United States — In honour of Lunar New Year – a holiday observed by Asian and Pacific Island countries and a feature of the Hindu-Buddhist traditions, HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), and creative and consultant agency Wunderman Thompson Canada have collaborated on a unique undertaking to seek the most prominent shade of red used in the included cultures to honour and elevate Asian artists in the US market.
HSBC Bank USA partnered with one of the world’s finest collections of Asian art, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, to examine their collection of over 18,000 paintings, sculptures, textiles, and artefacts using an artificial intelligence-based program called Adobe Sensei. ‘The Luckiest Red’ has been digitally matched by Pantone to be distributed by Asian American artists for the purpose of creating works which will be shared by HSBC Bank USA in May when the US will celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Dr Jay Xu, the Barbara Bass Bakar director and CEO at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, commented that in Chinese culture, red usually suggests something vigorous, enthusiastic, inspiring, or auspicious. Dr Xu added that it is also a common colour in classical Chinese paintings explaining that red encapsulates rich social, cultural and spiritual meanings.
Caroline Scurr, head of acquisition and engagement of U.S Marketing for HSBC Bank, commented on the uniqueness of their venture, saying, “With thousands of shades of red, the ‘luckiest’ can be hard to pinpoint – until now. The journey of finding this colour is as much about celebrating the culturally remarkable forms of art that Asian artists have contributed to the world.”
Ari Elkouby, executive creative director for Wunderman Thompson Canada, says, “The diversity and mastery of Asian art rivals many of the Western or European masters – but few are household names. We saw this as an opportunity to bring light to these amazing artists who influenced many of the more well-known artists we celebrate today.”