Hong Kong Contemporary is very excited to announce one of our MAJOR sponsors for this year: AIA. AIA Group is a market leader in the Asia Pacific region with a focus to meet the saving and protection needs of individuals. AIA also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents and employees across Asia Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 24 million individual policies and over 10 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

As we are inundated with new Art Award applications everyday, it becomes increasingly clear how fierce the competition will be. As a result, we secured 2 highly esteemed and accomplished artists to jury the award. We want to welcome Gigi Chao and Francis Yu to the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Award Jury!

Ms. Gigi Chao (趙式芝), director of Haut Monde Talent & Co Ltd., graduated from University of Manchester with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. Subsequently, she has worked with prominent British Architect and Urban Designer Sir Terry Farrell for a number of years, and also managed investments in Marketing and Retail services for luxury products in Hong Kong and China. She is a social entrepreneur and philanthropist in Hong Kong.

Mr. Francis Yu (余偉聯), also a Hong Kong native, graduated with a Masters degree in painting from the Royal College of Art in London. He is a well-established artist who has exhibited his work extensively in both solo and group shows in the UK, Paris, Vienna, Tel-Aviv, Canada, China, Hong Kong and Australia. Some of his many achievements include: International Artist-in-residence, RMIT University, Australia; Studio Award, Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris; and the ABSA Travel Award, Royal College of Art, UK

Application deadline for the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Award is this Saturday (17th March 2012).

Hong Kong Auctions Limited will host a special art auction for Hong Kong Contemporary on the 20th of May. Online auction and additional information will be available at Hong Kong Auctions Limited's website www.hkauctions.com in May. Hong Kong Auctions Ltd was established in 2006 by Brian Hodgson. Brian is a professional auctioneer and member of the National Association of Auctioneers. He has conducted more than 50 auctions per year over the last six years. Each participating gallery will submit one piece of artwork for auction.

In its inaugural year, Hong Kong Contemporary will be garnering support from local and overseas partners. For the VIP guests, several local restaurants including several Michelin star-rated restaurants will be offering 10% discounted prices as a ‘taste of Hong Kong’ throughout the duration of the art fair. Finally, we are very pleased to announce media support and partnership from the following magazines: Monthly GALLERY (Japan); Tagboat/Tokyo Art Guide (Japan); Men’s Uno (Hong Kong); and Kharticle (Korea).