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Last roll: Ms. Hilda Wong, Head of Marketing of The Link (left sixth) , Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, JP, Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club (left seventh), Ms. Lindsey McAlister, Founder/ Artistic Director of Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (left eighth) and Dr. Liu Hong-Fai, Representative of Southern District Council & Chairman of the 2013 Southern District Tourism and Culture Festival (left fifth) attended the first The Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Arts Biennale 2013 as officiating guests.
Community arts displayed in Lok Fu Plaza are designed to reach a wide audience, with the importance of being innovative while remaining sensitive to social issues and accommodating the needs of the community.
Community arts displayed in Lok Fu Plaza are designed to reach a wide audience, with the importance of being innovative while remaining sensitive to social issues and accommodating the needs of the community.
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The Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (YAF) is delighted to present the first ever community arts biennale – The Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Arts Biennale 2013. Funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and organised by YAF, the Biennale provides a unique opportunity for budding artists, young people and the general public to showcase their talent and explore new ways of perceiving our community. From today until 20 May, 2013, visitors can experience an artistic journey through The Link’s Lok Fu Plaza Tuen Mun Park, Pok Fu Lam Village and The Central Oasis Galleries, and appreciate 23 sets of artworks created by commissioned artists, local artists and young people in the community. Since December 2012, 21 artists and thousands of young people have participated in artist-in-residence workshops and master classes. A workshop was also run for teachers. Through research into the history and cultural backgrounds of various communities, and an in-depth look into various creation processes, participants gained a meaningful understanding of their neighbourhood and surroundings, and created various types of work designed to be displayed in the four designated communities.
To encourage exciting and innovative work and nurture emerging talent, 6 commissioned artists were asked to think big and explore new technologies and art materials – creating artwork that moved beyond their current limits. The finished pieces served as the inspiration for work created by workshop participants and will be displayed in the community locations along with all the final creations.
With the support of the Southern District Council, Urban Renewal Authority, The Link Management Limited (The Link), the first Community Arts Biennale has reached out to the communities and touched the lives every resident. Hong Kong Youth Arts Founder/Artistic Director Lindsey McAlister OBE said, “It is an honour to organise the first ever Community Arts Biennale in Hong Kong. By displaying the art pieces in four everyday venues: a village, a park, a shopping mall and a pedestrian footbridge, the project brings art to the people. The event will also provide the public with hands-on creative opportunities and hopefully broaden their understanding of the impact art can have – not only on their own lives but also on the community.”
Community arts programmes are designed to reach a wide audience. Created using a flexible bottom-up approach, they often examine various social issues and tell community stories. Today, in this public talk held at The Link’s Lok Fu Plaza, local artists Jaffa Lam and Lock Lo, and art groups including Lawnmap Hong Kong, Secret Tour Hong Kong, Wooferten and Complaints Choir of Hong Kong shared their experiences of organising community arts programmes. They discussed how to think out of the box, and highlighted the importance of being innovative while remaining sensitive to social issues and accommodating the needs of the community.
Ms. Hilda Wong, Head of Marketing, The Link Management Limited, said, “The Link owns more than 180 properties, which are located on the doorsteps of over 40% of Hong Kong’s households. It’s our pleasure to support ‘The Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Arts Biennale 2013’ by sharing the same mission of ours - leveraging our network as an art and cultural platform for creative art pieces dissemination to get the public in touch with diversified art in daily life.”
The art pieces created for the communities of Tuen Mun Park, Pok Fu Lam Village, Lok Fu Plaza and The Central Oasis Galleries are themed ‘Adventure’, ‘Stories’, ‘Space’ and ‘Dialogue’ respectively. The works have been created in different media and reflect aspects of everyday lives that are either ignored or forgotten.
The Biennale is designed to provide a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work. It is also a means of promoting Art for All within the local community and highlighting the importance of public involvement. During the exhibition period, the public will also have the chance to participate in free weekend workshops and create their own works of art.
Lindsey concluded: “The Community Arts Biennale has created a unique art experience for the local community and visitors to Hong Kong to embrace and celebrate the creativity of Hong Kong people. We look forward to reaching out to more communities in the next Biennale and making it a major global arts event in the future.”
Exhibition details:
Tuen Mun Park* : 15/4–14/5/2013 10:00am–9:00pm Pok Fu Lam Village* : 20/4–20/5/2013 11:00am–8:00pm Lok Fu Plaza* : 24/4–15/5/2013 10:00am–9:00pm The Central Oasis Gallery : 7/5–26/5/2013 10:00am–8:00pm *Public Workshop details: Everyday during the exhibition period |