Art Worlds Episode 45 meets Tobias Berger, a curator who has been instrumental in the development of contemporary art in Hong Kong. He has taken a leading role in shaping the curatorial direction of institutions including M+ Museum and Tai Kwun Contemporary and now has co-founded the organisation Serakai Studio.

Positioned as a cultural think tank attached to the real estate firm Serakai, the initiative is a meeting point for creativity, culture and the built environment. As such, they publish an annual journal called Cong and recently opened Gold, a salon space that welcomes experimentation and interdisciplinary programming. Tobias spoke to me a month into Gold’s inaugural and highly acclaimed exhibition, Certainly.

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Episode 44 features Pearl Lam, a gallerist, collector and patron who has been instrumental in shaping Hong Kong’s and more broadly, China’s art worlds. Her eponymous spaces, the first of which opened in 2005, have over the years championed artists from Asia and placed great focus on challenging misconceptions and reductive readings of such practices.

She has since expanded her remit and, with locations in Hong Kong and Shanghai, is known for her varied programming that bridges geographies and celebrates diverse perspectives. This mission has led to Pearl instigating museum exhibitions, launching the China Art Foundation and hosting the Pearl Lam podcast featuring leading thinkers and creatives from all over the world. I spoke to Pearl just as she finished showing at Art Basel Hong Kong.

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Art Worlds episode 43 moves to Hong Kong and meets Jaffa Lam, an artist who creates sizable, mixed-media works, often formed from materials discarded in the city. Crate wood, stones from the city’s shoreline and abandoned metal are some of these finds that are worked up into subtle forms that delve into Hong Kong’s history and heritage. She has created sprawling canopies from disused umbrellas and almost stained glass-like panels that dwell on elements of cultural life that are disappearing over time and as the city develops.

For Jaffa, the process of making is often as meaningful as the final artwork. She has undertaken collaborations with a range of people including members of the Hong Kong Women Workers’ Association and those suddenly jobless because of changing economic circumstances. Jaffa spoke to me from her studio in Hong Kong about this form of production and her new solo exhibition at Axel Vervoordt.

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