enya FASHION QUEEN

EDITOR Angel Huang｜TRANSLATOR Aurora Lin｜PHOTO｜蘇州當代美術館,Muara Arts,Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

2026下半年，亞洲藝術版圖迎來三座備受矚目的新美術館。從中國蘇州、馬來西亞吉隆坡到阿布達比，新的藝術場域不僅象徵城市文化能量的提升，也重新定義當代藝術的觀看方式。蘇州以江南園林為靈感，將建築化為可遊走的當代藝術；Muara Arts聚焦東南亞現當代藝術；阿布達比古根漢則以全球最大規模，將西亞、南亞與北非藝術推向國際視野。三座新館的接連登場，映照出2026年藝術世界正在發生的文化轉向。

Art’s New Coordinates

A New Chapter for Asia’s Contemporary Art Museums in 2026

In the second half of 2026, three highly anticipated new museums are arriving on Asia’s art map. From Suzhou and Kuala Lumpur to Abu Dhabi, these new cultural spaces not only signal the growing cultural energy of their cities, but also redefine how contemporary art is experienced. In Suzhou, the classical gardens of Jiangnan inspire an architectural landscape designed to be explored as a work of contemporary art in itself. Muara Arts focuses on modern and contemporary art from Southeast Asia, while Guggenheim Abu Dhabi—the largest Guggenheim museum in the world—brings art from West Asia, South Asia and North Africa into a broader international view. The successive arrival of these three institutions reflects a cultural shift taking place across the art world in 2026.

蘇州當代美術館

今年8月30日正式開放的蘇州當代美術館，坐落於金雞湖畔，由丹麥BIG建築事務所設計。總建築面積約5.95萬平方公尺、展廳面積約1.13萬平方公尺，這座新館最吸引人的地方，或許不只是規模，而是它如何把「蘇州」本身帶進當代藝術。以「蘇州正當美」為主題的開館藝術季，從古典與當代、東方與西方，到科技與人文，試著讓這座擁有千年文脈的城市，以當代語言重新被觀看。

開館首波四大展覽也刻意拉開尺度——從畢卡索的「沃拉爾組畫」出發，延伸至不同地域與世代的藝術家；「亘：藝術的穿越方式」以中國藝術為核心，回望蘇州的歷史脈絡；「編碼與天幕：超越算法時代的藝術」則將AI、生物、虛擬與太空藝術帶進展場，另有由BIG共同策劃的「BIG：唯物主義」從材料切入建築本身。

從園林到科技，蘇州當代美術館並沒有把「傳統」與「當代」切開，而是讓兩者在同一個空間裡相遇。這讓美術館不只是觀看藝術的場所，更成為重新理解蘇州的一種方式。

Officially opened to the public on August 30 this year, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art stands beside Jinji Lake and was designed by Danish architecture firm BIG. With a total floor area of approximately 59,500 square metres and around 11,300 square metres of exhibition space, what makes the new museum especially compelling is perhaps not its scale alone, but the way it brings Suzhou itself into the language of contemporary art. Under the theme Suzhou in Its Finest Beauty, the inaugural art season moves between the classical and the contemporary, East and West, and technology and the humanities, inviting visitors to see this city of more than a thousand years through a contemporary lens.The first four exhibitions span an intentionally broad spectrum. Picasso and the World of His Influence begins with Picasso’s Vollard Suite before extending to artists from different regions and generations. Centred on Chinese art, Gen: A Journey Through Art’s Transcendence looks back at Suzhou’s historical context. Codes & Canopies: Art Beyond the Age of Algorithms brings AI, biological, virtual and space art into the galleries, while BIG: Materialism, co-curated by BIG, approaches architecture through the materials from which it is made.From classical gardens to technology, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art does not separate tradition from the contemporary. Instead, it allows the two to meet within the same space. The museum becomes more than a place to view art; it offers a new way to understand Suzhou.

Muara Arts

預計於今年11月1日開幕的Muara Arts，位於吉隆坡Medan Pasar，是由Creador Foundation推動的非營利藝術機構，聚焦馬來西亞與東南亞藝術。它的出現，對吉隆坡而言不只是多了一個展覽空間，更像是替東南亞藝術建立了一個新的觀看入口。官方以「Where the rivers meet and cultures converge」為概念，從吉隆坡城市發展的源頭出發，把藝術、地方歷史與文化交流重新放在一起。

開幕展《A–Z of Southeast Asian Art: A Critical Dictionary》從11月1日展至2027年4月4日，以類似「字典」的方式拆解東南亞藝術，從不同關鍵詞與文化脈絡重新觀看這個區域。除此之外，「Rumpun Rampai」系列將目光延伸至東南亞鄰近國家，「Bersuara di Muara」則邀請區域之外的藝術家與文化聲音加入對話。

有意思的是，Muara Arts並不急著把東南亞包裝成一個單一的藝術身份。相反地，它選擇從各自不同的歷史、文化與創作出發，讓「東南亞」保持它原本的複雜性。對吉隆坡而言，Muara Arts的出現，不只是增加了一個新的藝術空間，也讓東南亞藝術有了更清晰的觀看位置。當不同國家的藝術家、歷史與文化在此交會，吉隆坡也正在成為理解東南亞當代創作的一個重要窗口。

Scheduled to open on November 1 this year, Muara Arts is located in Medan Pasar, Kuala Lumpur. Established by the Creador Foundation as a non-profit arts institution, it focuses on art from Malaysia and Southeast Asia. For Kuala Lumpur, its arrival represents more than the addition of another exhibition space. It offers a new point of entry into Southeast Asian art. Guided by the concept “Where the rivers meet and cultures converge,” Muara Arts looks to the origins of Kuala Lumpur’s urban development, bringing art, local history and cultural exchange together once again.Its inaugural exhibition, A–Z of Southeast Asian Art: A Critical Dictionary, runs from November 1 to April 4, 2027. Structured like a dictionary, the exhibition examines Southeast Asian art through a series of keywords and cultural contexts, offering new ways to view the region. The Rumpun Rampai series broadens its scope to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, while Bersuara di Muara brings artists and cultural voices from beyond the region into the conversation.What makes Muara Arts particularly interesting is that it makes no attempt to present Southeast Asia as a single artistic identity. Instead, it begins with the distinct histories, cultures and creative practices of its individual countries, allowing “Southeast Asia” to retain its inherent complexity. For Kuala Lumpur, Muara Arts not only adds a new space for art, but also gives Southeast Asian art a more clearly defined place from which to be seen. As artists, histories and cultures from different countries converge here, Kuala Lumpur is becoming an important window onto contemporary art in Southeast Asia.

阿布達比古根漢美術館

預計於2026年底在阿布達比開幕的第四座古根漢美術館，是古根漢在全球版圖中最受矚目的新館之一。由Frank Gehry設計，位於薩迪亞特文化區，建築以大型幾何量體圍繞中央空間展開，並以開放式結構與傳統風塔概念回應阿拉伯地區的氣候與建築文化。官方將它定位為一座重新思考21世紀美術館形式的建築，而它真正令人期待的，則是建築之外的藝術方向。

阿布達比古根漢美術館將以1960年代至今的現代與當代視覺文化為核心，尤其關注西亞、北非與南亞藝術。這意味著它不只是把古根漢的品牌帶到阿布達比，而是試圖把過去在主流藝術史中較少被看見的區域，放到更重要的位置。館方也將透過展覽、研究與藝術家委託，建立跨越地域與時代的策展架構。

因此，「全球最大古根漢」固然是一個醒目的標題，但真正值得期待的，其實是它將如何改變人們觀看現代與當代藝術的方式。當藝術史的視線不再只從歐美出發，阿布達比也許正好站在這場轉變的最前線。

Scheduled to open in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2026, the fourth Guggenheim museum is one of the most closely watched additions to the institution’s global network. Designed by Frank Gehry and located in the Saadiyat Cultural District, the building is composed of monumental geometric volumes arranged around a central space. Its open structure and interpretation of traditional wind towers respond to the climate and architectural culture of the Arab world. Officially conceived as a building that rethinks the form of the 21st-century museum, its artistic direction beyond the architecture is what makes it especially anticipated.Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will focus on modern and contemporary visual culture from the 1960s to the present, with particular attention to art from West Asia, North Africa and South Asia. This means that the museum is not simply bringing the Guggenheim name to Abu Dhabi. It is also seeking to give greater prominence to regions that have historically received less attention within mainstream art history. Through exhibitions, research and artist commissions, the museum will develop a curatorial framework that crosses both geographical and historical boundaries.Its status as the “world’s largest Guggenheim” may make an immediate headline, but what truly deserves attention is how the museum may change the way modern and contemporary art is viewed. As the perspective of art history begins to extend beyond Europe and the United States, Abu Dhabi may find itself at the forefront of this shift.