Hong Kong is alive with art. Aside from the main event at the HKCEC, Ilene Frankel and Andrea Yu pick out a host of art-related events you wont want to miss

Spoon Art Fair
Hotel rooms are no longer just a place to rest your head when travelling. Utilising these spaces in an effort to combine art with real life, rooms at the Grand Hyatt are transformed into full-blown art displays. Using a hotel room instead of your typical gallery is a departure from the traditional art experience as pieces are located in some unsuspecting places (such as bathtubs), so visitors should carefully survey the scenes to get the most out of their visit. While ART HK concentrates on big and reputable names, the Spoon Art Fair prides itself on showcasing younger emerging artists. May 18-20, Grand Hyatt Hotel, $100.

Backroom Conversations
Back for its fifth installment, the Asia Art Archive provides an opportunity to get up close and personal with experts in the field. Creating dialogues on a variety of issues pertaining to today’s world of art, speakers engage audiences in candid discussions. Topics include lens-based media, transformations of the private collection and a keynote lecture from prominent curator and theorist Okwui Enwezor.
May 17-19, HKCEC, free, click here for more info.

Intelligence Squared Debate
Since 2009, this live debate concept has been turning up the heat on current political, economic and cultural topics and has become an outlet for passionate arguments. ‘Contemporary Art Excludes the 99 Perfect’ will be the hot topic here with four leaders in the art industry using a range of examples and evidence in an attempt to answer the burning question – who is art for? You be the jury...
May 18, 6.30pm, HKCEC, $300, www.intelligencesquared.asia.

Rashaad Newsome – Five
Hosted by Feast Projects, artist Rashaad Newsome’s new performance is specifically made for Hong Kong and set in a former mechanic’s garage. Five features local musicians playing Chinese instruments, vogue dancers, opera singers and rappers – all coordinated by Newsome. May 18, 7pm-9.30pm, Harbour Industrial Centre, Ap Lei Chau, free with RSVP to rsvp@feastprojects.com.

Mobile M+: Yau Ma Tei
This pop-up exhibition series puts the historic district (and former fishing village) of Yau Ma Tei in the spotlight. Organised by the West Kowloon Cultural District, the series will feature seven artists and their works presented along Portland Street and Shanghai Street, creating a ‘museum without walls’. May 15-Jun 10, Yau Ma Tei, free,  /www.mobile-mplus.hk.

Art East Island
If you’ve done the rounds in the HKCEC and still haven’t gotten enough art in your system, then head over to the up-and-coming factory district of Chai Wan to take in more than 10 fringe art exhibitions during ART HK weekend. Installations from local artist Carol Lee Mei Kuen and Vietnamese artist Dinh Q Lê are included in the shows. Free shuttle buses run to Chai Wan on Saturday when Art East Island expands to include Chai Wan Mei.
May 17-19, various venues in Chai Wan, free, arteastisland.wordpress.com.

Chai Wan Mei
This Fotanian-style open studio event features more than 25 studios featuring everything from photography to art and fashion. It’s the brainchild of Chaiwanese café founder Jehan Chu and art publisher Peter Lau of Asia One. Check out Tangram – a pop-up gift shop featuring local designers, RC Ceramics Studio and milliner Jaycow’s beautiful hats (right).
May 19, Chai Wan, free, www.facebook.com/ChaiWanMei.