Three Site Specific Works Activate The Peninsula Hong Kong’s “Art in Resonance” Program
The 2026 installation features artists Dr. William Lim, Angel Hui and Albert Yonathan Setywan
The Peninsula Hotels group is “very determined to contribute to the culture of the cities of our hotels… by offering public art,” with exhibits that are “always not just for our guests, but for everybody” and “are free for people to come in to our public spaces,” said Denis Brunet (Global Vice President, Brand, Content and Social Marketing) at the launch of the 2026 Art in Resonance program at The Peninsula Hong Kong. For The Peninsula Hotels, art is not an accessory to hospitality; it is one of its defining languages. Rather than lending their walls to galleries they commission immersive, often large‑scale works on façades, in lobbies and other public spaces so that art is encountered in the flow of every visit to the property. This year marked the hotel’s eighth installation, which launched at the beginning of Hong Kong’s art week and aligns with the local edition of Art Basel. This year’s program features works by Albert Yonathan Setyawan, Angel Hui and Dr. William Lim.
A savvy partnership with the V&A grounds Art in Resonance in a set of values that go well beyond hotel programming. The museum’s long time mandate to bring art, design and craft to the widest possible audience maps almost perfectly onto the Peninsula’s decision to place ambitious installations in the lobbies, façades and other public spaces in its properties. Dr. Louis Copplestone (a curator in the Asia Department at the V&A Museum, London) invoked William Morris’s belief that “art is the expression of man’s pleasure in labor,” framing the artists’ commissions not as décor, but as socially meaningful work that elevates both maker and viewer. The contemporary works position the hotel’s commissions as part of a centuries-long continuum of objects made to be lived with, not just looked at. In that light, the partnership doesn’t just add curatorial gravitas; it elevates Art in Resonance as a public cultural project, using a luxury hotel as its platform rather than its end point.
Artist (and architect) Dr. William Lim presents the philosophy from the other side of the relationship: this project “resonates with the idea that art is not just to be seen in a museum, that it’s not behind glass, but it’s actually something to live with… in a living environment, in a hotel, while you’re coming in, while you’re riding a car, while you’re having tea.” His work includes tapestry, painting, furniture and even desserts (made in collaboration with the property’s pastry chefs) that guests can enjoy in The Verandah Café. It’s a moment when contemporary art and hospitality naturally converge.
Angel Hui’s work starts with a wrap on one of the hotel’s newest Rolls-Royces (long a hallmark of the hotel’s hospitality) with a large goldfish, one of the artists favorite muses, across the sides of the car. Once you are at the hotel it’s hard to miss her colorful installation above the second floor windows, and on the windows; her third work features six separate bags of crafted goldfish. “I like to use daily objects next to us. People usually overlook them… I want to bring some very humble material objects into a sphere or a neutral space. I want people to think about the value of those objects… One of my artwork in this project is inspired by the goldfish market… a signature of the Asian people… we think goldfish can bring us very good health, money and very good Feng Shui,” she says.
Art in Resonance at The Peninsula doesn’t operate like a typical hotel art program and that’s precisely the point. The effect is disorienting in the best way, with familiar spaces that keep shifting on you. Artist Albert Yonathan Setyawan often works with plaster molds and hand-carved lines, building pieces with a deliberate gap between the work and the wall that reads differently in various light. Here it is mounted inside a half circle with a white wall and mirrored ends. It’s slow, exacting labor, and it shows. The piece invites you to get up close to see the handwork. The program’s curatorial instinct is to make this kind of attention visible, to turn architecture, texture and detail into something you actually stop and look at.
The program opens on Monday night of art week, and the anchor party is viewed by locals and visitors alike as the kick off and vibe check for the year’s many events. Media previews draw the right crowd early and satellite presentations extend across Peninsula properties in other markets. The cumulative effect is a hotel that doesn’t just host art fair visitors, it sets the tempo for the week. Art is Resonance is free for everyone to visit, running at The Peninsula Hong Kong through 5 May 2026.
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