Encounters Across Cultures was a living, breathing exploration of cultural hybridity, anchored by Swiss video artist Katja Loher, who undertook a multi-city artist residency across Chengdu, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. At each stop, Loher was paired with a local creative – ranging from a shanshui (Chinese landscape) painter to a fengshui designer to a fashion designer – to co-create new works presented in each hotel’s public spaces. West of Here supported the full arc of this artistic journey: from matchmaking collaborators and supporting residency logistics, to guiding the creative direction of the content campaign. To capture the spirit of each encounter, we commissioned Shanghai-based filmmaker Ma Sai to create a four-part cinematic series that honored not only the artworks, but the layered stories of each city’s culture, history, and collaboration. More than documentation, these films became their own art objects. Screened in hotel lobbies, shared digitally, and broadcast across in-room channels, the series invited guests to experience the evolving identity of The House Collective through the lens of creative exchange.

Swire Hotels approached West of Here to shape and launch the inaugural season of The Art Programme: Encounters Across Cultures, a cultural initiative aimed at fostering cross-cultural dialogue and showcasing site-specific artistic collaboration across its four luxury properties under The House Collective. The challenge: create a campaign that centered artistic collaboration and which felt intimate, global, and deeply rooted in place.