The newest arrival on the city’s gallery scene takes art to new heights—Kristine Li talks to us about her lofty ambitions
The room is bare, stripped down to white walls and a grey concrete floor. Twenty-three storeys above ground, its purpose is to showcase the layout of the building’s units and distinctive design elements.
"And there are quite a few of those,” says Kristine Li of H Queen’s, a striking new glass tower on Queen’s Road Central designed specifically for art galleries and a handful of high-end dining and lifestyle options. “This is truly unlike anywhere you’ve been before—the first vertical art space of its kind in Hong Kong, and one of the first in the world.”
And Kristine, the eldest grandchild of property tycoon Lee Shau-kee, should know. H Queen’s, which has only just opened, is her baby, a project she personally launched and has led as deputy general manager of the portfolio leasing department of her family’s company, Henderson Land Development, the real estate giant behind H Queen’s.
“I’ve always enjoyed art but never worked on a property solely dedicated to it,” says Kristine. “It was challenging but also a great learning curve. This is such an innovative concept, particularly in the space context of Hong Kong. The city is so dense. To have created an upward art hub, it is quite remarkable.”
A game changer
H Queen’s is indeed a game changer for the city’s creative scene. Among its tenants are some of the world’s most important international galleries, such as Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, Ora-Ora and Pace. These are powerhouses of the art world; their moving in boosts both Hong Kong’s artistic credibility and the property’s prestige in real estate terms.