Art Basel in Hong Kong 2026, March 27

Conversations | What can art fairs do for curating?

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Ari Bayuaji, Artist 
Kongkee, Artist 
Moderator: Mami Kataoka, Director of Mori Art Museum, Tokyo 
Curating and commerce are often framed as opposing forces – the latter assumed to dilute the conditions required for rigorous exhibition-making. Yet galleries and art fairs can also function as important sites of artistic experimentation. Art Basel Hong Kong’s Encounters sector is a case in point. Spearheaded in 2026 by Mami Kataoka, the director of Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum, and conceived by a collective of curators (Isabella Tam, Alia Swastika, and Hirokazu Tokuyama), Encounters unfolds across the fair’s two floors as a monumental response to the ‘five elements’, a cosmological framework widely found across Asia. In this panel, Kataoka and artists exhibiting in this year’s edition discussed the challenges and opportunities of exhibition-making in non-institutional spaces – and the productive friction it can generate. 
Originally trained as a civil engineer in Indonesia, Ari Bayuaji moved to Canada, where his practice evolved towards fine art and socially engaged installation. In 2020, he founded ‘Weaving the Ocean’, an ongoing community-based project born from his discovery of plastic fishing ropes entangled in the mangroves along Bali’s coastline. Collaborating with local artisans and traditional weavers, Bayuaji transforms the discarded plastic into vibrant nylon threads, which are meticulously woven into textile works that balance fragility and resilience. 
Kongkee, aka Kong Khong-chang, is a visual artist and animation director. He is committed to promoting cross-sector collaboration, such as in independent publishing and video arts. In 2021, Kongkee’s interactive video installation Flower in The Mirror was commissioned by M+ Museum, and in 2022, his major solo exhibition ‘Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk’ debuted at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. In 2025, Kongkee presented his first institutional solo exhibition in Japan at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa.   
Mami Kataoka joined Mori Art Museum, Tokyo in 2003, taking on the role of director in 2020. She has been the director of the National Center for Art Research, Japan since April 2023, and the director of the ICA Kyoto since April 2025. Beyond Tokyo, Kataoka’s roles have included: Artistic Director, Aichi Triennale (2022); Co-Artistic Director, 9th Gwangju Biennale (2012); Artistic Director, 21st Biennale of Sydney (2018); and International Curator, Hayward Gallery, London (2007–2009). 
Stage furniture by Porro and B&B Italia, courtesy of Salone del Mobile.Milano

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