In the minds of many, Hong Kong is merely a modern metropolis filled with skyscrapers, a duty-free shopping paradise, and even a cultural desert. Visitors to Hong Kong often rush about or dive into the dazzling array of super malls, rarely taking the time to observe the cultural and historical traces embedded in this city. A trip to Hong Kong is not limited to shopping and dining; cultural immersion tours are a significant trend.Immigrating to Hong Kong or friends traveling to Hong Kong can enjoy street art and galleries, as well as various art exhibitions during the March Art Month.
This year, Hong Kong has invested 3.5 million (Hong Kong dollars) in promoting Art Month. Later this month, art enthusiasts from South Korea and the tourism industry from Shanghai will visit Hong Kong, which is expected to bring a high-spending tourist demographic to the city.
In addition to the famous Art Basel and the 44th Hong Kong Arts Festival, various cultural and artistic activities will take place across different districts in Hong Kong, such as the Asia Contemporary Art Show and the "Before and After" exhibition at Oil Street.
Art Month will attract art lovers, buyers, and even tourists from around the world. Many of them are middle-class, with greater spending power than average tourists, and they have a higher demand for tourism products. After visiting large art exhibitions, they will likely explore the city, hence the hope to promote cultural attractions in the Soho area of Central.
This collaboration will connect the street art along Hollywood Road, Square Street, and Tai Ping Shan Street with nearby galleries, allowing visitors to experience the unique characteristics of the community. It is hoped that in the long term, Hollywood Road can be developed into a cultural tourism district, "similar to the Ihwa Mural Village in South Korea," attracting travelers from South Korea, Taiwan, and the Southeast Asian short-haul market.
It has been reported that later this month, 62 South Korean art enthusiasts or buyers will visit Hong Kong; there will also be 12 representatives from the tourism industry in Shanghai attending to understand Hong Kong's tourism resources, and after compiling the data, they will launch new tourism products in Shanghai.
Hong Kong has many street art pieces, including wall murals featuring Bruce Lee created by South Korean artists, complemented by approximately 200 galleries nearby, which will surely allow visitors to appreciate Hong Kong's unique stories.
Yang Guangfa, the art director of the "Karen Weber Gallery" which has stood on Aberdeen Street in Central for 12 years, stated that Hong Kong's art scene has developed rapidly, attracting many foreign artists to settle locally. However, Asians tend to be shy and "timid," believing that the threshold for appreciating art exhibitions is high and feeling inadequate in their artistic knowledge, thus hesitating to enter galleries.