The best things to do in Hong Kong today

It’s been about 20 years since Miranda Priestly and Andy Sachs graced our screens, but the sequel movie is finally about to be released! In honour of this modern classic, there’s a pop-up installation in Pacific Place dedicated to everything Runway. Field calls from Miranda at the magazine’s reception desk, take over Miranda’s own office, have your own fashion change montage at the New York subway entrance, and more. Best of all, you can hop into a photobooth disguised as an elevator, snap a series of model-worthy poses, and have your favourite printed out into a magazine cover. The pop-up is free to enter and explore, while you can access the elevator by signing up to become an above member and spending $300 on the same day within the mall.

Step into a world where imperial grandeur meets Impressionist beauty at ‘Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West, a massive new showcase at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Bringing together more than 100 sets of rare artefacts and paintings from the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Palace of Versailles, the exhibition explores how nature has been shaped and celebrated by kings, scholars, and artists alike. The real highlight is the arrival of Claude Monet’s iconic Water Lilies (1906) and Water Lily Pond (1900), which are on loan from Chicago for a limited time. Alongside works by masters like Zhang Daqian and Wen Zhengming, visitors can wander through an immersive display and interact with virtual wine cups in a digital recreation of the famous Orchid Pavilion Gathering. Running until July 29 at HKMoA’s Special Gallery, the exhibition is completely free to enter – so there’s really no excuse not to visit.

In a landmark collaboration between the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) of Egypt, 250 treasures and relics from the land of the Pharaohs will be on display in Hong Kong for nine and a half months. Named ‘Ancient Egypt Unveiled’, this exhibition is the largest, most comprehensive, and longest-running display of ancient Egyptian artefacts Hong Kong has ever seen, displaying archaeological finds loaned straight from Egypt, many of which are being shown outside of their home country for the very first time. Some of our favourite highlights include a set of canopic jars used to store internal organs in the mummification and burial process; statues of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut and Rameses II; painted coffins of wood and stone; a Book of the Dead papyrus scroll; and even an ancient Egyptian toilet seat. Swing by the gift shop to find a wide range of Egypt-related merch, including an adorable series of blind box plushies created by HKPM which depict pharaohs, canopic jars, mummies, and more.

M+ in West Kowloon Cultural District is honouring the late Ryuichi Sakamoto with a museum-wide programme from now until July. Comprising a site-specific installation, moving image works, a listening experience, and film, ‘Seeing Sound, Hearing Time’ celebrates the enduring legacy of the Japanese composer, producer, and artist. ‘Async–Immersion’ presents a three-dimensional, audio-visual representation of Sakamoto’s personal album, combining sonic experience with optical immersion. Nam June Paik’s ‘All Star Video’ explores Sakamoto’s influences and creative encounters, while ‘Vinyl Sessions with Music by Ryuichi Sakamoto’ allows visitors to engage with his compositions, alongside reflections on his work from three Hong Kong-based sound artists. Additionally, ‘Ryuichi Sakamoto: Music in Film’ will screen two films to allow for an intimate look into Sakamoto’s life, profound artistry, and innovative creative process.

For art lovers who simply cannot get enough of Chinese-French printmaking legend Zao Wou-ki, this major retrospective of the artist’s graphic works at M+ is not to be missed. Highlighting key pieces from Zao’s decades-long career, ‘Zao Wou-ki: Master Printmaker’ collects close to 180 items from 1949 to 2000, including paintings, books, and prints, to introduce new perspectives on his career, artistic process, and creative thinking. ‘Encouraging Printmaking’ reveals Zao’s early encounters with the bold medium, ‘Towards Abstraction’ records his experimentation phase marked by expressive techniques, and ‘No Boundaries’ presents a body of mature pieces that blend Eastern and Western artistic traditions. Alongside these central themes, the exhibition format will also serve to inform visitors about the art of printmaking – the Open Print Studio at M+ is offering interactive printmaking workshops for visitors to simply drop in on weekends to take part in lessons.

Co-presented by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Alliance Francaise Hong Kong, this ambitious production breathes new life into Henri Diamant-Berger’s 1921 masterpiece Les Trois Mousquetaires. Guided by the vision of director Tang Shu-wing, French composer Béatrice Thiriet, and filmmaker Jérôme Diamant-Berger, the performance draws a direct parallel between the musketeers’ famous “One for all, all for one” mantra and the brotherhood found in the Chinese classic Water Margin. By blending French cinematic heritage with classical Chinese storytelling, this cross-cultural piece transforms a century-old silent film into a live stage performance for a modern, local audience. Tickets are priced at $180, $280, and $380, available now via Cityline for two nights only on May 2 (8pm) and May 3 (3pm) at HKAPA’s Hong Kong Jockey Club Amphitheatre.

Hong Kong’s ‘Grande Dame’ unveils the lineup for its ‘Art in Resonance’ programme this year, inviting leading artists Angel Hui, Albert Yonathan Setyawan, and Dr William Lim to transform the hotel with their creative practices. Coinciding with Hong Kong Arts Month, the site-specific commissions span embroidery, ceramics, and architectural installation. Hui brings Chinese gongbi-style delicacy to a vibrant façade artwork of embroidered goldfish. ‘Swimming in Light’ takes over the first-floor windows of the hotel to welcome guests and visitors in a playful, poetic manner. Setyawan’s ‘Metamorphic Modulation’ presents repeated forms painstakingly handcrafted through modelling and casting to investigate its sculptural effect and the beauty of raw colour and texture. Lim’s live-in-environment installation is based on his ‘A Bright Future’ oil piece, translating the artwork into a large-scale, hand-tufted tapestry that challenges dimensional awareness.

Creative studio Gentle Pause is here to emphasise the musical component of Wong Kar-wai’s vision with a screening of his 1994 romance anthology Chungking Express. What makes this viewing special is that they are collaborating with jazz collective Fountain de Chopin, who will be reimagining the film’s urban romance, the loneliness of trying to get by in the city, and the profundity of connections between strangers through live jazz interpretations. Maybe they’ll play a jazzy version of ‘California Dreamin’’...  The screenings will run on May 1 and 2 at the K11 Musea Sculpture Park, with tickets priced at $498 per person.

Gold – a new “laboratory of ideas” in Wong Chuk Hang – presents its inaugural group exhibition as an exploration of the notion of uncertainty. Drawing inspiration from artist-composer La Monte Young’s ‘Composition 1960 # 10’, the artistic experimentation brings together artists from Hong Kong and abroad across various media and disciplines. From celebrating deviation and investigating the beauty of unpredictability, ‘Certainly’ navigates the space between systems and structures, questioning the ‘straight line’ of expectations and reframing the concept as a starting point rather than an ending. Artists featured in the exhibition include Tozer Pak Sheung-chuen, Lousy, Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries, Santiago Sierra, Shinro Ohtake, Peter Robinson, and more.

The golden age of Hong Kong cinema saw the production of blockbuster titles like A Better Tomorrow (1986), The Conman (1998), and Infernal Affairs (2002). Packed with action, suspense, and good ol’ “nonsense” humour, these iconic crime films not only offer gripping stories but also capture the essence of life in 70s and 80s Hong Kong. Now, cinephiles can relive their favourite scenes from these classics at the Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station. ‘Yau Ma Tei Police Station: A Cinematic Journey’ delves into local cop film classics through reconstructed sets, collectibles, original scripts, and much more.  This nostalgic exhibition is now open at the Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station, 627 Canton Road, Yau Ma Tei. Tickets are priced at $30 per person, with concessionary tickets available at $10 per person. Children aged six or below can enter the exhibition for free. Make sure to book your tickets online at cultural.cityline.com, as there will not be tickets onsite. Find out more at fpf.ccidahk.gov.hk.