What: Lifestyle International, operator of SOGO Hong Kong, has permanently installed Yayoi Kusama’s 5-metre Dancing Pumpkin in the public square in front of The Twins Tower II in Kai Tak, the work’s only permanent public display in Asia.

Why it is important: The group is using permanent public art, rather than a temporary activation, as the cultural anchor of a development where Tower II is still only half let and leasing is shifting toward experiential tenants.

The sculpture, one of five editions worldwide, was previously shown in New York, Qatar and Australia. It came to Hong Kong after Kusama’s death in August 2026 through a collaboration with the Kusama Studio, the Yayoi Kusama Foundation and Ota Fine Arts, and follows a 3-metre emerald Pumpkin installed at Tower I in June. Free to view around the clock, it is presented as a joint project with the HKSAR Government to enliven public space.
An exhibition at SNDO, running until 31 March 2027, covers the work’s creation, shows more than 20 original Kusama prints, with selected works for sale and a live auction on 21 November, and houses Hong Kong’s first Kusama pop-up store. Weekend workshops for loyalty members and pumpkin menus across both towers complete the programme.
Executives expect Tower II occupancy to reach about 60% by mid-2027 once the cinema opens; Tower I has one floor left. To avoid competing head-on with neighbouring malls, the group is converting some fashion space for a younger, family-dominated clientele and is in talks to add pet-themed retail and an indoor sports park. Concerts at the adjacent Kai Tak Sports Park will feed a 2027 “ticket-stub economy” promotion plan.

IADS Notes: Placing a permanent Kusama sculpture in the public square beside The Twins follows a wider pattern of department stores using art in public space to anchor their place in a city. Manor has partnered with the City of Lausanne on a rotating programme of artist-led installations on its façade, backed by a recurring competition for future works (24heures, January 2026). Samaritaine turned JR’s “La Caverne” installation on the Pont Neuf, steps from the store, into a limited-edition retail activation designed to lift footfall (WWD, June 2026). In Hong Kong, the retail recovery has been held back by value-conscious mainland visitors and residents shopping in Shenzhen. The city has responded with experience-led attractions including Kai Tak Stadium, and its challenge is now to convert traffic into spending (The Economist, June 2026), the same conversion The Twins’ planned “ticket-stub economy” sets out to achieve. El Corte Inglés offers a precedent for monetising a major live event: as the race’s local sponsor, it rolled out a 54-item Grand Prix merchandise collection across seven Madrid stores (Fashion Network, September 2026). On customer mix, Seoul’s leading flagships now draw close to half of their new customers from shoppers in their 20s and 30s, mainly through food halls and pop-ups, with event volumes up 36.7% in 2025 (Maeil Business Newspaper, October 2026).