Chapter 1 / Art & Architecture
Suhanya Raffel and Grace Cheung on the conviction behind their work, and the partners who help set vision in motion.
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In Chapter 01 of The Next Move, a museum director and an architect explore the courage it takes to step into the unknown, and why the right partner makes all the difference when it’s time to make your move.
Suhanya Raffel has led M+ since 2016, first as Executive Director, then as Museum Director from 2019. Recognised on Tatler's Most Influential Hong Kong every year since 2021, she previously held senior roles at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Queensland Art Gallery, and is a Chevalier in France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Trust, Suhanya and Grace agree, is built over time: first in yourself, then in the people beside you. Grace backs artists the way she wants to be backed, with total trust and total freedom, and expects the same of any partner. Suhanya credits M+'s collective web of trusted expertise, including HSBC, which believed in the museum from the beginning, through all the uncertainty.
"Not all partnerships are equal and not all survive the test of time," she says. The ones that do give a vision room to become what it needs to be. For Suhanya, the next move worth taking is a collective progression, measured by "what we make possible for others."
Grace Cheung co-founded XRANGE in Taipei in 2003. In 2021, she received an AIA International Design Award for the acclaimed Penghu House. Named to Tatler’s Most Influential Taiwan in 2021 and 2022, she also serves as Vice Chairman and Executive Director of the Hong Foundation.
Early in her career, Suhanya Raffel found a museum with no stories that reflected her own, so she decided to be part of the change. That decision, made step by step, eventually became M+.
Grace Cheung was told by some of the industry's giants that she would never make it as an architect. Today, she deliberately backs emergent creators who are still finding their voice, knowing the power of being believed in before the world catches on.
Two cities, two careers, and a shared conviction: "When the path doesn't exist, you have to have the courage to build it yourself," says Cheung. In Framing the Future, they talk about where that courage comes from, and who helps it grow.
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“Sometimes it takes someone to show us a path that we didn’t know existed — and once it’s right in front of us, we just can’t ignore it.”
“You cannot make meaning, unless you make stories for others.”
“When the right partners come together, we can really move mountains.”
“I couldn’t sit on the sidelines and say it has to change. I felt I was best placed to make that change myself.”
“Courage is how you make that courage before you have confidence in it.”
“There are moments when you cannot wait for complete certainty. You embrace the unknown, trust your team, and make the decision to go.”
Suhanya Raffel Grace Cheung
Both look far past the initial act of creation to focus on what endures. Through the Hong Foundation, Grace supports Taiwanese artists before the market recognises them. "I believe in your vision," she tells them. "I really want to help you make your dream come true."
Suhanya views M+ through the same human lens, believing "an institution without its audience is also like a person without a soul." Impact is measured not by the physical monument itself, but by who enters it, not just who built it. Neither sees their work as fixed, as Suhanya says: "The work never stops — that's a fact... there's no end. It's the journey."
Progress is rarely linear; it requires the perspective to recognise when a turning point has arrived and the clarity to act on it. For Grace, expanding her practice meant looking beyond physical structures to how spaces cultivate community and human connection. For Suhanya, steering M+ demanded looking past traditional museum models to build an institution rooted in Asia with an authentic global voice. In both journeys, The Next Move represents that defining decision to step forward—turning a moment of strategic clarity into lasting momentum, and opening new possibilities for what comes next.
Highlights from the exclusive premiere of The Next Move: Framing the Future, celebrating visionary leadership, cultural infrastructure, and strategic partnership in Hong Kong.
