The Arrival of Tai Kwun: Interview with Tobias Berger

Tobias Berger has a proclivity for creative spaces that probe various institutional models, within which he can be a conductor of experimental ideas. Since moving to the Asia-Pacific from Europe in 2003, he has held positions at the non-commercial and non-collecting Auckland Artspace, Hong Kong’s Para Site, Nam June Paik Art Center in Seoul and the M+ Museum in Hong Kong. Perhaps most notable in his 15 years of working in the region is his consistent determination to challenge staid methods of thinking about art, expanding our imaginations as to what art can be. In 2015, he joined the contemporary arts arm of Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun—a revitalization project that has converted the colonial remnants of a former police station, a prison and the city’s central magistracy into a contemporary labyrinth for heritage and arts; a previously restricted space that will finally be open to the public. In his role as head of arts, Berger aims to not only increase the visibility of underrepresented local artists, but also to cultivate a cultural scene that is collaborative and, most importantly, inclusive. On the eve of the opening of Tai Kwun, I spoke with Berger about his curatorial strategies, the art hub’s upcoming contemporary art exhibitions and programs, and his vision for the new arts complex.

• Hong Kong