Billy Tang Departs as Executive Director of Para Site
Billy Tang stepped down as executive director and curator of Hong Kong’s Para Site on May 30. He had led the nonprofit contemporary art space since 2022, succeeding Cosmin Costinas, who had occupied both roles since 2011. Tang in an email offered no reason for his departure, but noted that “while this decision wasn’t easy, I believe in the importance of growth and embracing new directions.” Para Site’s deputy director, Junni Chen, will serve as interim director while the board searches for a permanent replacement for Tang.
Before joining Para Site, Tang had spent several years as senior curator at Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum; from 2013 to 2018, he was curatorial director at Beijing commercial gallery Magician Space. After arriving to Para Site, which was founded in 1996 as a grassroots artist-led institution before shifting to a curator-led model, he spearheaded the art center’s 2023 expansion, opening an annex a dozen stories below its main exhibition space, on the twenty-second floor of an industrial building in Hong Kong’s Quarry Bay district. Tang also fostered Para Site’s educational initiatives and implemented programming that focused on both local and international emerging and midcareer artists. “I believe curators have to act as custodians,” he told The Observer earlier this spring, further noting the increasing tendency among Hong Kong and Asian artists to work collectively. “When we think about resilience, coming together and supporting one another becomes fundamental.”
Among the exhibitions Tang organized were “Enzo Camacho & Ami Lien: Offerings for Escalante” (2023); “Art Labor: Cloud Chamber” and “Aki Sasamoto: Sounding Lines” (both 2024); and the group show “How to Be Happy Together?,” which ran concurrent with Art Basel Hong Kong and closed in April. His final show for Para Site, featuring the work of Bangkok-based conceptual artist Pratchaya Phinthong, is set to open in September.
