Hugo Boss & Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai Partner for HUGO BOSS ASIA ART Award

HUGO BOSS and the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai announce the inauguration of the HUGO BOSS ASIA ART Award. Conceived and curated by the Rockbund Art Museum, the biennial award will focus on contemporary art in Asia in support of the thriving emerging artist community.

The HUGO BOSS ASIA ART Award has been established in China to specifically support this region of the art world, which is burgeoning with artistic energy and production. The inaugural award in 2013 will be devoted to emerging Chinese artists from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. The finalists will present their works at the Rockbund Art Museum in a group exhibition opening mid-September, 2013. The winner will be announced during the exhibition and awarded the stipend of ¥300,000 (over $48,000). The finalists of the inaugural HUGO BOSS ASIA ART Award are:

- Birdhead, Shanghai
- Hsu Chiawei, Taipei
- Hu Xiangqian, Beijing
- Kwan Sheung Chi, Hong Kong
- Lee Kit, Hong Kong, Taipei
- Li Liao, Shenzhen
- Li Wei, Beijing

?Every two years, for every edition of the award, the Rockbund Art Museum will select an independent jury composed of curators, museum directors, art critics and artists, all of whom have contributed to, and been fully involved in, the evolution of contemporary art in Asia and beyond.
The members of the 2013 jury are:

-Biljana Ciric (Independent curator, Shanghai)
-Cosmin Costinas (Director/Curator of Para Site, Hong Kong)
-Yuko Hasegawa (Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo)
-Hou Hanru (Independent curator and critic, San Francisco, Paris)
-Manray Hsu (Independent curator and critic, Taipei)
-Clara Kim (Senior Curator at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis)
-Dr. Alexandra Munroe (Senior Curator for Asian Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York)
-Jochen Volz (Head of Programmes, Serpentine Gallery, London)
-Wu Wei (Executive Editor at Art China Magazine, Shanghai)
-Pauline J. Yao (Senior curator at M+ Museum, Hong Kong)
-Peng Yu (Artist, Beijing)
-Anthony Yung (Senior researcher at Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong)
-Zhao Li (Professor at Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing)
Larys Frogier, Director of the Rockbund Art Museum, explains, "HUGO BOSS ASIA ART seeks to promote art as a fundamental critical space for debating the future of contemporary art at both local and international levels. We are truly delighted that the partnership with HUGO BOSS enables us to develop such an important project."

?"We are very proud to be inaugurating an award in such an important cultural context as Asia, and would like to thank Rockbund Art Museum for its constructive cooperation in this partnership," says Dr. Hjördis Kettenbach, Head of Cultural Affairs, HUGO BOSS AG.

To further explore the intellectual and social potential of this award and exhibition, a full educational and research program has been drawn up to reflect upon the current challenges facing contemporary art in Asia. Running from July through the end of 2013, the series of programs will include interviews with curators and artists, talks with critics and researchers, and a symposium with experts - including the jury members and finalists.

For further information and publicity images on the HUGO BOSS ASIA ART Award, please visit the below link: http://portal.hugoboss.com/com_eventspublic_en/show.jsp?cn=asia_art_award
For more information on HUGO BOSS AG please visit: www.hugoboss.com