the growing prominence of colour photography and digital media, reflecting on a resurgence in the appreciation for black-and-white photography. For more details and registration information, please visit the M+ website.

Exhibition special merchandise

Coinciding with the opening of this Special Exhibition, the M+ Shop is launching exclusive Special Exhibition merchandise, including a mini-publication, Noir & Blanc: A Story of Photography, and a special camera set. The camera set comes with a half-frame film camera and a camera strap specially made for the exhibition. They will be available for purchase at The M+ Shop and online. Product highlights of exclusive merchandise are available in the image sheet.

Ticketing arrangement

Tickets to the Special Exhibition are available for online purchase via the M+ website, West Kowloon Cultural District website, West Kowloon Cultural District App, Cityline, China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited, Fliggy, Klook, KKday, and Trip.com. The Special Exhibition ticket is priced at HKD140 for adults and HKD70 for visitors eligible for concessions*. Visitors with Special Exhibition tickets can access The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Noir & Blanc—A Story of Photography and all M+ General Admission exhibitions starting from Saturday,16 March 2024.

Madame Song: Pioneering Art and Fashion in China, another Special Exhibition, is on display in West Gallery until 14 April 2024. Special Exhibitions Dual Pass, priced at HKD210 for adults and HKD105 for visitors eligible for concessions*, is available to visitors who wish to visit both Special Exhibitions on the same day in addition to all General Admission exhibitions.

For more information on M+ ticketing arrangements, please visit the M+ website.

*Concession tickets are available for full-time students, children ages 7 to 11, senior citizens ages 60 or above, person with disabilities and one companion, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients.

M+ Membership

M+’s annual membership and patron membership offer an exclusive experience of contemporary visual culture for people of all ages and backgrounds. All M+ Members with valid memberships on or before Tuesday, 31 December 2024 can enjoy three free admission tickets to Special Exhibitions throughout the membership year, including The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Noir & Blanc—A Story of Photography. Meanwhile, M+ Patrons can enjoy unlimited free admission to all exhibitions with up to three guests per visit. In addition, M+ Members and Patrons can enjoy a special preview to the exhibition prior to public opening, along with thirty to fifty per cent ticket discounts for Special Exhibitions. Other membership benefits include unlimited free access to General Admission exhibitions, exclusive access to the M+ Lounge, M+ Private Viewing, priority booking of tickets, exclusive events, and more. For more information, please visit the M+ website.

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, 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

The West Kowloon Cultural District 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, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances, and cultural events, providing twenty-three hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.

About French May Arts Festival

Established in 1993, French May is one of the largest cultural events in Asia. With about a hundred programmes presented across two months, we showcase the most diversified art forms, from heritage and contemporary arts, painting, and design to classical music and hip-hop dance, cinema, and circus. The festival has become an iconic part of Hong Kong’s cultural scene, reaching out to 20 million visitors since its inception.

French May brings the arts to everyone, not only in cultural venues, but also in public spaces, shopping malls, and more, inviting audiences across Hong Kong to enjoy art in their daily lives. With the aim of making the arts accessible for all, French May places a strong emphasis on education through outreach programmes, guided tours, workshops, masterclasses, and free performances. The festival strives to reach the widest possible audience and contribute to the education of the young and less privileged, working closely with over fifty local institutions and organisations to establish barrier-free arts access.

About Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)

The Bibliothèque nationale de France is the heir to the royal collections built up since the end of the Middle Ages. It preserves a heritage that is unique in the world with more than 40 million documents, including 15 million books and journals, manuscripts, prints, photographs, maps and plans, scores, coins, medals, sound documents, videos, multimedia, sets, costumes, and the billions of files collected as part of the legal deposit of the French web since 2006. Through these materials, BnF preserves and transmits a part of the world's memory. A universal heritage made available to all, BnF’s encyclopaedic collections have been feeding and enriching evolutionary thinking about the world for nearly five centuries, formed by a network of resources designed to enlighten and create knowledge.

The historic site of Richelieu, reopened in September 2022, allows visitors to discover 900 treasures from BnF’s collections in a new museum, and the mythical Oval Room invites the public to consult 20,000 volumes available for free consultation. Digital technology is a major development for the preservation and dissemination of BnF's collections. Gallica, its digital library, now provides free access to 10 million documents. A place for the transmission and accessing of culture, BnF hosts exhibitions, events, workshops, visits, performances, book editions, online conferences, and more.