AS-P4-002. Art in Malls – K11

Needless to say, Hong Kong is one of the top shopping destinations in the world. So, what does K11 (http://hk.k11.com/en/Art.aspx) do to make the city even more attractive for shoppers and art-lovers?

K11 has been sharing their extensive art collections with its shoppers in their mall. It is quite different from most malls where an art is just a decor to enhance the setting. As the main theme of the shopping experience. As a frontier of embedding art, people, and nature throughout its shopping mall, perhaps K11 is suggesting a meaningful platform that enables artists to connect with more people in retail spaces.

What is your mission and/or vision for K11?

K11 (K): K11 is a revolutionary museum retail concept that fuses art and shopping, featuring top global and local selected brands in a complex adorned with sculptures and interactive art.
As the world’s first original brand to pioneer the blend of three essential elements of Art • People • Nature, K11 allows the public to appreciate different local artworks and performances during shopping and leisure through the provision of various multi-dimensional spaces. It also allows young artists to have more opportunities for showcasing their works so as to foster the development of local art.

Tell us about the history of the art collection/program at K11.

K: K11 Kollection displays famous artwork from different artists. The special K11 Kollection ignites passion in the heart, commands attention and displays an extraordinary charisma.
Some of the masterpieces include Chinese Wall Painting by Yinka Shonibare, MBE, Captain by Deborah Butterfield, Dust Tree II by Jaffa Lam, Hands by Kum Chi Keung, etc.

What does the name, "K11", stand for?

K: K and 11 are two common alphabets. They also have a neutral meaning from the Eastern philosophy – reality and the virtual world complement each other.
K11’s meaning can be very broad, and it stimulates endless imagination. It is unique and may vary due to sentiment and personal differences, so all the K11 projects can provide customers with different sensory experiences.

Is there any consistent message, regardless of different exhibitions, that K11 wants to deliver to visitors?

K: By implementing Art x Commerce, K11 is keen to bring art to the masses and promote art in living, taking artist collaboration to a new level.
In Christmas 2016, K11 showcased for the first time in Hong Kong A World in a Well by Song Dong, one of the most internationally renowned contemporary artists from China. His artwork is primarily made from recycling materials to explore the concept of surplus value and to engage the public to participate in an art journey to discover new ways of seeing the world during the festive season. In order to promote arts for the masses, Song Dong had specially designed a limited edition A World in a Well kaleidoscope, art pieces that were exclusively available at the K11 Design Store for people to bring art home.
We are dedicated to bringing different contemporary art forms to the public. Our latest exhibition ME: MILLENNIALS channeled a new-media all-around shopping space, including a secluded art space, 11 showcases on different shop floors, and atrium.

Describe your observations of the shoppers’ attitudes and interaction with the art.

K: First-time visitors to K11 are often intrigued as they get to encounter many artworks during their journey in the mall. Our dedicated art space on floor B2 is also situated right next to the train entrance, and allows passerby a sneak peek of our happenings. All these are in line with our belief, that “In Art We Live” – it is through daily interactions that we can truly bring art and inspirations to our life. By blending three essential elements of Art • People • Nature, K11 curates new retail brands including K11 Select, the K11 Design Store and K11 Natural.

What is the most memorable comment you've gotten from a visitor regarding the art collection?

K: We conduct customer surveys every now and then to collect feedbacks. Once we asked a customer at the atrium whether he knows that he’s sitting on an art piece (Karma by Danny Lee), he said “no”. When we ask them how it felt, he said “comfortable!”.

What piece of art has received the most buzz?

K: The latest exhibition at our chi K11 art space, One World Exposition 2.1: #like4like has gone viral on social media. Featuring subversive new-media artworks by 10 millennial artists, the exhibition was also curated with IG-able neon light settings.

What's been the most challenging installation you have worked on?

K: We challenge ourselves to make breakthroughs at every new exhibition. For example, in 2016, K11 has launched the largest campaign of the year, showcasing for the first time in Hong Kong A World in a Well by Song Dong. We worked with Song Dong to deliver 42 recycled windows and light bulbs from Beijing and assembled in a six-meter-tall installation within two nights. We also came across another challenging installation in the Urban Sense exhibition: the Golden Bubbles, a 17.5-metre-high inflatable golden installation, spanning the atrium and weaving between multiple levels and escalators.

Tell us about the current exhibition on display at K11.

K: K11 celebrates its Art Month this year under the theme of ME: MILLENNIALS, with a series of new-media art exhibitions curated to open up new imagination in the conceptual age. This includes the first exhibition of large-scale sculpture, MOBILE FAWN, complemented by a 9-meter interactive digital garden, created by Dutch digital artist Faiyaz Jafri; and One World Exposition 2.1: #like4like, a joint new-media art exhibitions by 10 millennial generation artists, which showcase trans-disciplinary media power enabled by the advancement of technology. Another millennial artist, Silas Fong, is initiating a crowdsourcing process for a public art project, targeting to recruit online “STAN” (for “stalker” and “fan”). Silas Fong will act as an INTERVIEW SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP) to do personal interviews for the STANs and turn them into video art. Ten interview video clips from the project are displayed at K11 Showcases.

What exhibition or event are you most looking forward to within the upcoming year?

K: In the upcoming year, K11 will provide a series of events and art exhibitions with the theme of Fashion Art in summer, Design Month in autumn and annual Christmas campaign.

What do you look for when acquiring new artwork and/or artists?

K: We aim to bring “new experiences” and inspirations to the public through our exhibitions, and to incubate young artist.

How often do you change the art exhibits in the mall?

K: K11 will have new a series of art exhibitions every three months: Art Month (March through May), the summer campaign (June through August), Design Month (September through October) and the signature Christmas campaign (Nov-Dec).

How does K11 participate or interact with the overall Hong Kong art scene?

K: Art Basel and Art Central are the two important art events in the Hong Kong’s art scene. K11’s recent new-media art exhibition One World Exposition 2.1: #like4like was the VIP program of Art Basel in Hong Kong, while the K11 Design Store has been the exclusive retail store at Art Central Hong Kong for a consecutive two years.
Through our year-round initiative Kulture Salon11, we are also active in creating new dialogues and platforms to bring together the art community and professionals to exchange and share with the public.