Benjamin Cha tells us about what’s next for the organisation and reflects on Hong Kong’s booming arts scene
Like many people, Benjamin Cha found his first encounter with conceptual art a little bewildering.
“I remember seeing On Kawara’s work at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston in the mid ’90s. I was a student at the time,” Cha recalls. “It was a room full of over 100 of Kawara’s date paintings. I walked in and had a moment where I thought, ‘What’s the point? It’s a painting of a date. Who cares?’ But then I learned more about On Kawara, I learned that he was documenting his life and certain moments in history through his art, and I learned that his discipline and that story could be an artwork in itself. That was one of many, many lightbulb moments I had with art.”
See also: Art With Sansiri: Miquel Barcelo’s Live Performance On The Chao Phraya River In Bangkok
Cha’s interest in contemporary art has only grown since that day in Boston, and today he spends much of his time supporting Hong Kong’s flourishing arts scene. He’s a member of the boards of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the M+ museum, is on the advisory committee of the Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Art, and is a long-term supporter of the Asia Art Archive (AAA), where he has been a member of the board since 2004.
“Research and the creation of knowledge, the sharing of knowledge, education, is a very, very important part of the art world,” says Cha, “but it’s also often quite neglected. The public sees the gallery world, the auction world and the institutional world, but behind-the-scenes education and research is kind of an overlooked area.”
