“Not many people around the world have heard of the West Kowloon Cultural District,” she said.

03:07

M+ contemporary art museum opens in Hong Kong

M+ contemporary art museum opens in Hong Kong

“It’s important to build [the district’s] brand and show our counterparts that Hong Kong is not just a single museum, but a cluster here and a synergy,” Fung said.

“It’s not just about arts and culture, but a park, retail, dining and entertainment. It’s a holistic experience.”

Fung said more than 2,000 people attended the event’s panel discussions, while its streaming service achieved more than 400,000 views.

The total number of guests who joined the entire summit reached 6,000, with the figure including activities such as a welcome dinner, a party at M+ on Monday to connect local and global industry leaders, as well as various tour groups, she noted.

The authority’s CEO said it was too early to decide whether the arts hub would host a similar summit in the future.

Will top-class summit put Hong Kong on global cultural map?

But Fung cited positive feedback from attendees, saying the event had provided an opportunity for them to visit Hong Kong and connect with industry chiefs face-to-face.

“Of course, I hope to be able to continue to provide this platform to facilitate East-West cultural exchange, but I can’t tell you right now whether we will be reprising this,” she said.

“Even if it’s not in the same format, we could look for other ways to achieve something similar.”

Fung said she felt the 21 memorandums of understanding signed by attending global institutions and topical panel discussions were signs the event had achieved its aim.

The agreements cover plans for Hong Kong to export its exhibitions, as well as welcome collections from the National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, the Musee National Picasso-Paris, Guimet – National Museum of Asian Arts, and Qatar Museums within the next two years.

“Our special exhibition on [architect] I.M. Pei at M+ will be exhibited in Qatar in 2025. This is a very good example showing that collaborations with a museum are not only about them coming to Hong Kong, but our exhibitions potentially going abroad,” Fung said.

She said the exhibition was just one of the immediate results of the summit.

Dr Chase Robinson, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in the United States, told the Post after the summit that it had provided an opportunity for strengthening existing relationships and forging new ones.

“Being here has allowed me to meet new colleagues here in Hong Kong and deepen relationships. But at the same time, since it was an international event, I could meet directors from all parts of Asia,” he said.

Hong Kong arts hub to sign deals with 22 institutions from around world

Robinson also said it made sense to connect with museums in the region as his institution focused on Asian art. The scholar added that he was heading to Cambodia after the summit to discuss other collaborations.

Professor Michael Gorman, director designate of the MIT Museum in the US and founding director of Germany’s Biotopia Naturkundemuseum Bayern, said he made his first trip to Hong Kong to attend the event at M+ director Suhanya Raffel’s invitation.

“What is happening with art in China and art in Asia at the moment is extremely exciting. I was excited to come and discover what’s going on,” he said.

Gorman also praised the city’s cultural scene after visiting the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

“It was really impressive to see the energy, and there are different visitors here than in many museums in the West. You have a lot of young people who are engaging with art museums in quite a sociable, playful way,” he said.