Art enthusiasts have a reason to fly to Hong Kong because the world's first art mall opened last week!
The K11 mall founded by Adrian Cheng, grandchild of China's retail development billionaire Cheng Yu-Tung, is an astounding 340,000 square feet and houses 100 stores as well as an art gallery featuring a $2.6 million permanent art gallery.
Cheng says of his new development:
"I tried to think outside the box. At 340,000 square feet, it is the perfect size for a museum. It’s a simple, round shape — perfect for a [walking] tour. So I placed exhibition windows between the shops — all of the shops. Even in the busiest area, you can see art".
In addition to the permanent gallery, the mall will also feature local artists because Cheng feels they "lack a platform and lack resources. I know some people think this is a gimmick, but really, 80 percent is a mission and 20 percent is a gimmick. We really want to promote local artists and expose their work to the masses."
Their art better stand out in the 340,000 or it may have a good chance of fading into the background.
Adrian believes his new mall is winning concept an after only being open a week, he's moving on to build 7 more just like it. In total the 8 art malls will cover 10 million square feet.
Dayum!!!
For his sake we hope it is success because to complete just one it cost him $386.7 million.
Double dayum!
Good luck, kid!
[Image via Courtesy Photo.]
Posted: December 24, 2009 at 1:00 pm
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