In our 'From the Archives' blog series, we shine a spotlight on the M+ Collection Archives. Below, with the help of M+ staff members Kevin Forkan, Archivist, and Shirley Surya, Associate Curator, Design and Architecture, we introduce the museum's archives of Wong Tung & Partners (formerly Wong & Threadgill Architects and Engineers), which details four significant projects from this important Hong Kong architectural firm: Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Sheraton Hotel, Tai Koo Shing, and Hong Kong Park.

Who is this archive from, and what’s in it?

Shirley: This archive is from the architectural firm Wong Tung, one of the large architectural firms established in Hong Kong in 1963 by Shanghai-born Americans Bill Wong and Albert Tung. Like all of the Hong Kong architecture firms that we first chose to represent in the M+ Collections, they played a formative role in shaping Hong Kong’s architectural and urban landscape.

Kevin: The Wong Tung & Partners Archive contains material documenting four selected projects: private housing developments Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Tai Koo Shing, the Sheraton Hotel at Tsim Sha Tsui, and Hong Kong Park. Although it’s not one of our biggest archival collections, containing only a few dozen items, it does have an interesting mix of formats, from large architectural reproductions, published material, digital photographs, and VHS tape.

Mei Foo Sun Chuen (1965–1978)

In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections contains the most extensive display of archival materials from the M+ Collection Archives to date. Below, Shirley Surya, Associate Curator, Design and Architecture, and Kevin Forkan, Archivist, go through some of the key archival materials included in the exhibition, highlighting the microhistories you can find if you do a deep-dive into the items on display.

The Geoffrey Bawa archive

In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections is the newest exhibition at the M+ Pavilion, running from 22 June to 30 September. This is part two of the curatorial conversation between the two exhibition curators, who in this post discuss the potential links between Hong Kong and Southeast Asia that can be explored through the show.

Curators: Pauline J. Yao (Lead Curator, Visual Art) and Shirley Surya (Associate Curator, Design & Architecture)

Pauline: We are highlighting Southeast Asia as a region that can be simultaneously perceived as near and far from Hong Kong. The histories of Southeast Asia are not well known here, but there are definite links to Hong Kong. These can’t always be easily seen on the surface, so it’s interesting when things are accidentally revealed through works in the show.

This is the first post in a new ‘From the Archives’ blog series, which will shine a spotlight on a lesser-known part of the M+ Collections: the M+ Collection Archives. Below, with the help of M+ staff members Kevin Forkan, Archivist, and Shirley Surya, Associate Curator, Design and Architecture, you’ll get a brief introduction to the M+ Collection Archives—what they are, what is in them, and how they have become an important part of the collection.

What are the M+ Collection Archives?