Since his appointment as the M+ Executive Director in June, Mr Lars Nittve has travelled to Hong Kong several times to oversee preliminary works for the museum before he officially assumes duty in January 2011. Following his latest four-day visit in early October, he shares his initial thoughts on the tasks which lie ahead for M+.

When I finally sat down to enjoy the comfort of the seat on the night flight heading back to Stockholm after my Hong Kong visit, I must confess I felt exhausted… but even more so excited than ever before!  Not because I was going back home, but everything I had experienced during the week had reassured my belief that WKCD and in particular M+ are on track, things are moving quickly, and most importantly, they’re moving in the right direction.

During the week, I had the privilege to interview a number of extraordinary candidates for the post of Chief Curator at M+ along with an excellent recruitment panel. This was the kick start for the gradual building of the first M+ team, which will be in place this coming spring.  The inaugural M+ team will be tasked to start fine-tuning the vision of M+, and at the same time, prepare for the budding institution’s life-to-be before any buildings are actually in place.  A first mantra is:  The Museum is not the same as the building.  The M+ is a meeting-place, a relation between content, visual culture and its audiences.  My first vision is that M+ will first come to life in other physical locations in West Kowloon, most notably in what was once called Cyber Space – and this will happen in less than one year!

The next important step to plan is the meeting schedule with the different stakeholders in this local art world.  In the second half of January, just after my official arrival, I look forward to sharing my initial thoughts, and more importantly, hearing the views of Hong Kong’s artists, designers, architects and film-makers, as well as its curators, university teachers, representatives of the city’s thriving art market and many more.