Upcoming Events

The Paul Mellon Lectures: Maria Mok, Director of Hong Kong Museum of Art

Lecture – Maria Mok, Eve Tam

  • 11 February 2022
  • 2:00 – 3:00 pm
  • The last of six lectures on the topic of The Museum and Gallery today, part of the 2021/2 Paul Mellon Lectures. Title: Remaking the Museum.
  • Online

Remaking the Museum

Established in 1994, this lecture series is named in honour of Paul Mellon (Yale College, class of 1929), the philanthropist, collector of British art, and founder of both the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA) in New Haven and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (PMC) in London. Co-organised by the two institutions, these biennial lectures have traditionally been given by a specialist in British art, first at the National Gallery, London, and again at the YCBA in New Haven.

This year’s series, entitled 'The Museum and Gallery Today', is exclusively online and features individual talks from some of the world’s most distinguished museum and gallery directors. The lectures are presented as free live webinars. Registration is required.

The live Q&A at the end of the program will be moderated by Eve Tam, former director of the Hong Kong Museum of Art and Assistant Director for Heritage and Museums, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

About the speakers

  • Maria Mok joined the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 1996 and is currently its Museum Director. She has extensive museum experience, having served as curator in charge of various departments, including China Trade Art, Chinese Antiquities, Modern and Hong Kong Art, and Educational and Extension Services. She has curated and led a vast number of exhibitions and programs. She is a specialist in China trade painting with a research focus on dating and authentication. She has published extensively and has a particular interest in the artistic interaction of global trade. She co-authored Images of the Canton Factories 1760-1822: Reading History in Art (HKU Press: 2015) with Paul A. Van Dyke, professor of history at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. Dr. Mok has a BA in Fine Arts Studies, an MA in Chinese Historical Studies on Guangdong decorative arts of the Qing dynasty, a PhD in China trade painting, and a graduate diploma in Museum Studies.

  • Eve Tam in front of a bookcase

    Eve Tam is the Assistant Director (Heritage and Museums) in the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. She has worked with different museums and cultural institutions in her museum career and over the years, she has worked on several new museum projects, including the opening of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the establishment of the Oi! art space, and she took charge of the major renovation and extension of the Hong Kong Museum of Art as the Museum’s Director between 2012 to 2019. In her current position, she is responsible for developing and coordinating museums, intangible cultural heritage, and visual arts, and overseeing the management of public museums, the Hong Kong Film Archive, the Conservation Office, the Art Promotion Office, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office, and the Science Promotion Unit, as well as the planning of several major museum projects.