On July 22, Ai Weiwei was returned his passport from Chinese authorities, after they had confiscated it from him four years ago. 

Berlin-based Anselm Franke has been appointed chief curator of the tenth edition of the Shanghai Biennale. Franke, who currently works as the Head of Visual Art and Film at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, says the Biennale will explore notions of subjectivity and creative process as it exists in contrast to “the logic of modernization, its rationalizations and standardizations” in an age of technological mediation.

On March 26, the renowned abstract painter Chu Teh-Chun died in Paris at the age of 93. Following closely after the passing of his friend and fellow proponent of the Chinese Modernist movement Zao Wou-ki (1920–2013), last year, as well as Wu Guangzhong in 2010, Chu’s death marks the end of generation of Chinese painters living in Europe whose works continue to offer salient cross-cultural perspectives.

Prominent Chinese art collector, Guan Yi has donated 37 works to M+, Hong Kong’s much-anticipated museum for visual culture. Dating from 1980 onwards, the collection, which comprises of mainly New Wave, conceptual and large scale installations, traces key moments in the history of contemporary Chinese art. 

Michael Sullivan, a pioneering British art historian in the field of Chinese traditional and contemporary art, died in his home in Oxford, England, on September 28, at the age of 96. He had just completed a three-week trip to China.

On November 1, the newly established Hugo Boss Asia Art Award went to Hong Kong artist Kwan Sheung Chi. In a ceremony which took place at Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum (RAM), the 33-year-old artist was recognized for works containing “against-the-grain criticism of the system” and which open up the possibility for “personal utopias,” earning a USD 48,000 prize.

Last night, the newly established Hugo Boss Asia Art Award went to Hong Kong artist Kwan Sheung Chi. In a ceremony which took place at Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum (RAM), the 33-year-old Kwan was recognized for his outstanding contribution to the field of contemporary art in Asia.  Works that contain “against-the-grain criticism of the system” and open up the possibility for “personal utopias,” have earned the artist a USD 48,000 prize.

Last month, two of Hong Kong’s nonprofit organizations were given notice that they would no longer be receiving government funding from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), the statutory body supporting arts development in the city. For Para Site, a 17-year-old art space in Sheung Wan, and Woofer Ten, which operates out of Shanghai Street Artspace in Yau Ma Tei—both of whom have enjoyed productive years, respectively—this announcement came as a surprise, indicating both questionable motives and lack of foresight on government’s behalf.

On July 31, Rome’s National Museum of 21st Century Arts (MAXXI) announced independent curator and critic Hou Hanru as its artistic director. Assuming this role in September, Hou will be responsible for planning MAXXI’s cultural programs.

Last month, 100 days from its official opening, the curatorial team of West Bund 2013: A Biennial of Architecture and Contemporary Art—an ambitious program that seeks to combine experimental architecture and art—held a press conference in Hong Kong revealing its latest plans.