What the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards need to learn from Art Basel's
The 19th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards were held at Hong Kong City Hall on June 10, organised by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC). This annual event acknowledges achievements in many categories, but as an art critic, I was watching the visual arts prizes closely.
The artist of the year award (visual arts) went to Enoch Cheng Tak-yan, while the young artist award (visual arts) went to Dony Cheng Hung. Cash prizes of HK$50,000 (US$6,400) and HK$25,000 respectively were awarded.
Cross-disciplinary artist-curator Enoch Cheng has fingers in many pies. He was the curator of gallery programmes at the Hong Kong art fair Art Central in March, and in 2024, he directed and translated the play Jerome Bel at the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
Inspired by French dancer and choreographer Jérôme Bel, Enoch Cheng's collaboration with theatre and dance producers Dick Wong and Mui Cheuk-yin combined dance, projected text and lighting.
Enoch Cheng (right) receives the artist of the year (visual arts) award from Takahashi Mizuki, executive director at the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile, at the 2025 Hong Kong Arts Development Council awards, at Hong Kong City Hall. Photo: Hong Kong Arts Development Council
Dony Cheng has been particularly busy over the past two years. After completing her postgraduate fine art studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, her graduation paintings and animation videos were repurposed into her solo exhibition, 'Finding Rest on the Highway', at Gallery Exit, in Hong Kong's Aberdeen neighbourhood, in 2024.
Speaking to the young artist winner, it struck me that the HKADC has a thing or two to learn from the newly established Art Basel Awards.
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