Hong Kong’s Para Site is set to leave its Quarry Bay location, the organization’s base for a decade, and mark its 30th anniversary with a city-spanning “nomadic” program unfolding throughout 2027. The nonprofit has also confirmed that a new venue is being prepared, with details yet to be announced.
A year on the move
Para Site began laying the groundwork in June with its experimental, collaborative program Elsewhere in Me, taking place across Hong Kong. The initiative will continue to roll out new commissions by local and international figures in the months ahead, including Sydney-based artist Justin Talplacido Shoulder (Phasmahammer) in November and Hong Kong-based artist Yim Sui Fong in December. The program will extend into the new year while Para Site furnishes its forthcoming venue.
James Taylor-Foster, who joined the institution as its executive director in March, described the coming year as a testing ground. He told South China Morning Post that the year-long program is an opportunity to “try things out”: new ideas, partnerships, and relationships. “All this will inform the kind of space that we end up moving into—a new anchor point for Para Site in Hong Kong.”
From Sheung Wan to Quarry Bay—and beyond
Founded in 1996 by Hong Kong artists Patrick Lee, Leung Chi-wo, Phoebe Man Ching-ying, Sara Wong Chi-hang, Leung Mee-ping, Tsang Tak-ping, and Lisa Cheung, Para Site emerged as an alternative platform focused on nurturing discourse on contemporary art and fostering collaborations between curators and creatives. The organization was originally based in Sheung Wan before relocating to Quarry Bay in 2015.
As Para Site prepares to depart Quarry Bay, its upcoming nomadic chapter—paired with the ongoing commissions under Elsewhere in Me—positions the nonprofit to engage audiences across the city while shaping the parameters of its next permanent home.
