Exclusive Interview with Christina Brandt Jensen • Curator of "Collect Hong Kong 2025"
The Hong Kong Arts Centre will hold the biennial art fair "Collect Hong Kong 2025" during this year's "Art March." The art fair is modelled on the iconic Royal Academy Summer Show in London, showcasing over 300 works in a "Salon Style" display, creating a visual feast. This year's fair employs an open and democratic submission process, encouraging artists from diverse backgrounds to participate, providing more opportunities for involvement and ensuring that the exhibition remains fresh while rich in content.
The Way of Fishing
In this ocean of art, the original intention of the art fair is to enhance the diversity of the exhibition, boldly embracing various mediums and showcasing works from amateur artists to art students, as well as pieces from museum collections, while striving to eliminate any works that do not meet basic standards. The Curator of “Collect Hong Kong”, Christina Brandt Jensen quoted David Lynch, comparing artistic creation to fishing: “Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful and purer.” To capture more powerful and pure creativity, one must delve deeper, enhancing receptivity and openness.
To gain a deeper understanding of this unique and interactive art fair, we conducted an exclusive interview with Christina. One notable impression of Christina is her recent project "After Sunset" within the new art initiative "Reflections on a Barbershop," which she curated in Seoul. This project focuses on how art can serve as an alternative means to preserve and discuss cultural heritage, aiming to guide the audience in rethinking their relationship with culture. Through various artistic mediums, she brings local culture, such as street barbershops and hairdressing culture, into another city, showcasing her extraordinary talent for blending diverse elements.
For Christina, there are countless ways to tell a story, which is an instinctive human need and crucial for community building. A well-rounded exhibition can foster connections between people. For this reason, her curatorial philosophy emphasizes the importance of exploration and experimentation, placing the creative process above the final artistic product, allowing the audience to feel the pulse and vitality of art throughout the journey.
Puzzle Solver
「 My role is much more that of a puzzle solver, I will try to find ways that works can sit next to each other and create conversations and maybe stimulate thought in the viewer because off their placement. 」
In the process of planning "Collect Hong Kong 2025," Christina demonstrated a distinct perspective. She intentionally designed the art fair layout as a game-like experience for the visitor to hypothesize the connection between the works and to make their own, initiating an inclusive multimedia art dialogue that anyone can participate in. “For me, diversity and representation are very close to my heart.” She broke the exhibition into several smaller parts, aiming to weave together their individual narratives. These stories flow freely within the overall structure, extending from the ground floor to the upper levels, along the stairs to every corner of the ceiling, creating a cohesive narrative experience.
This unique and fluid planning not only enhances the interaction between each artist and their works but also fosters a comparative understanding among the pieces based on themes, mediums, sizes, colors, concepts, or other inherent characteristics. This approach promotes and deepens the visitors' comprehension and emotional connection to the artworks. Christina acts like a puzzle solver, carefully piecing together diverse artistic elements, allowing the audience to discover endless possibilities in this visual feast.
Community Interaction and Public Activities
Artist Blind Dating
Christina will design an event called "Artist Blind Dating," providing a valuable opportunity for visitors to engage in face-to-face discussions with artists. This interaction will not only focus on the artists' works but also encompass their feelings about other exhibited pieces, further enhancing the enjoyment and interactivity of the viewing experience. This approach is expected to create a fresh artistic experience, building a bridge that connects artists, their works, and the audience, making art more accessible to everyone.
Panel Discussion : Artist’s Path To Flourish
Additionally, Christina will collaborate with the Hong Kong Arts Centre to launch a Panel Discussion, invite five well-known artists, curators and gallery owners, will share their insights to thrive in an artistic career and discuss how to develop a strategic plan to become a successful artist.
The True Cultural Value and Meaning
「 Art helps us deal with the messiness of life; it doesn’t promise us anything, it just offers another perspective. 」
The essence of the art fair goes beyond merely supporting local artists; it aims to inspire visitors to view the world around them in new ways, appreciating the diversity and vibrancy of life. In an ever-changing social environment, the fair seeks to help people find joy and fresh perspectives.
The dialogues sparked by this art fair extend beyond artists and artworks; they reach into the community, connecting people, neighborhoods, and environments. This enriching experience transcends all else, embodying the true cultural value and meaning of art. Through these interactions, we cultivate a deeper understanding of ourselves and our surroundings, fostering a community that thrives on creativity and connection.
Supporting Local Art Development
In light of the challenging global art market, this art fair is strategically scheduled during Art March to attract international visitors, especially those attending Art Basel and Art Central. This timing encourages them to explore local art in Hong Kong, directly assisting and promoting local or emerging artists to support the development of the local art scene.
Christina points out that "Collect Hong Kong" provides an opportunity for international audiences to engage with artworks that have "roots" in Hong Kong. This not only enhances understanding of local art but also serves as a form of cultural exchange. “In Hong Kong, we always need more platforms to showcase local talent; I think this does fill a much-needed gap.”
She believes that for Hong Kong to maintain its position and value as an art hub in the long term, the most effective approach is to regularly and sustainably cultivate local collectors and support homegrown artists, rather than relying solely on the international market and foreign fairs. This strategy will foster healthy development in the art market.
Words for Emerging Artists : Dreams and Reality
「 You have to really love, I mean really love what you do. 」
Through the art fair, Christina has seen over 300 artists and more than 600 works, accumulating rich insights along the way. Naturally, we seized the opportunity to ask her what emerging artists should pay attention to today. She emphasized that developing in the art field requires both unconditional dreams and an extreme practical attitude: dreams can inspire creativity, while practicality makes those dreams achievable.
Engaging in artistic work demands strong perseverance and resilience; a lack of passion can lead to failure. Persistence and courage are key to overcoming challenges and achieving goals. They help artists develop more skills, boldly showcase themselves, and explore a wider array of possibilities.
