M+ Gala 2026 Celebrates Museum’s Fifth Anniversary with Over 450 Guests

On 31 October 2026, M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, hosted its fundraising M+ Gala 2026 in the museum’s Main Hall. The event took place ahead of the museum’s fifth anniversary in November and brought together over 450 distinguished guests from Hong Kong and around the world.

The guest list included leading figures from the international art and cultural community. Among them were Cao Fei, artist from Beijing; Christophe Cherix, the David Rockefeller Director of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Ann Demeester, Director of Kunsthaus Zürich; Gong Yan, Director of Power Station of Art, Shanghai; Marie-Josée Kravis, Chair of the Board of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Laurent Le Bon, President of Centre Pompidou, Paris; and Dr Uli Sigg, Swiss collector and member of the M+ Board.

Other attendees included Hong Kong film directors Sylvia Chang and Ann Hui, actress Carina Lau, celebrity Laurinda Ho, and artist Lynus Woo. The event also welcomed other cultural icons, esteemed business leaders, patrons, philanthropists, and long-standing supporters.

The Main Hall featured an immersive installation based on Myths and Monsters, which incorporated HSBC’s iconic lion sculptures. This installation brought themes of mythology, fantasy, and imagined worlds to life for the evening’s guests.

The gala opened with a performance by internationally acclaimed pianist Gina Alice Redlinger. This was followed by a live violin and DJ set by Hong Kong violinist, DJ, producer, and composer Olivia Dawn Mok, also known as Xiaolin.

A live charity auction, led by renowned auctioneer Elaine Kwok, closed the evening. The fundraising sale featured six works by leading Asian artists, generously donated by the artists and their galleries: Dominique Fung with MASSIMODECARLO; Firenze Lai; Duan Jianyu with Vitamin Creative Space; Li Anna Liu with Shao Fan; Lee Bul; and Takashi Murakami with Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. Additional lots included fine wines donated by Henry Tang, a five-day all-inclusive art and wine experience in South France from Château La Coste and JD Travel, and a collectable MEGA ROYAL MOLLY figure designed by artist Kenny Wong from POP MART.

The evening’s cocktail reception celebrated the launch of the M+ Restored Film Festival 2026, supported by CHANEL, M+’s newly announced Lead Partner. The festival will present nine Hong Kong feature-length classics restored through the M+ Restored initiative, with screenings at M+ Cinema on selected weekends in November and December 2026. All proceeds raised from the M+ Gala 2026 will support M+’s future growth and operations, including collection and preservation, exhibitions, commissions, research, public programmes, learning initiatives, and projects nurturing the next generation of artists and cultural practitioners. A dedicated pledge component supports the M+ Creative Ageing Programme: Wondrous Age, which provides specially designed museum tours and hands-on creative workshops for older adults, enabling them to share their experiences and connect with the wider community.