M+ at Night is making its return this autumn, opening the doors of the West Kowloon museum after hours for three evenings of music, dance, storytelling and hands-on encounters with contemporary visual culture.
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Taking place on September 4, November 6 and December 4, the new season moves through three distinct moods, from Hong Kong folklore and urban sounds to a fifth-anniversary celebration and a warm year-end gathering.
The lineup brings together a broad cross-section of Hong Kong’s creative scene, including hip hop collective Yack Studio, Cantopop band RubberBand, rising singer Cloud Wan and rapper Matt Force, alongside jazz musicians, DJs, dancers and international performers.
Beyond the stage, visitors can take part in workshops, tattoo-inspired activities, guided tours and other interactive programs, while ticket holders will have exclusive after-hours access to galleries on the Ground Floor and L2 until 10.30pm.
For those planning to attend all three nights, M+ is introducing a Triple Pass Bundle priced at HK$600.
Sonic Phantoms: Folklore meets the Hong Kong underground
The season begins on September 4 with M+ at Night: Sonic Phantoms, an evening inspired by folklore, imagined worlds and the stories that linger between reality and myth.
Arriving just before the museum’s upcoming special exhibition Myths and Monsters: The Art of Fantasy in Asia, which opens in October, the program looks at storytelling through a distinctly contemporary lens.
At the center of the night is Yack Studio, the Hong Kong hip hop collective featuring Novel Fergus, LeShing, SoWhat and DJ CHUNCHUN618. Known for drawing from literature, street life and local culture, the group brings a form of rap that feels closely tied to the rhythms and language of the city.
Elsewhere, Wong Hin Yan and Nelson Fung bring together Hong Kong literature, poetry and contemporary jazz, while independent electronic producer Loisey shifts the mood through a layered mix of classical piano, electronic textures and IDM influences.
The evening extends well beyond live music. Visitors can move between drop-in activities including What is the Future of Siu Mai? and the Oh My Ink Tattoo Experience, while guided tours explore folk traditions and storytelling practices from different parts of the world.
Taken together, the program turns the museum into a space where familiar Hong Kong references can take on stranger, more imaginative forms — a fitting prelude to a season that begins with ghosts, myths and the stories people continue to carry with them.
Five With Us: M+ celebrates five years after dark
On November 6, the focus turns to the museum itself with M+ at Night: Five With Us, marking five years since M+ opened in 2021.
Rather than approaching the anniversary as a formal milestone, the evening is conceived as a shared celebration, bringing together music, movement and collective experiences that reflect the museum’s efforts to connect different audiences through visual culture.
RubberBand will headline the night, bringing the familiar warmth and emotional pull of Cantopop to the museum setting. They will be joined by Hong Kong indie band Goodnight Lillie and the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, which makes its Hong Kong debut with instruments made from materials salvaged from a landfill.
The Paraguayan ensemble has built its identity around transforming discarded objects into musical instruments, giving the anniversary night an unexpected dimension of reinvention and resourcefulness.
Dance also forms a major part of the program. The Quickies will bring locking and collective movement into the space, while DJs INK and Ballshing will reshape Cantopop and international hits through mashups designed for a late-night museum crowd.
The Oh My Ink Tattoo Experience will return as part of the interactive lineup, giving visitors another way to leave with something personal from the evening.
Five years on, the November edition is less about looking back than about filling the museum once again with the communities, sounds and creative exchanges that have shaped its life since opening.
Winter Whimsy: Slowing down before the year ends
The season closes on December 4 with M+ at Night: Winter Whimsy, shifting into a gentler mood as the year draws to an end.
Built around music, creativity and reflection, the final edition invites visitors to slow down for an evening and look at familiar experiences with a renewed sense of curiosity.
Rising Hong Kong singer Cloud Wan will perform alongside Matt Force of Wildstyle Records, bringing two different strands of the city’s contemporary music scene together under one roof.
Later in the evening, guitarist and composer Teriver Cheung will curate a special set featuring Jan Curious and Jamiez, joined by Nelson Fung on bass, Bowen Li on keys and Dean Li on drums.
The combination gives the night a more intimate musical character, balancing the energy of live performance with the reflective atmosphere of the season.
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The Oh My Ink Tattoo Experience will once again be available for visitors looking for a playful and personal keepsake from the night.
Gallery access will continue until 10.30pm on the Ground Floor and L2, although the West Gallery exhibition Myths and Monsters: The Art of Fantasy in Asia will not be included in the after-hours access for this edition.
From the spectral stories of September to a birthday celebration in November and a softer winter finale in December, the latest M+ at Night season offers three different reasons to stay at the museum after closing time — and three different ways to see Hong Kong’s creative culture after dark.
