Three months after opening its doors, New World Development's ambitious "cultural-retail destination", K11 Musea, is a thriving micro-metropolis with snaking escalators and a dazzling glass facade. Described as "a space that inspires global millennials and facilitates a broader discussion on the interconnectedness of creativity, culture and innovation", K11 Musea is so much more than a few art-focused shops like MoMA Design Store and YellowKorner. It's a space where the regular shopper is introduced to a larger world of art. The experience at K11 Musea is not only commercial but also educational as art pieces are peppered throughout the complex - in hallways, above doorways or on wall murals.

Both local and international artists are featured in K11 Musea. Just along the waterfront - and adjacent to Rem Koolhaas' Kube kiosk - is Katharina Grosse's kaleidoscopic untitled sculpture. Other works by internationally acclaimed artists, such as Carol Bove and Xavier Veilhan, can be found on the first floor.

Always I Trust, a video installation by Cheng Ran and featuring actress Carina Lau, occupies a glass ball-shaped exhibition space, covering two floors. A massive gold-tinted stairway leads to the third floor, where psychedelic works of street art by Ron English, Tianzhuo Chen and Start From Zero are installed. These constitute only a small sampling of the mall's impressive collection, which is likely to grow.

Austrian artist Erwin Wurm - whose interactive installation, Hot Dog Bus, served refreshments to passersby in October - could not be more delighted that K11 Musea is hosting his work. "Quite often my works require the audience to physically engage and activate it, which might be difficult to be realized at a more conventional platform. In a traditional gallery or museum with plain walls and extremely open space, art is undeniably the center of attention, (whereas) in a retail destination, the attention to art has to be earned," he says.

The potential for collaboration between artists and shopping complexes is still relatively unrealized. While malls in other cities, such as Galeries Lafayette Haussmann in Paris and The Aventura Mall in Florida, have made similar efforts to promote culture long before K11 Musea's inception, the latter seems to have an edge over its overseas competitors in terms of scale. With frequent tours that explore curated art, architecture, nature and Danish furniture; rotating events that include performances by international musicians; as well as an upcoming Cannes Film Week, K11 Musea offers something refreshing for visitors to sink their teeth into in lieu of promotional retail events that other Hong Kong malls have been hosting routinely.

If anything, we should look forward to seeing how Hong Kong's newest shopping plus arts destination develops over time and whether or not it influences other shopping complexes to follow suit.

williamchang@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 11/01/2019 page11)