Mr. Ha Jung-woo, Korean actor and artist (The Chaser [2008], The Client [2011], Berlin [in production]), spent last week in Hong Kong creating a series of 11 vibrant and colourful paintings exclusively for exhibition at Hong Kong Contemporary Art Fair May 18th-20th at the Park Lane Hotel, Causeway Bay. He held a press conference at the Moon Gallery in Sheung Wan on 29th March.

In addition to featuring Mr. Ha, Mr. Roger Lin (Hong Kong Contemporary Art Fair Director) was in attendance at the press conference expressing his admiration for Mr. Ha’s work as both an actor and a visual artist. Mr. Ha discussed his involvement in the Art Fair and shared that his inspiration was drawn from the expressions and impressions he received from Hong Kong’s people.

Hong Kong Contemporary is excited to announce their new partnership and sponsorship with the HABITU Group. The HABITU Group is made up of three uniquely tasteful dining concepts – caffe HABITU, caffe HABITU the table, and HABITU Ristorante. Since its establishment in 2003, the group has been sharing its love of good food, exceptional coffee and fine wine with gourmands from around town. After meeting with the group’s ambitious and inspiring CEO, Ms. Jennifer Liu, it was decided that not only will VIP guests receive a 10% discount on all HABITU cafes and restaurants during Hong Kong Contemporary, but also, all of our marketing material and information will be distributed via the HABITU Group’s social media and promotional channels. Look out for our posters in their restaurant and café chains! We appreciate their support immensely.

We are enthusiastic about our new collaborative partnership with Beijing Today Art Museum for the upcoming Hong Kong Contemporary Art Fair. Beijing Today Art Museum was founded by Mr. Zhang Baoquan in 2002 and has been managed by the current director, Mr. Zhang Zikang since 2004. The museum aims to promote Chinese contemporary art based on an internationalized vision and a contemporary ideology. As the first non-for-profit, non-governmental run art museum in China, it dedicates itself to exploring an appropriate development strategy for museums of its kind within a Chinese context. The museum is dedicated to academic research, exhibitions, media, education, and public art promotion.

The museum is contributing PR support from Beijing via their website and their media outlets in China. Additionally, Today Art Museum will bring VIP guests to Hong Kong Contemporary in May 2012. We look forward to working together and finding new ways to create artistic dialogues between China and Hong Kong in the future.

Vote now for your favorite artwork on Hong Kong Contemporary’s Facebook page! As a special thanks, anyone who votes for their favorite piece will be entered into a lucky draw. The 3 randomly chosen winners will each receive 2 VIP passes to Hong Kong Contemporary! As of this week over 1000 likes have been counted on facebook!

The five pieces to receive the highest number of "likes" by the public during the voting period will be chosen for the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Award Exhibition. These five finalists, along with all local artists on exhibition at Hong Kong Contemporary, will be eligible to win the Hong Kong Contemporary Local Art Award. The 5 finalists will each receive 2 VIP passes to Hong Kong Contemporary and the winner will receive round-trip business class flights for one from Hong Kong to Seoul courtesy of Asiana Airlines plus ₩500,000 Korean Won.

Important dates:
* Voting ends: 15 April 2012, at 23:59
* Finalists announced: 23rd April 2012 (Hong Kong Contemporary Page)