The Hong Kong Maritime Museum is set to re-open in its new and improved space – a three-storey pier in Hong Kong’s central business district. At 35,000 sq. feet, the museum’s new home is six times larger than its previous one, and boasts fitting views of Victoria Harbour.
‘The waterfront and maritime trade is where Hong Kong started; without shipping, the British would never have chosen to stay in Hong Kong,’ museum chairman Anthony Hardy told The Art Newspaper.
Due to open its doors again on 26 February, one of the museum’s highlights includes an exhibition which records the Imperial navy’s successful attempt to lessen piracy along the Guangdong coast.
Acquired from a French collection in 2006, a rare and detailed Qing Dynasty Scroll depicting this piracy defeat is included in the exhibition although nobody knows who the original artist was. Students from the City University of Hong Kong’s School of Creative Media have also created a 360-degree animation based on the scroll, which will allow visitors to observe the scroll in more detail.
Other featured galleries will focus on other aspects of Hong Kong’s maritime history, including the evolution of life at sea, the development of China’s ceramic export trade, relations with foreign powers, maritime communications, charting, navigation and pilotage.
The museum was previously housed in a colonial building in the suburb of Stanley, but thanks to a ten-year lease grant and support of $15m by the Hong Kong government, the museum is now on its way to becoming a far more lucrative venture. In fact, museum representatives estimate that its new location will attract at least triple the number of visitors who attended the Stanley exhibitions. It remains, however, a privately run institution which receives backing from the local shipping industry.
Apart from featuring items on long-term loans, the museum will display over 1,000 objects in its collection and also has plans to bring at least two major exhibitions to Hong Kong this year.
In addition to this, a total of 13 permanent galleries, two spaces for visiting exhibitions, a café and two shops are due to be instated when the museum re-opens.
The museum will open its doors once more on 26 February at Pier 8 Central Ferry Pier and is expected to receive around 140,000 visitors per year at its new location.
