Controversy on the curatorial arrangement for the 55th Venice Biennale

The “Hong Kong Arts Development Council” (ADC) has been arranging for Hong Kong’s participation in “Venice Biennale” since 2001. Except for the first time when participation was by invitation, ADC conducted open call-for-proposal for the five subsequent exhibitions. On 22 June 2012, ADC and and “M+”, Hong Kong’s future museum for 20th and 21st century visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District (M+), concurrently announced on their respective corporate websites that the two public organizations would be collaborating to organize HK’s participation in the “55th Venice Biennale” (Biennale). Lars Nittve, M+ Executive Director, was to be the lead curator of the Hong Kong pavilion. Nine arts practitioners in HK set up a “We Want the Truth” concern group regarding this collaboration, and called for petition requiring ADC and M+ to explain why such a decision has been reached prior to public consultation. The concern group also urged the two organizations to explain the reason for their collaboration.