A new exhibition at Hong Kong’s M+ museum featuring “environments” created by 12 female artists will open this weekend, inviting visitors to experience and understand art through “the mind and the body.”
Members of the public may visit the Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s–Now exhibition starting on Saturday, with immersive installation works by women artists from Asia, Europe, and North and South America presented in the M+ Main Hall, Focus Gallery, and the Atrium.
Nine of the environments displayed are reconstructions of historic pieces through research and collaboration with living artists, artist estates, conservators, and scholars. The remaining three pieces are new commissions by M+.
The reconstructed works were first showcased at Haus der Kunst München in 2023 under the title Inside Other Spaces. The exhibition at M+ marks the third time the artwork has been displayed in Asia.
In a media preview on Thursday, M+ Museum Director Suhanya Raffel said the special exhibition “encapsulates the spirit of the museum.” The “environments” showcased were made much earlier before this art form, which emerged in the mid-1950s and 1960s, became known as installation art, she said.
Russell Storer, senior curator and associate director of curatorial affairs at M+, told the press that the travelling collection was “repositioned with an Asian context,” while the exhibition also seeks to “rethink art history,” which has tended to focus more on male artists.
“The exhibition invites our visitors to encounter art as a fully embodied experience, moving beyond visual perception to activate sensory, spatial, and emotional awareness,” he said.
Visitors are asked to remove their shoes as they step into the environments. M+ said in a statement that audiences are expected to “become part of the works,” and they should be prepared to be stimulated by sensations, materials, sounds, and objects.
The exhibition will be on display until mid-January.
Words by Kelly Ho.
