Institute of Philanthropy Champions Cultural Exchange with “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” at the Hong Kong Museum of Art

The Institute of Philanthropy (IoP) is proud to serve as the exclusive sponsor of “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West”exhibition, which opened today at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. The exhibition brings together 106 masterpieces and artefacts from The Palace Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Palace of Versailles and the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Previously staged at The Palace Museum in Beijing in 2025 under the title “Rejoicing in Woods and Springs: A Journey through Garden Cultures in China and the Wider World”, also exclusively sponsored by IoP, the exhibition’s arrival in Hong Kong underscores IoP’s commitment to promoting Chinese culture and values and fostering international cultural exchange.

Guests tour the “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” exhibition.

The exhibition celebrates the beauty and cultural significance of gardens across civilisations. From the grand gardens of Emperor Qianlong and King Louis XIV to the artistry of Claude Monet, Zhang Daqian and Wen Zhengming, visitors can discover how gardens have long been spaces of creativity and leisure.

Guests tour the “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” exhibition.

Officiating guests at the opening ceremony included Rosanna Law, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the HKSAR Government; Wang Yuegong, Deputy Director of The Palace Museum; Ann Kung, Deputy Chairman of IoP and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust; Dr Wang Tao, Pritzker Chair of Arts of Asia, Executive Director of initiatives in Asia of Art Institute of Chicago; Professor Desmond Hui, Chairman of the Art Sub-committee of the Museum Advisory Committee; Eve Tam, Acting Director of Leisure and Cultural Services; and Dr Maria Mok, Museum Director of the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Officiating guests at the opening ceremony included Rosanna Law, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the HKSAR Government; Wang Yuegong, Deputy Director of The Palace Museum; Ann Kung, Deputy Chairman of IoP and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust; Dr Wang Tao, Pritzker Chair of Arts of Asia, Executive Director of initiatives in Asia of Art Institute of Chicago; Professor Desmond Hui, Chairman of the Art Sub-committee of the Museum Advisory Committee; Eve Tam, Acting Director of Leisure and Cultural Services; and Dr Maria Mok, Museum Director of the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Rosanna Law, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the HKSAR Government, said that this touring exhibition, which began at The Palace Museum in 2025 and arrived in Hong Kong today, connects regional culture of the East and West through historical gardens. The HKMoA, as the grand finale, will exclusively feature a selection of art treasures. The exhibition not only fully showcase the distinctive features of gardens from East and West and the rich cultural heritage from different regions, but also highlights Hong Kong’s vital role as a window for mutual exchange and learning between Chinese and Western civilisations. She added that the country advocates “shaping tourism with cultural activities and promoting culture through tourism”. Culture and tourism have always been highly complemented with each other. With Labour Day Golden Week approaching, she believes the exhibition would attract local art lovers and tourists, as well as boost consumption in the surrounding area. She extended her appreciation to The Hong Kong Jockey Club for its full support, and to the Institute of Philanthropy for its sponsorship, which together enabled the exwhibition to be successfully staged.

Guests tour the “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” exhibition.

Wang Yuegong, Deputy Director of The Palace Museum, said that Chinese gardens evoke the grandeur of mountains, rivers, and the natural world, all within a small space and in pursuit of the ideal. Through this exhibition series, the Palace Museum hopes to foster open, cross‑disciplinary dialogue and collaboration, and to engage all sectors of society in exploring the question of ideal living.

Ann Kung, Deputy Chairman of IoP and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, said that the enduring legacy of Chinese garden art echoes the profound cultural heritage of The Palace Museum. Through this dialogue across time and cultures, she hoped more members of the public could experience the beauty of gardens from the East and West, deepen their understanding of the nation's history and culture, and carry forward Chinese cultural heritage, thereby enhancing cultural confidence and social cohesion.

Ann Kung, Deputy Chairman of IoP and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” exhibition.

“Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” is an important part of a five-year collaboration under a Memorandum of Co-operation entitled “Promotion of Chinese Culture and Arts Tech Talent Development in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong” signed between The Palace Museum and IoP. It aims to foster cultural exchange between the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong and to nurture aspiring arts tech talent. The exhibition will offer guided tours for schools, charitable organisations and non profit-making organisations.

Guests tour the “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” exhibition.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) and the Institute of Philanthropy (IoP), a “think-fund-do” tank established by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and its Charities Trust, today announced a US$4.68 million (HK$36.49 million) partnership to accelerate the adoption of next-generation, near point-of-care tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics in high-burden countries.

TB remains the world’s leading infectious disease killer, claiming more than one million lives every year despite being preventable and curable. Recent advances in TB vaccine and counter-measure development offer initial promise, whereas closing the diagnostic gap remains a critical missing link for controlling TB: current diagnostic methods do not only take time but also require multiple visits which delay diagnoses and hence sustain community transmission.

Dr. Gabriel Leung, Director of the Institute of Philanthropy (left), and Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund (right), formalised a US$4.68 million (HK$36 million)

To address this gap, the announced initiative focuses on capacity building to accelerate the uptake of a major diagnostic breakthrough: near point-of-care molecular tests recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for TB in March 2026. These tests utilise easy-to-collect swab samples, deliver results in under an hour, and provide a highly cost-effective tool designed for deployment in primary healthcare settings such as frontline clinics.

“Transformative health innovations only deliver their full potential when countries can access them and have the support they need to put them into practice,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “This partnership with the Institute of Philanthropy will help countries accelerate the adoption of new TB diagnostic technologies and bring high-quality testing closer to the communities that need it most.”

By bringing rapid testing closer to where people live, the technology enables patients to receive an accurate diagnosis and potentially begin treatment during a single clinic visit—thereby reducing diagnostic delays, preventing patients from being lost to follow-up, and curbing further transmission. This marks a significant shift in TB diagnosis: moving away from reliance on century-old sputum smear microscopy toward rapid molecular testing designed around the needs of patients rather than distant laboratories.

“Philanthropy can play a catalytic role in helping proven health innovations reach people faster. Particularly when Asia stands at a pivotal moment in the fight against TB, with a significant opportunity to accelerate access to life-saving diagnosis through innovation,” said Dr. Gabriel Leung, Director of the Institute of Philanthropy. “Through this partnership, we also see significant potential for innovative diagnostic technologies to strengthen epidemic preparedness across Asia by helping health systems detect and respond to infectious disease threats more effectively.”

Building upon the Global Fund’s existing implementation efforts in 13 early adopter countries, this initiative will provide complementary technical assistance and operational support to enable effective, sustainable deployment across at least four Asian priority countries. Specifically, the initiative will:

1. Provide nationally embedded technical assistance in Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. This will focus on strengthening day-to-day planning and implementation of near point-of-care diagnostics, enhancing data collection and logistics systems, facilitating the integration into national diagnostic algorithms and laboratory networks, as well as delivering structured training for implementing partners and local health facilities.

2. Develop evidence and generate demand in early adopter countries. The initiative will systematically document implementation experiences across early adopter countries, including identifying key barriers related to procurement planning, human resources, operational workflows, and service delivery models.

3. Facilitate regional peer-to-peer learning and provide ad-hoc, demand-driven support. In close collaboration with WHO country and regional offices, the initiative will facilitate regional learning among early adopters and other interested countries through convening annual regional workshops and disseminating best practices and guidance.

Anchored in the East for the world, IoP was established in 2023 in Hong Kong, a city with a distinguished history in the fight against TB which pioneered an effective short-course treatment regimen back in the 1960s. This initiative reflects IoP’s aligned vision with its partners to accelerate the uptake of health innovation in Asia while addressing last-mile adoption challenges in strengthening preparedness for future health emergencies.