HONG KONG, March 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Manulife today announced it has been named “Asia’s Best Insurance Provider for Wealth Management” at the 2026 Euromoney Private Banking Awards. The award recognizes Manulife’s excellence in delivering tailored and innovative wealth and legacy planning solutions to High-Net-Worth (HNW) individuals and families across the region.

The win reflects the company’s strong growth momentum, innovative product suite, unmatched cross-border service capabilities, and deep relationships with its distribution partners. It comes as demand for HNW wealth planning services continues to grow across the region. According to McKinsey analysis, an estimated US$5.8 trillion in assets is projected to transfer between generations across Asia-Pacific by 2030*, while regional financial wealth is expanding at approximately 9% CAGR through 2029^#. This growth is being driven in part by a rising segment of global Asian citizens—internationally mobile families managing assets across multiple jurisdictions—who require cross-border insurance and legacy planning solutions at scale.

“We are honoured to be recognized by Euromoney as Asia’s leading life insurance provider for Wealth Management. This award reflects our continued commitment to meeting the unique needs of our HNW clients and partners. As intergenerational wealth transfer accelerates, we see a new generation of clients—today’s global Asian citizens—who prioritize flexibility, geographic diversification, and holistic solutions that combine wealth planning with health and longevity. Our strategy is built to meet these exact needs, leveraging our multi-hub platform and omni-channel distribution to deliver best-in-class solutions that help our clients protect their legacy and secure their future across borders and generations.”

— Bonnie Qiu, CEO, Global High-Net-Worth, Manulife

During the award assessment period, Manulife achieved high double-digit sales growth in business generated from private banks and international brokers serving HNW clients in Asia. Manulife’s success is underpinned by a comprehensive product proposition and policy structuring expertise, as well as strong underwriting capacity backed by its strong relationships with re-insurers.

In June 2025, Manulife was ranked first in the life insurance sector for artificial intelligence (AI) maturity in the inaugural Evident AI Index for Insurance, ranking in the top five across the insurance industry overall. Applied directly to its HNW business, Manulife has embedded generative AI into the HNW underwriting process, significantly reducing turnaround times for large and complex cases.

Manulife’s HNW strategy integrates its four hubs—Hong Kong, Singapore, Bermuda, and Dubai—to provide seamless multi-jurisdictional access and specialist local execution for globally mobile families.

“As HNW clients’ needs in Hong Kong become increasingly sophisticated, our role has evolved beyond product provision. As a leading international financial centre, Hong Kong continues to attract HNW families with complex wealth and legacy planning needs. By bringing together our diversified distribution model, bespoke innovative solutions, and strong underwriting capabilities—supported by our Private Client Wealth Planning team—we are able to provide integrated guidance on complex matters such as trust and legacy structuring. We are uniquely positioned to help globally mobile families protect and grow their wealth across generations.”

— Patrick Graham, CEO, Manulife Hong Kong & Macau

The business also saw strong momentum in Singapore, another key pillar of its regional HNW strategy.

“Singapore’s reputation as a secure and stable wealth hub continues to attract HNW families with increasingly complex needs, and they require an insurer with proven capabilities. Our recent issuance of a landmark US$300 million policy demonstrates the market’s confidence in our financial strength and deep technical expertise. It underscores our ability to structure and underwrite large, sophisticated cases, while helping high net worth families address their wealth and legacy priorities with tailored, well structured solutions.”

— Benoit Meslet, CEO, Manulife Singapore

Looking ahead, Manulife plans to continue its investment in the HNW segment by expanding its service capabilities across the region, driving ongoing product innovation with a focus on flexibility and liquidity, and further building out its health and longevity ecosystem.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Anchored in our ambition to be the number one choice for customers, we operate as Manulife across Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, providing financial advice, insurance and health solutions for individuals, groups and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, we offer global investment solutions, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2025, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 106,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 37 million customers with operations across 25 markets globally. We trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges, and under ‘945’ in Hong Kong. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

* https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/asia-pacifics-family-office-boom-opportunity-knocks

^# https://www.bcg.com/press/24june2025-organic-growth-advantage-financial-wealth-hits-record-high#:~:text=Asia%2DPacific%20is%20poised%20to,reaching%20%2414.4%20trillion%20in%202024

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BEIJING, March 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The 2026 London Book Fair drew to a close on 12 March at Olympia London. As one of the world’s most influential publishing gatherings, the fair provided a key global platform for Chinese publishers to showcase their latest achievements, exchange ideas with international partners, and deepen cross‑cultural understanding. This year’s highlighted the high-quality development of China’s publishing industry and its commitment to stronger exchanges between civilisations.

A Strategic and Immersive Showcase: The Reading China Pavilion

At the centre of the Chinese Publishing Delegation’s display was the Reading China pavilion, supported by joint and independent stands from major domestic publishing groups. A diverse selection of high-quality books – including a significant number of foreign-language editions – was presented across five carefully designed sections integrating display, copyright negotiation and cultural communication.

The Premium Books Exhibition presented award‑winning literary works including The Last Quarter of the Moon and Daughter of Dunhuang, which represent the creative achievements of contemporary Chinese literature. The Traditional Culture Exhibition featured classic texts such as Yongle Encyclopedia and the immersive VR experience Digital Representation and Experience of A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings, enabling international visitors to engage with traditional Chinese art through advanced technology.

The Outstanding Journals Exhibition showcased leading English‑language academic journals under the China Science and Technology Journals Excellence Action Plan, demonstrating China’s growing strength in scholarly publishing. The China IP Exhibition highlighted creative products developed from Dunhuang and Sanxingdui cultural elements, exploring the global commercial potential of original Chinese intellectual property.

Fostering High-Level Dialogue and Literary Connections

The delegation hosted a series of over 40 high-profile professional events, facilitating substantive exchanges between Chinese and international thought leaders.

A flagship event on the opening day was the Symposium on China and the World in the New Era and Book Launching Ceremony, hosted by China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Co., Ltd.

At the event, China Under the Global Development Initiative: An Economic Perspective was officially unveiled in English, with a signing ceremony also held for its Spanish edition.

Leading experts including John Ross, former economic advisor to the Mayor of London, and Kerry Brown, Director of the China Institute at King’s College London, joined in in-depth discussions on China’s part in global development.

Another highlight of the cultural exchange programme was the Where Stories Meet History: Book Launch on the Works with Cultural Heritage, which explored innovative modern expressions of cultural heritage.

Chinese author Li Shanshan shared insights into the creation of her Sanxingdui-inspired work The Millennial Vessel.

Together with Manon Steffan Ros, winner of the Wales Book of the Year and the Carnegie Medal, and Zhang Huaicun, Lifetime Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, she discussed how historical relics can be reimagined through children’s literature.

Also attracting strong international interest was the Mai Jia Translated Works Showcase @ LBF 2026 and a rights exchange session at this year’s London Book Fair. Penguin Random House is set to reissue English editions of Mai Jia’s classic novels Decoded and In the Dark. Publishers, editors and rights agents from across Europe gathered to discuss translation strategies and market partnerships, underscoring the global appeal of contemporary Chinese fiction.

Advancing Academic Collaboration and Strategic Partnerships

Academic publishing and global collaboration formed a core part of China’s presentation at this year’s fair.

In partnership with Taylor & Francis Group, China Social Sciences Press officially launched the English edition of The Belt and Road Handbook (Third Edition). Distinguished scholars Cai Fang and Peter Nolan joined the launch event, marking an important milestone in the global outreach of Chinese social science research.

Hosted by China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Co., Ltd, the China-UK Publishing and Creative Industries Exchange brought together senior industry figures from both countries. Participants explored practical cooperation across IP development, digital content innovation, children’s publishing, and global distribution, drawing on the UK’s leading expertise in the creative industries.

On the fair’s official International Stage, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication held the academic forum Beyond Borders: Breaking-through and Reshaping of the Future Publishing. Experts from Springer Nature, Oxford Brookes University and the Publishers Association (UK) discussed intelligent publishing, digital transformation and cross-border copyright issues, helping shape the future of the global publishing ecosystem.

Enriching Engagement Through Cultural Experiences

Beyond formal forums and commercial discussions, Chinese publishers offered a rich programme of immersive cultural activities for international visitors. These included displays of traditional Chinese picture-story books and Suzhou embroidery, together with interactive sessions of tea tasting and seal carving.

A series of book launches and copyright signing ceremonies were held throughout the fair, exploring themes from urban culture and history to intangible cultural heritage. Major titles included foreign-language versions of The Chinese Path and Jade: A Window into Chinese Civilization from the Place Museum.

The BIBF Reception & Premiere of the Video Series “Hello, Beijing also served to deepen ties with partners across the global publishing industry. Talks with winners of the BBC National Short Story Award and the English-language launch of the children’s book The Bronze Sacred Tree underscored the growing international presence of Chinese children’s literature.

Conclusion: A New Chapter in Global Publishing Exchange

China’s participation in the 2026 London Book Fair was a resounding success, vividly portraying a publishing industry that is at once deeply rooted in its rich culture and energetically engaged with the world. By seamlessly blending content excellence, strategic dialogue, and immersive experiences, the delegation not only showcased its current achievements but also proactively paved the way for the next chapter of wider exchange, deeper partnership, and strengthened cultural connectivity in the years ahead.

Source

Joint Venture with Award-Winning Producer Molly Conners Establishes International Media Fund and Co-Production Platform Across EMEA and APAC

ABU DHABI, UAE, MILAN and NEW YORK, March 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Mondevo Group, the AI-native wealth and innovation platform, today announced the formation of Phiphen International, a joint venture between MondeVita — a subsidiary of Mondevo Group — and Phiphen LLC, the entertainment company founded by award-winning producer Molly Conners.

The venture establishes an international co-production platform and media fund operating across EMEA and APAC, and marks Mondevo Group’s first dedicated partnership in the international film and media space. Molly Conners will serve as Global CEO of Phiphen International, overseeing operations across the United States and an international media fund supporting ventures in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

Phiphen International will leverage Mondevo Group’s global infrastructure — including its ITTIKAR AI-native platform and its active relationships with over 120 leading family offices worldwide — to access international co-production incentives, launch a cross-border media fund, and expand Phiphen Games into EMEA and APAC markets.

Phiphen’s US operations remain unchanged under this partnership. Conners, who has produced or executive produced dozens of award-winning and nominated feature films — including Birdman and Frozen River — founded Phiphen in 2015. The company’s upcoming slate includes Midge, WTF: What the F**k Is My Password, Mattress Mack, The Stalemate, and Somedays.

“Film and media are among the most powerful forms of expression a group like ours can engage with seriously. Phiphen brings a track record of genuine creative excellence and courage – exactly the standard Mondevo Group holds for every partnership it builds across its MondeVita platform. It is the beginning of something we intend to build seriously, over time, together.”

Fabio Brambilla
Co-Founder and Group CEO, Mondevo Group

“This partnership allows us to take what we’ve built and expand our global footprint by finding and working with talented filmmakers, developing content across all genres and at all budget levels and providing funding to make their vision a reality that can be shared with the international audience. Mondevo’s network and infrastructure give us the reach to do that in a way we couldn’t on our own, and support the auteurs and storytellers across the regions that are producing some of the best new content. I’m looking forward to providing our expertise on a global scale.”

Molly Conners
CEO, Phiphen International

“Phiphen has built something genuinely rare — a track record of creative excellence across more than thirty film and television projects, and a producer in Molly whose instincts I respect enormously. Within MondeVita, we have built a pillar dedicated entirely to culture, film and media – because we believe that the work, when it is made with genuine conviction, is the most enduring thing a group like ours can put its name to. We will be watching what Phiphen International produces with exactly that in mind.”

Sherin Shaker Otaibi
Chairwoman, MondeVita Creative Board

About Mondevo Group

Mondevo Group is a multi-divisional holding company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, operating at the intersection of AI-native technology, wealth management, venture capital, and lifestyle. Mondevo’s mission is to harness its AI-native capabilities and a global network of over 120 ultra-high-net-worth families to build enduring businesses across sectors with high barriers to entry and strong long-term growth potential.

About MondeVita

MondeVita is the creative and cultural division of Mondevo Group, operating across four sovereign pillars: MondeVita Spirits, Fashion & Lifestyle, Hotels & Hospitality, and Culture, Film & Media. MondeVita’s founding acquisition is Raffaele Caruso S.p.A., the Parma-based tailoring house founded in 1964. The division is governed by a Creative Board chaired by Sherin Shaker Otaibi, with a founding philosophy built on craft, tradition, teamwork, and uncompromising quality.

About Phiphen

Phiphen is an independently owned film and television production company founded by award-winning producer Molly Conners. The company creates content across all genres and budget levels, supporting innovative talents and telling bold stories for a global audience. Phiphen has produced more than 30 film and television projects. Phiphen Games, a division of the company, publishes independent video games including Blue Fire and Ruffy and the Riverside.

Contact:

Investor Relations | ir@mondevogroup.com  

Source

BELLEVUE, Wash., March 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — OSR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSRH), a healthcare-focused holding company advancing innovative medical technologies, today announced that its subsidiary, Woori IO Co., Ltd. (“Woori IO”), has entered into a mutual non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”) with Sinopharm Group Beijing Huahong (“Sinopharm”), the Beijing-based unit of Sinopharm Group and major state-owned healthcare and pharmaceutical distribution enterprise of China. This announcement is being made in accordance with Regulation FD to ensure broad, non-exclusionary public dissemination of this information.

The NDA establishes a formal framework for Woori IO and Sinopharm to exchange confidential information relating to Woori IO’s noninvasive near-infrared (NIR) glucose monitoring technology, allowing both parties to evaluate potential regulatory, clinical, and commercial pathways in China. Sinopharm Group, with reported 2024 revenue of approximately USD 81 billion, is generally considered China’s largest pharmaceutical and medical device distributor with the most extensive nationwide network.

China represents one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing diabetes markets, with more than 140 million people estimated to be living with the disease and rising demand for convenient glucose monitoring solutions. China’s diabetes device market is projected to expand significantly over the next decade, potentially exceeding $12 billion by 2032, according to a report by Research and Markets, as adoption of advanced glucose monitoring technologies accelerates. Woori IO’s proprietary NIR optical sensing technology addresses this demand directly, offering noninvasive, needle-free continuous glucose monitoring without the pain and adoption barriers of conventional invasive methods.

“China is a highly compelling market, given its large and growing diabetes population and increasing adoption of advanced glucose monitoring technologies,” said Peter Hwang, CEO of OSR Holdings. “Our engagement with Sinopharm reflects the strategic importance of the China market and the potential role that established national distribution platforms may play in enabling future commercialization. While still at an early stage, this engagement underscores the broader global interest in Woori IO’s noninvasive glucose monitoring platform.”

Woori IO has received additional interest from healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and distribution partners across multiple regions, highlighting growing recognition of its noninvasive glucose monitoring platform and strong demand for more accessible, patient-friendly solutions. “Our NDA with Sinopharm allows us to begin evaluating potential regulatory and commercial pathways in China while continuing discussions with partners in other regions,” said Sunkie Park, CEO of Woori IO. “These interactions could help shape future clinical development programs, including potential global multicenter trials.”

While discussions remain preliminary, OSR Holdings intends to actively pursue strategic partnerships across major international markets as it advances development, regulatory strategy, and potential commercialization pathways for this next-generation glucose monitoring technology, which could represent a transformational step forward in improving accessibility and convenience in diabetes care globally.

About OSR Holdings, Inc.

OSR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSRH) is a global healthcare holding company dedicated to advancing biomedical innovation approaches to health and wellness. Through its subsidiaries, OSRH is engaged in immuno-oncology, regenerative biologics, and medical device technologies. Its vision is to build a portfolio of breakthrough healthcare solutions to improve global health outcomes. Learn more at www.OSR-Holdings.com.

About Woori IO Co., Ltd.

Woori IO is a South Korea-based medical device company developing noninvasive biosensing technologies for glucose monitoring and beyond. Its proprietary NIRS-based system enables accurate, pain-free glucose tracking and is designed for integration into wearables. The company has been recognized by a leading global consumer electronics company’s startup program for its innovation in NIGM technology. Learn more at www.woori.io.

Contact:

Media & Investor Contacts
OSR Holdings, Inc.
Investor Relations
ir@osr-holdings.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding potential collaboration opportunities, anticipated commercialization pathways, regulatory strategy, global market demand for noninvasive CGM technology, and future business prospects. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Factors that may affect future results include, but are not limited to, the ability to enter into definitive agreements with prospective partners, regulatory approvals, product development outcomes, market acceptance, competitive developments, capital market conditions, and other risks described in OSR Holdings’ filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. OSR Holdings undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Source

Curated By Zoie Yung, The Programme Unfolds Through Installation, Moving-Image, Performance, And On-Site Dialogues

Hong Kong Artist Kaitlyn Hau To Debut Large-Scale Commissioned Installation Exploring The Intersections Of Art, Technology, And Embodied Experience

Central Stage Spotlight To Honour Three Globally Acclaimed Artists—
Arahmaiani, Esther Mahlangu, And Arno Rafael Minkkinen

HONG KONG, March 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Art Central, together with Lead Partner UOB, announce today details of its creative programme ahead of the Fair’s eleventh edition. Curated by Zoie Yung, the programme examines the frictions and intimacies that shape contemporary social and virtual life, foregrounding emergent Asian voices alongside influential practitioners shaping the region’s cultural landscape. A cornerstone of Hong Kong Art Month, Art Central 2026 will be held from 25 to 29 March, with a VIP Preview on 24 March, at its iconic Central Harbourfront location. Art Central 2026 is financially supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Event Fund under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Kaitlyn Hau will present the Art Central 2026 Hong Kong Commission, Recursive Feedback Ritual 0.01 (2026), a large-scale installation and motion‑capture performance.
• The Fair’s Video Art programme, ‘Reading the Room’, features a focused selection of regional and international moving-image works that trace the tensions between human intuition and algorithmic reasoning, exploring how AI and other emerging technologies have reframed the emotional signals intrinsic to our communication.
• ‘Endless Night and Midnight Sun’ features four commissioned performances that examine how the compressed temporalities of contemporary life manifest through metamorphic bodies, behaviours, and social relations.
• Central Stage introduces its final featured artists — Arahmaiani, Esther Mahlangu, and Arno Rafael Minkkinen — rounding out a group of six artists at the Fair whose influential practices command growing international and institutional recognition.
• The 2026 Talks Programme convenes practitioners working at the intersections of contemporary art and technology, spanning from conversations on music videos as a medium for radical experimentation to the development of local art‑tech and new media practices.

HONG KONG ARTIST COMMISSION
Art Central has commissioned new media artist Kaitlyn Hau (b. 1999, Hong Kong) to realise a large‑scale installation for the Fair’s 2026 edition. Titled Recursive Feedback Ritual 0.01 (2026), the commission extends Hau’s ongoing inquiry into the emotional, perceptual, and technological dimensions of digital embodiment. As an artistic director and visual engineer for virtual-singer performance, Hau has developed a distinctive methodology of “selective inclusion”, using micro‑gestures such as subtle shifts of breath, posture, and movement to heighten the affective presence of her digital personas.

Unfolding as an expansive installation, Recursive Feedback Ritual 0.01 transforms Hau’s compulsive self‑regulation into a real‑time computational sculpture. Motion‑capture-driven visuals loop through a recursive feedback system, rendering the artist’s psychiatric symptoms as measurable cycles of repetition and dissociation. The work reclaims bodily agency within a curated aesthetic structure—transforming autonomous internal “invaders” into a generative vocabulary of movement and image.

PERFORMANCE
Presented daily in the Fair’s Central Theatre, the performance programme ‘Endless Night and Midnight Sun’ turns to the altered temporalities of the AI era, drawing on the extreme cycles of light and darkness in polar regions as a metaphor for our shifting sense of duration. Through a series of commissioned works, the programme reflects on how compressed time reshapes social instinct, emotional endurance, and the rhythms through which we move together in contemporary life.

• Jiaming Liao (b. 1992, Guangdong) presents IYKYK (ON AIR) (2026). Appearing in his signature muscle suit, Liao stages a hybrid virtual‑physical performance realised by motion‑tracking animation, where audiences are invited to “transform” his body through interactive participation. Blurring the line between artistic consumption and creation, the work foregrounds how beauty and masculinity are culturally constructed amid intensified commercialisation and technological mediation. 
• Chaklam Ng (b. 1984, Hong Kong) presents Shadow Work (2026), a sound performance that fuses physical gesture with object manipulation and electronic modulation. Through percussive activation, the installation generates a feedback loop of multi‑choral electronic responses, staging an ephemeral dialogue between the body and its digital echo.
• Isabella Isabella (b. 1986, Hong Kong) presents I see blood in the sky today. (2026). The work explores the concept of “teleproximality,” imagining the child as an external limb and their absence as a hollowed imprint within the parent’s body. Moving through a series of textural suits, the artist stages a body in transition, each shift articulating new configurations of intimacy and care.
• Susie Au (b. 1962, Hong Kong) presents Memory In Motion – Walk-In-Cinema (2026), transforming the Fair’s Central Theatre into a surreal corridor of memory constructed from cardboard boxes. As audiences navigate the space alongside performers, they encounter looping projections drawn from Au’s music video archive and daily visual notes, allowing latent recollections to be reassembled into new sensory narratives.

VIDEO ART
Championing the breadth of contemporary moving‑image practices from the region and beyond, the Fair’s 2026 programme of Video Art, ‘Reading the Room’, turns toward the subtleties of human interaction and the labour of meaning-making. Observing how artificial intelligence routinely processes vast datasets yet struggles to apprehend nuance, subtext, and tone, the programme reframes this technological shortfall as an analogue for the misalignments inherent in everyday communication, foregrounding the tensions, hesitations, and emotional undercurrents that contour our attempts to understand one another. 

Highlights include:

• Liang‑Jung Chen (b. Taipei) presents UK Indefinite Leave to Remain Application Fee (2025). This screen‑recording of a YouTube performance adopts the format of a live fundraising campaign, transforming a colour‑coded Google Sheet into a site of resilience that documents the artist’s efforts to secure the legal fees required for a UK permanent residency application. Chen renders private financial struggle as public data, illuminating the structural pressures that shape migrant experience.
• Yifan Jiang (b. 1994, Tianjin) presents One Sunday Morning (2021). Jiang hand-draws magical-realist fables that probe the limits of communication and human connection. The animated video work imagines a parallel universe in which humanity abruptly loses language. Through the encounter of two characters from opposite sides of the world, Jiang examines empathy, estrangement, and how understanding is formed.
• Jon Rafman (b. 1981, Montreal) presents Cloudy Heart – Strawberry Moon (2025). Operating at the intersection of video art and digital subcultures, Rafman’s work centres on an AI‑generated bedroom-pop star whose ‘e-girl’ persona unfolds across social media feeds, music, and algorithmic aesthetics. The project probes the uncanny space where artificial consciousness acquires human messiness, reflecting on desire and loneliness born of life online.
• Adrian Wong (b. 1980, Chicago) presents With Love from Hong Kong (Episode 1) (2025) and With Hate from Hong Kong (2025), a two‑part inquiry where personal narrative meets the pulp conventions of Western and Eastern screen cultures. With Love draws on Wong’s grandmother’s fascination with American soap operas to stage scripted vignettes of her migrant life; With Hate reactivates the rapid‑assembly production tactics of 1960s kung fu studios, sutured with newly choreographed stunt sequences. Together, the works invert familiar narrative tropes, centring female protagonists endowed with agency and exaggerated physical prowess.

TALKS
Art Central’s Talks Programme brings together some of the most engaging voices in contemporary art today for a series of thought‑provoking conversations. Presented throughout the week, the programme offers visitors distinct opportunities to hear directly from artists, curators, and industry leaders.

Highlights include:

• ‘MV as an Art Form’, in conversation with Susie Au (film/MV director) and Halftalk (MV director). Renowned for their work with prominent Cantopop artists, the duo discusses the narrative and artistic strategies that shape their music‑video direction and the medium’s evolution as a site for radical experimentation amid accelerating technological change.
• ‘Anchor Point—Art Central 2026 Hong Kong Artist Commission’, in conversation with Kaitlyn Hau (artist), Inti Guerrero (curator/educator), and Ashley Lee Wong (Co-Founder and Artistic Director, MetaObjects). Taking motion tracking as both a technical anchor and a metaphor for how Hong Kong artists negotiate their positionality within global contexts, the trio discusses Hau’s generative practice, her ACG (Anime, Comic, and Games) influences, and her translation of “exhaustion” into an aesthetic form central to her practice.
• ‘Art Tech—Rethinking the Contemporary Art Ecology’, in conversation with media artists Samuel Yip, Keith Lam, and Ng Tsz-Kwan. The speakers will reflect on their role in shaping the local art tech landscape and examine the infrastructural conditions required to sustain its continued development. 

Zoie Yung, Curator, said, “This year’s creative programme reflects the criticality and nuance of the questions artists are asking in this present moment—how we communicate across misalignment, how technology reshapes embodiment, and how shifting temporalities recalibrate our social instincts. With a focused, multi-disciplinary framework, we aim to bring forward practices that speak directly to the material and perceptual conditions of Hong Kong and Asia today.”

CENTRAL STAGE
Art Central announces presentations by Arahmaiani, Esther Mahlangu, and Arno Rafael Minkkinen as part of its Central Stage feature, joining the previously announced SIDE CORE, Elnaz Javani, and Marta Frėjutė. Central Stage spotlights six artists whose practices have garnered recent institutional recognition, including participation in major international exhibitions and recurring large‑scale shows, as well as significant public commissions, acquisitions and awards. Presented under the curatorial direction of Enoch Cheng, Central Stage is among the Fair’s curated gallery features.

• Yogyakarta-based artist Arahmaiani is a seminal figure in Indonesian contemporary art. Since the 1980s, her practice has grappled with contemporary politics, gendered power inequalities, and cultural commodification through performance, installation, and community‑based collaboration. Arahmaiani has exhibited widely at major institutions and biennials, including Tate Modern (London), the Brooklyn Museum (New York), the National Gallery Singapore, the Istanbul Biennial, the Gwangju Biennale, and documenta fifteen (Kassel).
• Born and based in Mpumalanga, South Africa, Esther Mahlangu is celebrated for her bold geometric abstractions rooted in Ndebele cultural knowledge. Painting across an expansive range of surfaces, her practice reanimates ancestral visual systems within contemporary art and design. Dr. Mahlangu has exhibited internationally at major institutions, including the British Museum (London), Centre Pompidou (Paris), and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
• Born in Helsinki and based in Massachusetts, Arno Rafael Minkkinen is known for black‑and‑white self‑portraits that investigate the relationship between the human body and the natural world. His images draw on intuition, chance, and physical risk as integral elements of his process. In 2025, Minkkinen was named the recipient of the Académie des Beaux-Arts Photography Award, William Klein. His work has entered the permanent collections of MoMA (New York), the National Gallery of Finland (Helsinki), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.

Corey Andrew Barr, Fair Director, said, “Art Central has established itself as a discursive platform where experimental voices from Hong Kong and across Asia gain meaningful visibility and resonance. This year’s creative programme spotlights practitioners advancing new conceptual and technological frontiers, inviting audiences to engage with the emergent vocabularies shaping contemporary new‑media practice. It is our privilege to support work that not only reflects the region’s cultural vitality but also contributes to its ongoing transformation.”

Advance Tickets end 24 March, 11:59 PM HKT. Visitors are encouraged to book online in advance at artcentralhongkong.com/tickets/

Opening Dates and Hours

Tuesday 24 March
VIP Preview (by invitation)
Wednesday 25 March
Fair Hours                        12 pm – 5 pm
Night Central                    5 pm – 9 pm
Thursday 26 March
Fair Hours                        12 pm – 7 pm
Friday 27 March
Fair Hours                        12 pm – 7 pm
Saturday 28 March
Fair Hours                        11 am – 7 pm
Sunday 29 March
Fair Hours                        11 am – 5 pm

Venue
Central Harbourfront Hong Kong, 9 Lung Wo Road

www.artcentralhongkong.com
Facebook: artcentralhk | Instagram: @artcentralhk |
WeChat Public Platform: artcentral | Xiaohongshu: ArtCentralHK

#ArtCentralHK #ArtCentralUOB #HongKongArtWeek

For media enquiries, please contact:
Chance Communications
[Mandy Chan | mandy@chancecomm.com | 2509 3123]
[Tommy Yuen | tommy@chancecomm.com | 2509 3389]

About Art Central
Art Central, a cornerstone event of Hong Kong Art Month, presents the next generation of talent from Asia’s most forward-thinking galleries alongside celebrated artists from across the globe. Since its inaugural edition in 2015, Art Central has established itself as a leading platform for innovation in contemporary art, advancing the profiles of artists and galleries and reinforcing their presence within the international art landscape. Today, the Fair is recognised for the strength of its curatorial programming and as a vital meeting point for discovery and exchange among collectors and curators representing private, corporate, and institutional collections worldwide.

Fair Director
Corey Andrew Barr joined Art Central as Fair Director in 2019. A champion of Hong Kong artists, Barr has expanded the Fair’s platform to highlight local talent and underscore its position as a benchmark for aspiring galleries from around the world. He was formerly the director of a prominent Hong Kong- and London-based gallery focusing on contemporary Asian art, and prior to that, served as Specialist and Head of Sales for Phillips in New York, where he also organised exhibitions of contemporary art, photography, and design by leading international artists.

Curator
Zoie Yung, currently based in Hong Kong, is an independent exhibition consultant and curator, and former exhibition manager of chi K11 art museum in Shanghai. She provides a unique approach to exhibition production by combining practice in exhibition spatial arrangement and her knowledge of Chinese Xuanxue as well as Western astrology. Selected recent exhibitions include Wonder-verse (chi K11 art space, Hong Kong, 2022) and Curve of Buoyancy (Duddell’s, Hong Kong, 2021). She also actively organises public education campaigns; she has collaborated with local organisations, including Tai Kwun Contemporary, Para Site, 1a Space, and Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre.

Enoch Cheng is an artist-curator whose work spans curation, moving image, installation, performance, dance, and fashion. His cross-disciplinary multimedia practice reinterprets norms, stories, and myths through contemporary lenses, drawing on a range of creative practices and engaging audiences through diverse cultural traditions. Cheng was awarded the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship (2020) and held artist residencies at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York (2022), and the American Museum of Natural History, New York (2020). He was most recently named Artist of the Year (Visual Arts) at the 2025 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards, recognising his contributions to the arts, including his role at Art Central since 2024.

About UOB
UOB is a leading bank in Asia. Operating through its head office in Singapore and banking subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, UOB has a global network of more than 470 branches and offices in 19 markets in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. Since its incorporation in 1935, UOB has grown organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions. Today, UOB is rated among the world’s top banks: Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA- by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.

For nine decades, UOB has adopted a customer-centric approach to create long-term value by staying relevant through its enterprising spirit and doing right by its customers. UOB is focused on building the future of ASEAN – for the people and businesses within, and connecting with, ASEAN.

The Bank connects businesses to opportunities in the region with its unparalleled regional footprint and leverages data and insights to innovate and create personalised banking experiences and solutions catering to each customer’s unique needs and evolving preferences. UOB is also committed to helping businesses forge a sustainable future, by fostering social inclusiveness, creating positive environmental impact and pursuing economic progress. UOB believes in being a responsible financial services provider and is steadfast in its support of art, social development of children and education, doing right by its communities and stakeholders.

About Mega Arts and Cultural Events (ACE) Fund
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government sets up the Mega ACE Fund to attract and support international or large-scale arts and cultural events which bring significant arts, cultural or economic values and can be recurrent and anchored in Hong Kong, or events which can bring exceptionally significant arts or cultural merit, as well as publicity and image building values to Hong Kong as an arts and cultural hub with a view to contributing to Hong Kong’s development into an arts and cultural metropolis as well as a tourist destination, providing development opportunities for the arts, cultural and creative sectors, and facilitating arts and cultural exchange.

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