Chanel Sponsors Moving Image Curator At M+ Museum In Hong Kong

Beginning in July 2023, the legendary French brand CHANEL has commenced a three-year curatorial sponsorship at the Hong Kong contemporary art museum M+. This is their first-ever Hong Kong partnership through the CHANEL Culture Fund, aiming to inspire the next generation of Hong Kong filmmakers.

The recipient of the sponsorship is Silke Schmickl, who oversees programming as well as the collection of moving images itself. She has held her position since 2021, but with the infusion of funds, M+ can continue to pioneer a multifaceted approach to film research, preservation, education and engagement in the region.

M+ is located in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, ambitiously striving to be one of the largest and most impactful cultural regions in the world. Hong Kong is undoubtedly an increasing epicenter for art of all kinds: notably the recent acquisition of a number of high-value paintings by Gustav Klimt across anonymous wealthy collectors broke as many records as it raised questions.

More broadly, the district plans to include a number of other cultural vehicles, as does the museum. The role supported by the brand is CHANEL Lead Curator of the Moving Image of the M+ Cinema division, coming off the coattails of their sponsored 2022 screening of the seven-chapter documentary ‘Film Course: Women Make Film’, and film education course pairing.

Although there is a somewhat Eurocentric bend to the initial launch, the partnership, with the CHANEL Culture Fund is set to include a wide array of Asian influences in the coming years of screening. First is ‘Rediscoveries’, featuring classic films from Asia such as Eyes on Hong Kong and City of Sadness, and ‘Afterimage’, a more experimental showcase of contemporary filmmakers based in the Gulf, New Delhi, and leftist Tokyo. M+ Restored is a plan to celebrate Hong Kong’s film history in collaboration with the Asian Avant-Garde Film Circulation Library.

“We are delighted that CHANEL…shares a united vision with M+ to preserve film culture and nurture moving image practices, and more importantly, support arts and cultural innovators to advance new ideas and greater representation,” said Museum Director Suhanya Raffel in the press release.

According to her biography, Schmickl has often focused on art and film projects in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and joined M+ from previous roles at the National Gallery Singapore and the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore.

Historically, the brand CHANEL has remained uniquely tied to the film industry, as Coco Chanel lived through the explosion of film as a medium in her lifetime. Like the museum initiative, the brand strove to innovate and create new dialogues in emerging markets, for unconventional creatives and accessibility for all audiences.

From past to future, CHANEL will continue to be at the forefront of cultural patronage around the world. Prior recent partnerships include The Power Station of Art in Shanghai’s Next Cultural Producer programme last July, designed to stimulate architectural development in China.