How do you continue a conversation that began by circling a square?
When we launched CONG in 2024, we set out to explore how disciplines often kept apart – art, architecture, design, placemaking and philosophy – might meet in the shared spaces of contemporary Asia. The cong, the ancient Chinese artifact that lends the journal its name, symbolically joins the circle and the square; it suggests that harmony can be found not through uniformity but through encounter.
With CONG 002, we carry this idea forward, seeking new connections between thought and form, and between places that shape and are shaped by cultural life. The issue asks how intelligence and imagination come into being through the spaces, systems, and surfaces of contemporary life – from the architectures of cities to the emotional grammars of algorithms, with a focus on Asia’s dynamic urban landscapes, especially Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.
The response to our inaugural issue was deeply encouraging. From readers around the world, we received generous praise that inspired us to keep expanding the conversation. In March 2025, we hosted a panel at Art Basel Hong Kong’s Exchange Circle featuring leading voices in architecture – Betty Ng of COLLECTIVE and Charlotte Lafont-Hugo of BEAU Architects – in discussion about the evolving typologies of galleries and exhibition spaces in Asia. Later in the year, we partnered with Ghost 2568: Wish We Were Here in Bangkok, moderating their Curator Roundtable, while in November, we spoke at Art Collaboration Kyoto and Shanghai Art Week. Apart from convening such public engagements, Serakai Studio has hosted a series of intimate dinners and gatherings in Tokyo and Hong Kong, nurturing the community that animates CONG, with more encounters to come.
This second issue brings together contributors who examine how ideas take spatial, social, and emotional form across Asia’s urban contexts. In collaboration with leading visual artists, architects, and thinkers, CONG 002 traces how intelligence, intuition, and myth inhabit the material world – moving through buildings, images, and networks that shape how we sense, feel, and know. We are delighted to welcome Daniel Szehin Ho as Executive Editor. Previously heading up publications at Tai Kwun Contemporary, he brings a wealth of experience and insight to the editorial direction of CONG. Design is, as before, by the visionary team at HATO, whose work continues to define the journal’s distinctive visual identity.
We are also proud to introduce GOLD, a Salon by Serakai Studio that will open early 2026 in Wong Chuk Hang, on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Housed in a former bank and jewellery shop, GOLD pays homage to its past while reimagining the future of cultural spaces.
Like CONG, GOLD will bridge disciplines and test ideas that will shape the future of our cities. A Salon-like platform for exhibitions, performances, talks, and more, it will present contemporary art, fashion, product design, and music in provocative and unexpected combinations. Supported by Serakai, GOLD is a space that privileges curated cultural exchange. A critical convergence of art, design and discourse can be experienced, while ideas and forms can be appreciated in situ, discussed, and – at times – collected for personal enjoyment in the form of artworks, editions or printed material.
Together, CONG and GOLD form connected platforms: publication and site, text and encounter, both exploring how contemporary cultures are made, felt, and shared. Both bring together artists, designers and makers around a shared speculative vision. We look forward to welcoming you to our spaces; online, in print and in person.
Benjamin Cha & Tobias Berger