Public speaking

Shall we talk?

Throughout my career as a journalist and critic, I give public talks on a regular basis and here are some of the highlights. Compared to writing, public speaking adds a different dimension to communication and the live interaction with audiences is priceless. 

Art Basel

It's been my honour and pleasure to take part in Art Basel's Salon programme as a host and moderator. While Art Basel is no doubt a platform for the sales of artworks, it makes use of its role as a catalyst and influence as the world's biggest art fair, offering artists, curators, critics and stakeholders to address important topics that go beyond the market transactions. 


In 2016, I presented a talk exploring the issues about art criticism and cultural journalism in Hong Kong at Art Basel 2016. A playback can be watched here: Where Are the Art Critics? Cultural Journalism in Today's Media Landscape. 


In 2017, I moderated two Art Basel Salon panels: 


Does political art matter | A Discussion


This panel broadly considers arts relationship with politics, in terms of how artists and curators formally respond to the world around them, and the situations that arise. Do artists have an inherent responsibility to participate in political dialogue, and how much of a role does art really play in shaping such dialogues? When has art been most effective in affecting change, and what examples come to mind? 



Chow Chun Fai, Artist, Hong Kong; Cosmin Costinas, Executive Director and Curator, Para Site, Hong Kong; Sampson Wong, Artist, Independent Curator, and Lecturer, Department of Liberal Arts Studies, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong; Wen Yau, Artist and Researcher, Hong Kong



Moderators: Vivienne Chow, Founding Director, Cultural Journalism Campus, and Honorary Lecturer, Journalism and Media Studies Centre (JMSC), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong and Stephanie Bailey (白慧怡), Writer and Editor, Hong Kong/London

New Criticism | Digital Media and Cultural Journalism 


The media is facing unprecedented challenges brought about by the digital revolution, with instant news, live streaming on social media, and virtual reality taking communications into new dimensions. How does this trend affect the way art criticism and cultural journalism are presented, and is art criticism improving as a result, or are we killing the nuance of cultural journalism to secure more page-views and followers? Does the rise of digital journalism further legitimate citizen journalism and criticism, and is this making art more accessible? Is this the golden age of cultural journalism, or are our best days numbered? 



Matthew Anderson, Editor, BBC Culture, London; George Chen, Head of Public Policy for Hong Kong and Taiwan, Facebook, Hong Kong; Nonny de la Peña, Founder, Emblematic Group, Santa Monica


Moderator: Vivienne Chow, Founding Director, Cultural Journalism Campus, and Honorary Lecturer, Journalism and Media Studies Centre (JMSC), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

GAAB Collectors Summit 2017, Warsaw Poland

The art of collecting: dialogue with Uli Sigg

In June, 2017, I was invited to speak at the GAAB Collectors Summit in Warsaw, Poland. GAAB - Grand Asian Art Bazaar - is a brand new event art fair dedicated to Asian contemporary art to be staged in 2018, with the support from Warsaw Institute for Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Foundation. In its inaugural edition, prominent art collectors, art critics and experts of the art market shared their experiences and views on the art market and art collecting. The event concluded with great success and I'm really looking forward to the next edition. 

Re:publica, Berlin, Germany




In May 2016, I gave a talk at Re:publica in Berlin. It is one of Europe's largest conferences on the Internet society.