Archives: Activity

The Executive Committee is pleased to organize a private luncheon at one-thirtyone with special guest speaker, Dr. Lawrence Lee.  A chartered biologist of the Royal Society of Biology, Dr. Lee is the Former Director of Agriculture & Fisheries. In this short talk in Cantonese, he will share with us his passion for studying insects and reveal interesting insect behaviors along with other secrets of nature.

Nestled in the bay of Three Fathoms Cove, one-thirtyone is a European restaurant with dishes created from locally sourced produce.  The 3-storey Mediterranean style building in Sai Kung provides a mesmerizing backdrop to enjoy a delectable 4 course lunch.  This will be followed by a visit to the nearby Garden Farm, a teaching farm and a social enterprise promoting the protection of ecological balance, and organic and natural cultivation methods.  It was established to provide diversified services and activities to schools, clubs and families.  Through special games and teaching materials, the farm allows children and their families to experience the joy of organic farming and understand how important it is to protect mother nature.  There will be an opportunity to shop for some organic products and produce! Please remember to BYOB (bring your own bag)!

 

Speaker

Dr. Lawrence Lee (李熙瑜) has a keen interest in studying insects.  This, together with his rich biological knowledge and vivid writing technique, have enabled him to have written a series of interesting and easily readable science-promoting books 「尋蟲記」(In Search of Small Creatures), two volumes of which have been awarded book prizes in Hong Kong.

After Dr. Lee’s retirement from the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, he had served as the Field Director or the Kadoorie Agricultural Research Center of the HKU. He is currently still serving as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden, the Chairman of the Agriculture & Fisheries Technology Promotion Association, and the Chairman of the Hong Kong Organic Agriculture and Ecological Studies Association.

For a languorous change of pace, join us for a gallery visit with the artist Shen Ping followed with a classic afternoon tea at The Repulse Bay!

The Executive Committee is pleased to organize a visit to Artspace K, a newly established gallery in The Repulse Bay dedicated to promoting works by contemporary artists.  Their current exhibition Remember Them? Old Businesses in Hong Kong through Eyes of Artists features four renowned Hong Kong artists from different generations and creative styles — Au Yeung Nai Chim, Shen Ping, Cassian Lau and Wai Wai.  Their works celebrate the city’s long-forgotten and disappearing businesses from the 1960s and 1970s.  Evoking nostalgia with every stroke, their creations of seemingly ordinary and everyday Hong Kong scenes take viewers on a journey through the city’s history and the craftsmen, merchants and shopkeepers who played key roles in its social and economic life.

After the visit, we will meander to The Verandah at The Repulse Bay for a classic afternoon tea with sandwiches, savoury pastries, homemade scones with clotted cream and assorted tea cakes.  Over a brew of selected Peninsula tea and in the gracious setting of the former hotel, we can enjoy the beautiful sea view and remember once more the colours and sights of old Hong Kong.

 

About the Artists

Au Yeung Nai Chim was born in Xinhui, Guangdong in 1931. Au settled in Hong Kong at the age of seven. An art lover since childhood, he taught himself various types of art and media, including drawing, sketching and watercolour. For more than 70 years, he has persisted in sketching outdoors, with his footprints covering many parts of Hong Kong and China. In the mid-1990s, he spent five years setting foot in every corner of Hong Kong, producing nearly 2,000 sketches along the way. With his keen observation, he captures the urban scenes of Hong Kong, showcasing the city’s transition between periods in history and its unique blend of the old and the new. A strong Hong Kong sentiment is embodied in his works, a document of Hong Kong people’s shared memories.  An outstanding Hong Kong painter, his works have also been collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the National Art Museum of China.

Shen Ping was born in Beijing in 1947 and raised in Shanghai. Shen went to Urumqi, Xinjiang in 1963 for work related to fine art. He furthered his studies at Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in 1974 and settled in Hong Kong in 1980. Shen Ping is specialised in watercolour, oil painting and Chinese ink painting. He finds Hong Kong a charming place and has travelled the streets and alleys to capture all aspects of the local culture. His goal is to record historical changes with his paint brushes, telling the details of Hong Kong people’s lives, using these ordinary moments as a way to draw viewers into the spirit of the era depicted.  His works have been collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the National Art Museum of China.

Cassian Lau was born in Hong Kong in 1968 and moved to Canada with his family when he was five years old. In the mid-1990s, shortly after graduating from university, he moved back to Hong Kong and started a successful fashion retail business. However, he wanted to realise his artistic vision and decided to devote himself full-time to his art. His works present a pop art style, with cartoon characters or animals making regular appearances in bright, vivid colours that are contagiously joyful and positive. He hopes that people can discover something new every time they look at his work, as this is what makes art memorable and everlasting.

Wai Wai was born in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong and graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts with a film major in Creative Media from City University of Hong Kong. As a story lover, she loves visiting small shops in different industries in Hong Kong to get inspiration. In addition to documenting their daily activities with watercolour paintings, Wai Wai also likes to incorporate their individual stories into her works.  In recent years, she has devoted herself to illustration, iron-gate painting, mural painting, teaching and silhouette work. She said, “Drawing is a bridge that helps us see beyond ourselves and to get to know others and the community we live in. It is amazing to see that small shop owners appreciate their shops from another perspective through my works.”

The HKU Museum Society and the University Museum and Art Gallery are pleased to present a third guided viewing of current exhibition, Pictorial Silks: Chinese Textiles from the UMAG Collection. We will be guided by Ms. Lee Meiyin.

 

Pictorial Silks: Chinese Textiles from the UMAG Collection

Prized by Chinese and foreign merchants as an essential commodity along a vast trade network, silk served multiple roles throughout the ancient world: as fabric for garments, as a form of currency and method of tax payment, and as a medium and subject matter for professional artists and the literati class. Over the centuries, silk fabrics have remained synonymous with beauty and are entwined throughout the history of Chinese art and literature.

Beginning in the Song dynasty (960-1279) and flourishing into the Qing (1644-1911), craftsmen took up shuttles and needles as their brushes and silk threads as their pigments, creating exquisitely woven and embroidered pictorial and calligraphic works. In the hands of the weavers and embroiderers, weft-woven silk tapestry (kesi) and embroidery (cixiu) evolved into an art form—a fusion of painting, calligraphy and hand weaving or embroidering for aesthetic appreciation. When viewed together, the interdisciplinary nature of these vivid depictions of images and text occupy a unique and unbroken place within the history of Chinese visual culture.

Extending from the Qing dynasty to the mid-20th century, UMAG’s silk textile collection encompasses a diverse range of subjects and formats that include hanging scrolls, framed panels, banners and robes. Each artwork exemplifies the sophisticated craftsmanship of the artisans and the collective stories of the Qing dynasty’s textile industry.

 

Resource Persons

Ms. Lee Meiyin’s areas of research include the history, art and costumes of the ethnic minorities of China, Buddhist art, Dunhuang art, silk and embroideries.  She previously served as HKUSPACE guest lecturer (2000-2010), as well as a member of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee.  She is currently a specially appointed research fellow of Dunhuang Academy, a visiting associate professor of the Chu Hai College, and a Vice President of the Friends of Dunhuang (Hong Kong).  She also serves on the Board of Dunhuang Grottoes Preservation and Research Foundation of China, and as an expert advisor to the public museums of Hong Kong.

 

Boys at play

China
Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
18th century
Kesi (silk tapestry) with metallic threads
Panel
35.8 x 34.4 cm
Gift of Dr Lam Kwok Pun
HKU.T.2008.1666
Image Courtesy of the University Museum and Art Gallery, HKU

The HKU Museum Society is pleased to invite Dr. Yeewan Koon, author of the newly published monograph Nara Yoshitomo (Phaidon, 2020) to share her research on Nara and her experience of working with the artist.  In conversation with Catherine Kwai, the lecture will be followed with a guided tour of the current exhibition at the new Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery in Chai Wan. 

Renowned for the big-headed girls, Yoshitomo Nara is one of Japan’s most iconic artists of our time. Inspired by music, literature, childhood memories, Nara explores the themes of isolation, rebellion, and spirituality through painting, sculpture, ceramic and installation.

 

Lecture Synopsis

Yoshitomo Nara is an international artist but whose fame sometimes eclipse our understanding of his art. This talk provides an introduction to his practice, the events that have shaped them, and the new directions being taken in his artworks. This lecture is also a lesson in looking. We will spend time examining and discussing his works by looking closely at how he paints and to use our discoveries to enrich our understanding of who is Yoshitomo Nara.

 

Speaker

Dr. Yeewan Koon is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art History at The University of Hong Kong. She has published numerous works including Nara Yoshitomo (2020), “A Chinese Canton? Painting the Local in Export Art” (2018) and A Defiant Brush: Su Renshan and the Politics of Painting in 19th Century Guangdong (2014). She is the recipient of several research awards including a Fulbright Senior Fellowship, American Council of Learned Scholars, and visiting scholarships at Cambridge University and Columbia University. Dr. Koon also works in the contemporary art field as a critic and curator. In 2014, she was guest curator of It Begins with Metamorphosis: Xu Bing at the Asia Society, Hong Kong Center, and was one of the selected curators for the 12th Gwangju Biennale, 2018. She is currently working on an international exhibition of Hong Kong art for 2021.

 

Moderator

Ms Catherine Kwai is the Founder and Managing Director of Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery. She established Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery in 1991, motivated by a passion for art and her wish to bridge the cultural exchange between China and the West. Kwai Fung Hin reflects the strength and knowledge for the 20^th century art in China and Europe. In the past 30 years, Kwai Fung Hin has organized over 100 exhibitions at the gallery and has collaborated and curated exhibitions with renowned museums and institutes. Kwai Fung Hin has collaborated with international publishing house Rizzoli to publish artists’ monograph. In 2011, Ms Catherine Kwai was made “Knight of the National Order of the Merit” for her contribution to the arts.

To register for the online lecture, please visit:  https://forms.gle/NcD6zymxmUfdeAvL7

 

Renowned for the big-headed girls, Yoshitomo Nara is one of Japan’s most iconic artists of our time. Inspired by music, literature, childhood memories, Nara explores the themes of isolation, rebellion, and spirituality through painting, sculpture, ceramic and installation.

The HKU Museum Society is pleased to invite Dr. Yeewan Koon, author of the newly published monograph Nara Yoshitomo (Phaidon, 2020) to share her research on Nara and her experience of working with the artist.  This talk will be moderated by Catherine Kwai, Founder and Managing Director of Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery.

 

Lecture Synopsis

Yoshitomo Nara is an international artist but whose fame sometimes eclipse our understanding of his art. This talk provides an introduction to his practice, the events that have shaped them, and the new directions being taken in his artworks. This lecture is also a lesson in looking. We will spend time examining and discussing his works by looking closely at how he paints and to use our discoveries to enrich our understanding of who is Yoshitomo Nara.

 

Speaker

Dr. Yeewan Koon is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art History at The University of Hong Kong. She has published numerous works including Nara Yoshitomo (2020), “A Chinese Canton? Painting the Local in Export Art” (2018) and A Defiant Brush: Su Renshan and the Politics of Painting in 19th Century Guangdong (2014). She is the recipient of several research awards including a Fulbright Senior Fellowship, American Council of Learned Scholars, and visiting scholarships at Cambridge University and Columbia University. Dr. Koon also works in the contemporary art field as a critic and curator. In 2014, she was guest curator of It Begins with Metamorphosis: Xu Bing at the Asia Society, Hong Kong Center, and was one of the selected curators for the 12th Gwangju Biennale, 2018. She is currently working on an international exhibition of Hong Kong art for 2021.

 

Moderator

Ms Catherine Kwai is the Founder and Managing Director of Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery. She established Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery in 1991, motivated by a passion for art and her wish to bridge the cultural exchange between China and the West. Kwai Fung Hin reflects the strength and knowledge for the 20^th century art in China and Europe. In the past 30 years, Kwai Fung Hin has organized over 100 exhibitions at the gallery and has collaborated and curated exhibitions with renowned museums and institutes. Kwai Fung Hin has collaborated with international publishing house Rizzoli to publish artists’ monograph. In 2011, Ms Catherine Kwai was made “Knight of the National Order of the Merit” for her contribution to the arts.

**Please note that only Fung Ping Shan Building entry is open for visitors. Participants are required by the UMAG to wear a mask, to use the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile app or provide their personal contact details onsite.

For more precautionary measures please click:
https://www.umag.hku.hk/en/visit_us.php?id=121399

 

The HKU Museum Society and the University Museum and Art Gallery are pleased to present two guided viewings.  The first exhibition Colours of Congo: Patterns, Symbols and Narratives in 20th-Century Congolese Paintings will be guided by Museum Director Dr. Florian Knothe.  The second exhibition Painting Across The Threshold: Ng Lung Wai will include a guided viewing and a demonstration by the artist. 

 

Colours of Congo: Patterns, Symbols and Narratives in 20th-Century Congolese Paintings

Thanks to unprecedented access to extensive archives and art collections, the exhibition’s narrative presents a generous overview of paintings that were instigated when a single artist from Belgium began a painting workshop so as to collaborate with the indigenous population of Elisabethville (modern-day Lubumbashi). This first studio was followed by other workshops that assisted in developing a hybrid artform that remains a celebrated phenomenon.

The European influence of painting first began with Georges Thiry, who worked for Belgium’s colonial administration starting in 1926. In Elisabethville, Thiry had noticed a series of painted murals of crocodiles and birds. He inquired about the artist and was introduced to Albert Lubaki. Thiry was fascinated by the artist Lubaki, his wife, and the other community members who continued to document their connection to the natural world through wall paintings.

The exhibition and accompanying volume of essays primarily examines this group of paintings as artworks worth considering on their own merits—describing their techniques and inherent beauty, while acknowledging that their iconographic contents reflect daily life within village communities. The juxtaposition of European artists and artistic materials brought to Africa, and the display of African paintings in European art metropolises, initiated decades of intense collaboration and cultural exchange.

 

Dr. Florian Knothe teaches the history of decorative arts in the 17th and 18th century with particular focus on the social and historic importance of royal French manufacture. He has long been interested in the early modern fascination with Chinoiserie and the way royal workshops and smaller private enterprises helped to create and cater to this long-lasting fashion. Dr. Knothe worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art focusing on European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, and on European and East Asian glass at The Corning Museum of Glass, before his current position as Director of the University Museum and Art Gallery at HKU.

Sylvestre Kaballa
Untitled (The Nativity)
Oil on canvas, 50 x 66 cm
Signed ‘Kaballa. Syl. / E/ ville 1956’
1956
Pierre Loos Collection
Photo: Michael De Plaen

 

Painting Across The Threshold: Ng Lung Wai

Drawing inspiration from the traditional art of paper folding, this exhibition presents Ng Lung Wai’s ‘folding paint’ technique. Creating works of great sophistication from seemingly naive and childlike experiences, these vessels made from folded paint transform the artist’s childhood practice of folding paper boats into a highly personal visual language. More than an investigation into his own heritage and cultural roots, his works eloquently speak to our existential experiences, while simultaneously inviting us to delve into our respective memories and feelings.

The colours and visual elements incorporated by Ng contain the entirety of his lived experience. Similar to the message of Odysseus’ seafaring expedition, Ng’s boats in All the Best depict our collective voyage through life’s ups and downs. As the title implies, Chang Ming is inspired by Laozi’s Daodejing, which opens with the famous line ‘a way that can be followed is not a constant way, a name that can be named is not a constant name’. The knots in Chang Ming represent unanswered questions about human existence and our never-ending pursuit of the truth. An unanswered question is often more intriguing than an answered one, as the former never stops producing possibilities.

Painting Across The Threshold is the first exhibition of the UMAG_STArts series. It runs from March 12, 2021 to June 27, 2021.

 

Ng Lung Wai was born in Hong Kong in 1971 and received his master’s degree in architecture from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He first worked at an architectural firm and later at an interior design company. In 2001, Ng set up his own design and production house, working with local museums and exhibition venues on an array of projects. In addition to the aesthetic values developed during his architectural training, Ng also established a distinctive artistic approach and style that draws on his years of experience in organising exhibitions. Ng’s engagement with different modes of expression inspired his decision to become a full-time visual artist in 2013, after completing an award-winning heritage revitalisation project at Mei Ho House.

All the Best – Fire – 999
Ng Lung Wai
Folded Acrylic Paint on Canvas
2018
HKU.P.2020.2474

**Please note that only Fung Ping Shan Building entry is open for visitors. Participants are required by the UMAG to wear a mask, to use the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile app or provide their personal contact details onsite.

For more precautionary measures please click:
https://www.umag.hku.hk/en/visit_us.php?id=121399

 

The HKU Museum Society and the University Museum and Art Gallery are pleased to present a second guided viewing of current exhibition, Pictorial Silks: Chinese Textiles from the UMAG Collection. We will be guided by Ms. Lee Meiyin.

 

Pictorial Silks: Chinese Textiles from the UMAG Collection

Prized by Chinese and foreign merchants as an essential commodity along a vast trade network, silk served multiple roles throughout the ancient world: as fabric for garments, as a form of currency and method of tax payment, and as a medium and subject matter for professional artists and the literati class. Over the centuries, silk fabrics have remained synonymous with beauty and are entwined throughout the history of Chinese art and literature.

Beginning in the Song dynasty (960-1279) and flourishing into the Qing (1644-1911), craftsmen took up shuttles and needles as their brushes and silk threads as their pigments, creating exquisitely woven and embroidered pictorial and calligraphic works. In the hands of the weavers and embroiderers, weft-woven silk tapestry (kesi) and embroidery (cixiu) evolved into an art form—a fusion of painting, calligraphy and hand weaving or embroidering for aesthetic appreciation. When viewed together, the interdisciplinary nature of these vivid depictions of images and text occupy a unique and unbroken place within the history of Chinese visual culture.

Extending from the Qing dynasty to the mid-20th century, UMAG’s silk textile collection encompasses a diverse range of subjects and formats that include hanging scrolls, framed panels, banners and robes. Each artwork exemplifies the sophisticated craftsmanship of the artisans and the collective stories of the Qing dynasty’s textile industry.

 

Resource Persons

Ms. Lee Meiyin’s areas of research include the history, art and costumes of the ethnic minorities of China, Buddhist art, Dunhuang art, silk and embroideries.  She previously served as HKUSPACE guest lecturer (2000-2010), as well as a member of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee.  She is currently a specially appointed research fellow of Dunhuang Academy, a visiting associate professor of the Chu Hai College, and a Vice President of the Friends of Dunhuang (Hong Kong).  She also serves on the Board of Dunhuang Grottoes Preservation and Research Foundation of China, and as an expert advisor to the public museums of Hong Kong.

Ladies and children
China
Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
19th century
Silk
Panel
179 x 126.7 cm
Gift of Mr and Mrs Wellington Yee
HKU.T.2005.1595
Image Courtesy of the University Museum and Art Gallery, HKU

 

Watch the replay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDERWLeoUVE

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For registration, please visit: https://forms.gle/R5WxzDVSWpgBfic9A

Synopsis                                                                                   

The near demolition of a forgotten century-old underground water reservoir in Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po made headline news back in December 2020.  With widespread calls for its preservation, it has now been designated as a Grade 1 historical building by the Antiquities Advisory Board.  We have invited a panel of experts – Dr. Joseph Ting, Tymon Mellor and Fredo Cheung – to share insights on the cultural significance and the architectural pertinence of this reservoir and the pivotal role it played in the development of the Kowloon Peninsula.

Dr. Joseph Ting will begin with a talk about the historical and social context of HK around the early 1900s when the reservoir was built.

Tymon Mellor will recount the early history of Kowloon and its water supply, the politics and the technical problems to be overcome. The presentation will use archive maps, images and contemporary documents to show how the initial Kowloon water supply was planned and constructed covering the period of 1860 to 1910.

Fredo Cheung will provide an introduction to the Hong Kong built heritage grading system and assessment framework.  He will also discuss some of the limitations of the current system and framework which the recent Bishop Hill incident had revealed and how these limitations can be addressed.

Speakers

Dr. Joseph Ting majored in Chinese Literature and Chinese History from HKU and graduated with a BA degree in 1974.  He was conferred an MPhil in 1979 and a PhD in 1989, both from HKU.  Dr. Ting joined the HK Museum of Art as an Assistant Curator in 1979 and was appointed Chief Curator of the HK Museum of History in 1995.  He retired in 2007 after serving for 28 years.  He is currently an Honorary Assistant Professor in the School of Chinese at The University of Hong Kong, as well as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of History at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Tymon Mellor is a civil engineer who has been involved with the design and construction of many recent Hong Kong infrastructure projects.  He has an interest in old maps and what they can tell us about the development of the Territory and its infrastructure. He created and runs the hkmaps.hk website, which now has nearly 100 historic maps of Hong Kong and Southern China. In his spare time, he researches articles for the Industrial History of Hong Kong website, publishing over 70 articles in the past eight years. 

Fredo Cheung is the current Vice President of the Hong Kong Institute of Architectural Conservationists (HKICON).   Prior to his career as a built heritage conservation professional, he practiced in architecture, working for Leigh & Orange Architects and Ronald Lu & Partners.  He served as an adviser on the Buildings Department’s Technical Committee on Building Safety and Health Requirements for Historic Buildings Under the Buildings Ordinance and is frequently solicited by the Hong Kong media on issues related to heritage conservation in Hong Kong.   He is also Lecturer in Architectural Conservation at The University of Hong Kong and a contributing author of the book Asian Revitalization: Adaptive Reuse in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore published by HKU Press (2021).

 

This talk is presented by the HKU Museum Society with support from the following organisations:

The HKU Museum Society is delighted to be extended a private guided viewing of the 60^th Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Chiu Society held at the Hong Kong Museum of Art.  The Min Chiu Society is the premier collective of private collectors of fine Chinese arts and antiquities in Hong Kong. 

This exhibition showcases a splendid collection of masterpieces through the centuries in Chinese porcelain, ink paintings, textiles, furniture and more.  We are privileged to have Lawrence Chan, Chairman of the Organising Committee of this exhibition and Hilda Mak, Assistant Curator of Chinese Antiquities, to personally guide us through this spectacular array of rare and important objects of art, sharing the history and significance of each piece.

Lawrence Chan is the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 60^th Anniversary Exhibition.  He was Chairman of the Min Chiu Society from 2017-2019 and is the owner and publisher of Chinese Ceramics from the Dawentang Collection, 2020.

More information about the Min Chiu Society exhibition can be found here: https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts/en_US/web/ma/exhibitions-and-events/honouring-tradition-and-heritage-min-chiu-society-at-sixty.html

For an in-depth look of this tour, participant numbers are limited.  Your prompt registration is encouraged.

The Museum Society is pleased to work with Les Beatitudes and Haw Par Music as part of the Heritage x Music Festival to present a guided viewing of Passion Path to Cantonese Opera (Heritage • Journeys Continued exhibition) with a demonstration by Ms. Li Pui-yan (Eliza).  The visit will also include a tour of the revitalized Haw Par Music, now listed as a Grade 1 heritage building. 

The first part of the programme will bring you into the world of Cantonese opera through the eyes of a third-generation opera performer and costumes handed down from family and other master artists. Ms. Li Pui-yan will share what it is like growing up in a family of Cantonese Opera heritage and how she decided to follow her heart into a world of wonders.  We will enjoy a selected singing presentation from Ms. Li of “Loyal to Love”, a Cantonese opera about the love story between Song Hong, a famous historical figure from Eastern Han dynasty, and his wife.

Some of the items presented in this exhibition include a Princess costume, a dress for rich unmarried lady with elaborate sequins, a rare hair ornaments, an interesting selection of shoes, as well as a 3D dressing table.

 

Les Beatitudes is a not-for-profit organization and a social enterprise founded to support groups in need.  The aim is to connect different social groups within the community and create opportunities for stakeholders. Projects include recycling something old into new products.  Arts and heritage are infused into the designs to create new narratives about the history of Hong Kong.

 

Haw Par Music (previously known as Haw Par Mansion). The building together with its private garden was built by Aw Boon Haw, who was known as “The King of Tiger Balm”. The Mansion was built in the 1930s, as Aw’s private family residence and the Tiger Balm Garden adjacent to the Mansion, was opened for public enjoyment.

Architecturally, the Mansion was built in an eclectic style with a blend of Western and Chinese construction methods. Over the years there have been limited changes to the Mansion, allowing it to retain many of its original features. The restoration project began in June 2016, and was formally opened in spring 2019 as the Haw Par Music, a centre with the aim of providing cross-cultural exchange through music, heritage and the arts with social initiative.

 

Resource Person

Born in New York from a family of Cantonese opera heritage and a graduate from Wellesley College, Ms. Li Pui-yan (李沛妍) has studied under numerous famed Cantonese opera performers.  Since her debut as principal actress in Floral Princess (Youth Edition) in 2007, she has performed for the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Chinese Opera Festival, Macau Arts Festival as well as the benefit inaugural performance at ASHK’s Miller Theatre.  Her repertoire ranges from classics to new productions such as Deling and the Empress Dowager Ci Xi and Arrant Revenge, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  Recently, through working with artists from other disciplines, such as Ming Wong and Mariko Mori, she is inspired to further explore the cross-disciplinary potential of this traditional art form. Aside from performing, Ms. Li is devoted to the English translation of Cantonese opera librettos and has served on the Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee in Hong Kong for various terms.