A somewhat boxy edifice on the waterfront at Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, the ethos of the Hong Kong Museum of Art is to preserve the cultural heritage of China with a special emphasis on promoting local art. Established in 1962, the museum moved to its current purpose-built location in 1991.
Hong Kong Museum of Art comprises seven galleries which house over 15,800 objects across the artistic mediums of Chinese and historic paintings, calligraphy, antiquities, works by local artists as well as temporary international exhibitions. There is also a branch of the museum, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, in Hong Kong Park. The seven galleries are spread across four floors of the six-floor building. The top floor contains the Chinese Fine Art Gallery, the Chinese Antiquities Gallery is on the third and first floors, the Historical Pictures Gallery is on the third floor, and the second floor contains the Special Exhibition Gallery, Xubaizhai Gallery of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, and the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Gallery.
Highlights include beautifully crafted ceramics in the Chinese Antiquities Gallery ranging from ancient times to the Qing dynasty and displayed thematically rather than chronologically. There's also Chinese export paintings, a distinct style which arose in Guangzhou during the 18th and 19th centuries when foreign trade and merchants converged on the city displayed in the Historical Pictures Gallery, and the fusion of Western and Chinese painting techniques on show in the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Gallery with paintings from the early 20th century to now.
Entrance to the Hong Kong Museum of Art is HK$10 and HK$5 for concessions with free admission on Wednesdays. To visit, the closest MTR station is Tsim Sha Tsui. Take Exit F and it's a four-minute walk straight down Nathan Road and right into Salisbury Road and the cultural precinct where you can also find the Hong Kong Space Museum and Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
