As countries in Asia look to establish and substantiate their own art histories independently from Western narratives, the Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong performs a lowkey but indispensable role in collecting and sharing information. This vital resource for scholars and art historians, cofounded 19 years ago by Claire Hsu, now has over 80,000 records in its collections, stretching from exhibition catalogues and materials to artist’s personal archives. But it’s not all about art history for the nonprofit organisation, which also responds to the times and looks to set the agenda through talks, residencies and research that complement its ever-expanding library. In March, for example, it held an exhibition of the late Singaporean performance artist Lee Wen’s sketchbooks and plans to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year with a busy programme. One highlight of which is a collaboration with Jakarta-based educational project Gudskul for Art Basel Hong Kong.