Asia Art Weekly News Bulletin – ISSUE 40 Week of 10 November 2025
(1) ‘HELLO! The Palace Museum — School Caravan’ brings digital culture to students across China
“HELLO! Palace Museum School Caravan” launches November 10, visiting 160 HK/Mainland schools 2025–2028 with VR/digital exhibits on imperial heritage, sponsored by IoP to nurture youth cultural-tech appreciation.
(2) BenCab among artists to inaugurate Gajah Gallery Manila
Gajah Gallery opens Manila outpost November 28, 2025, with “Confabulations” exhibit by Joyce Toh featuring BenCab, Kawayan de Guia, and regional artists, probing realism in Southeast Asian art.
(3) Angelica Lee’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong “Childtopia” – a love letter for Hong Kongers
Angelica Lee’s HK debut “糖不甩 Childtopia” (Nov 7–30) turns HK snacks into childlike faces on round canvases, a love letter to the city, celebrating sticky-sweet childhood innocence and family legacy.
(4) 82 galleries, countless artists and one iconic venue, Art Mumbai returns with its third edition
Art Mumbai 2025 (Nov 13–16) unites 82 galleries, Tyeb Mehta retrospective, women sculptors, talks, music, and design at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, bridging South Asian and global art.
(1) ‘HELLO! The Palace Museum — School Caravan’ brings digital culture to students across China
(Photo Credit: The Standard)
A new initiative, “HELLO! The Palace Museum — School Caravan,” was launched on November 10 to bring immersive digital cultural experiences to 160 primary and secondary schools across Hong Kong and Mainland China from 2025 to 2028. Jointly organized by the Palace Museum and the Academy of Chinese Studies, and sponsored by the Institute of Philanthropy (IoP), the program aims to promote Chinese culture and nurture arts and technology talent among young people. It follows the success of the “FLASH! The Palace Museum — A PopUp Digital Experience.”
Each year, the School Caravan will visit 30 schools in Hong Kong and 10 in Mainland China, staying about a week at each location. Students will explore the Palace Museum’s digital resources — including the “Digital Treasures Cabinet” project — through high-definition videos, interactive touchscreens, VR devices, and mobile apps.
The Caravan features two key interactive zones. The “Digital Exhibit Interactive Experience Vehicle” uses redesigned containers showcasing traditional Chinese architecture, allowing students to explore imperial attire and dining traditions in a multi-sensory environment. Meanwhile, the “Public Education Experience” zone incorporates traditional architectural elements and offers insights into the Palace Museum’s Corner Towers and court life through VR and interactive educational modules tailored for primary and secondary students. The organizers hope the initiative will inspire young learners to connect with their cultural roots and foster creativity through digital innovation, bridging tradition and technology in the spirit of cultural exchange.
News Source: https://www.thestandard.com.hk/hong-kong-news/article/316405/
(2) BenCab among artists to inaugurate Gajah Gallery Manila
(Photo Credit: Instagram/BenCab Museum)
Gajah Gallery, a Singapore-based champion of Southeast Asian art since 1996 with spaces in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, expands to the Philippines with Gajah Gallery Manila, opening November 28, 2025. The inaugural exhibition, “Confabulations: A Fantasy of the Real,” curated by Joyce Toh, explores “What manner of realism can truly picture ‘the real?’” featuring Filipino artists like National Artist BenCab Cabrera, Kawayan de Guia, Kiri Dalena, Charlie Co, Marina Cruz, and activists Mark Justiniani and Leslie de Chavez.
Regional representation includes Singapore’s Suzann Victor; Indonesians Yunizar, Rudi Mantofani, Erizal A.S., and Ocid; Balinese Jemana Murti, Mangu Putra, and the late IGAK Murniasih. Prior to the Manila space, Gajah participated prominently in Art Fair Philippines and other Philippine events, building ties. The gallery’s focus on contemporary Southeast Asian works, including exclusive Indonesian artists like Nyoman Masriadi, underscores its role in fostering cross-cultural dialogues.
This Manila outpost strengthens Gajah’s network amid Southeast Asia’s rising art market, blending colonial legacies with modern narratives. By prioritizing Filipino talents alongside neighbors, it challenges Eurocentric “realism” while boosting regional visibility, though sustaining momentum requires navigating logistics and diverse collector tastes in a post-pandemic, geopolitically fluid landscape.
News Source: https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2025/11/11/2486459/bencab-among-artists-inaugurate-gajah-gallery-manila
(3) Angelica Lee’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong “Childtopia” – a love letter for Hong Kongers
(Photo Credit: Singtao Headline)
Golden Horse-winning actress Angelica Lee (李心潔) opens her first Hong Kong solo exhibition “糖不甩 Childtopia” from November 7–30, 2025, at 13A New Street Art Gallery in Sheung Wan. Over 20 new circular paintings transform iconic Hong Kong street snacks into playful childlike faces, paired with her grandmother’s Fujian dialect stories and son’s Cantonese nursery rhymes, forming a heartfelt love letter to the city. The title “糖不甩” (glutinous rice balls that “won’t let go”) symbolizes childhood innocence clinging to the heart; “Childtopia” merges “child” and “utopia.”
Lee, who lived in Hong Kong from 2001–2007, married a local, starred in films, and gained HKID, credits the city’s fast pace and resilience for shaping her. Post-pandemic, she felt compelled to return with art: “I want to give Hong Kong a gift of childlike sincerity.” Circular canvases represent Chinese ideals of “roundness” and “reunion”; snacks evoke universal joy — ”kids love sweets, adults smile like children when eating them.” Four large works from her Taipei show Beyond Silence and three family-related installations, including a non-sale piece made from her grandmother’s hand-sewn floral dress, anchor the space.
Inspired by her grandmother’s passing in her 20s, painting became Lee’s way to process grief and preserve love — ”Grandmother is the base color of my life canvas.” The exhibition invites viewers to reconnect with inner childhood through intuitive, language-free expression, blending personal nostalgia with universal healing. Amid Hong Kong’s high-pressure culture, Childtopia offers a tender sanctuary, urging adults to protect innocence in themselves and children, while Lee’s meditative practice infuses the works with quiet strength.
News Source: https://www.stheadline.com/culture/3517112/%E6%9D%8E%E5%BF%83%E6%BD%94%E9%A6%96%E6%AC%A1%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%80%8B%E5%B1%95%E7%B3%96%E4%B8%8D%E7%94%A9-Childtopia-%E4%B8%80%E5%B0%81%E9%BB%8F%E5%9C%A8%E6%B8%AF%E4%BA%BA%E5%BF%83%E4%B8%8A%E7%9A%84%E6%83%85%E6%9B%B8
(4) 82 galleries, countless artists and one iconic venue, Art Mumbai returns with its third edition
(Photo Credit: Art Mumbai)
Art Mumbai returns for its third edition from November 13–16, 2025, at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, featuring 82 galleries—64 Indian (8 new), 18 international (9 new)—showcasing around 2,000 works by masters and contemporaries. Founded by Dinesh Vazirani, Minal Vazirani, Nakul Dev Chawla, and Conor Macklin, it bridges South Asian and global art with top Indian names like Experimenter, DAG, Nature Morte, and international ones like Lisson, Galleria Continua, and Sundaram Tagore. The fair expands cultural dialogue through diverse presentations and first-time participants.
Highlights include a Tyeb Mehta centennial retrospective Bearing Weight (With The Lightness Of Being) by Tyeb Mehta Foundation, KNMA, and Saffronart, tracing his modernist evolution. The KNMA Speaker Series covers architecture, Middle East art, influence shifts, funding, and collecting. Cultural programming features SOI Music Academy recital, Red play on Rothko, and Dharavi Rocks youth band. A Sculpture Walk spotlights women artists like Adeela Suleiman and Shanthamani Muddaiah, while Art & Wonderment offers guided tours.
Art Mumbai cements its role as South Asia’s premier fair, rivaling Art Basel with local-global synergy, Mehta’s retrospective, and women-focused sculpture. Beyond commerce, its talks, performances, and design (Art Mumbai Collective, The Arches) foster holistic engagement, blending art with food (Cecconi’s, Nara Thai) and community. Amid India’s booming art market, it positions Mumbai as a cultural hub, though scalability and inclusivity for emerging voices remain key to sustaining momentum.
News Source: https://www.grazia.co.in/lifestyle/culture/what-to-expect-at-art-mumbai-2025_-14864.html
