The Discoveries sector will present its strongest showcase of emerging artists so far with solo- and two-person exhibitions presented by 24 galleries. For this year’s edition, five of the galleries will be completely new to the show, while another six return after a brief hiatus. Highlights of the sector include intricate ink drawings by Pakistani artist Waqas Khan (b. 1982, Pakistan), presented by Sabrina Amrani (Madrid); Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi (Berlin) showing parts of Wu Tsang’s (b. 1982, United States) new body of work ‘Duilan’, exploring the close female relationship between revolutionary poet Qin Jin and calligrapher Wu Zhiying; an installation by Jess Johnson (b. 1979, New Zealand) presented by Darren Knight Gallery (Sydney) which will comprise 13 works on paper and one video work overlaid on a wall covered with wallpaper designed by the artist; Gallery Side 2’s (Tokyo) installation of work by Yusuke Saito (b. 1981, Japan), an artist usually known for his sculptures of food, who will be presenting boxed collages and resin sculptures surrounding ideas of digestion; Experimenter (Kolkata) offers a joint installation of work by Ayesha Sultana (b. 1985, Bangladesh) and Rathin Barman (b. 1984, India) who will share the theme ‘Sculpting in Time’; a focus on the abstraction located at the heart of today’s industry and society, featuring work by Sean Raspet (b. 1981, United States) and Ned Vena (b. 1983, United States), presented by Société (Berlin); and Joel Kyack’s (b. 1972, United States) sculptural installation presented by Workplace Gallery (Gateshead, London), which will explore the conflicts and parallels between intense consumerism, cultural conditions and the historical conditions of Hong Kong.

Last year saw the inaugural BMW Art Journey, a collaboration between BMW and Art Basel to support emerging artists, awarded to Hong Kong-based artist Samson Young (b. 1979). At the 2016 show in Hong Kong, first works from Samson Young’s project, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls: A Journey Into the Sonic History of Conflict' will be on view and the next shortlist for the BMW Art Journey will be announced.

The Encounters sector will show artworks on an institutional scale, presenting large- scale sculptural installation pieces and performances, sited in prominent locations throughout the two exhibition halls. Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director of the contemporary art institution Artspace in Sydney, will return for this edition to curate the sector for the second time. Further information on the works in the Encounters sector will be released in the coming months.

The popular Film sector will return this year, and will once again be curated by Beijing- and Zurich-based curator, multi-media artist and producer Li Zhenhua. The program will be presented in collaboration with the Hong Kong Arts Centre adjacent to the HKCEC. The program will also be expanded to include feature-length and documentary films, with screenings taking place at the HKCEC for the first time.

Conversations, the long-established morning program of talks and panel discussions offers audiences first-hand access to renowned cultural speakers and opinion-formers from across the international art world. Complementing the Conversations program, the afternoon Salon series serves as a platform for shorter, more freestyle presentations, including artist talks, panel discussions, lectures and book launches. Full details on the talks program will be released in the coming months.

In addition, Art Basel is working closely with key cultural organizations across the city, including Asia Art Archive (AAA); the Asia Society; Para/Site Art Space; Spring Workshop; and M+, Hong Kong’s future museum for visual culture, offering an associated program of events onsite and throughout the city that takes place during the week of the show. Once again, Art Basel will be collaborating with Hong Kong’s International Commerce Centre (ICC), which will see a new light installation by an internationally renowned artist to be projected on to the side of the 108-storey skyscraper

This November, Art Basel will support the annual Hong Kong Art Gallery Week organized by the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, and will once again collaborate with the association to organize the gallery night prior to the opening of the show in March.