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Stanley, or Chek Chu 赤柱 is one of Hong Kong’s oldest settlements. Although situated on an isthmus between sheltered beaches facing north and east, and south and west, which is a classic choice for seagoing people, little is known about the territory until 1836 when the "Canton Register" described it as a “wretched village of poor fishermen”. This is certainly no longer the case as Stanley has flourished in the last 50 years with the rapid development of both luxury and public housing, resulting in a population growth 35 times greater than that in 1841!

Starting at the Stanley Military Cemetery, Dr. Stephen Davies will lead our group through the surroundings of historic Stanley Village. As we walk together, Dr. Davies will describe Stanley’s colourful history from its early origins as a modest fishing village, whose meagre wealth was used to build temples to Tin Hau, Shui Shin, and Pak Tai, the influence of notorious, legendary pirate, Zhang Baozai 張保仔, who together with his wife Ching Shi 鄭氏 or Chang I Sao 鄭一嫂, ran the largest ‘pirate’ fleet the world has ever known, its later settlement as a major British army base in the 19th century, and to its more recent history as a major battleground and internment camp during the Second World or Pacific War.

The “village” has one declared monument, not the 1767 Tin Hau Temple, but the 1859-1974 police station which is now a Wellcome Supermarket. In addition, Stanley boasts 41 listed buildings of which 40 are pre-war, and two “Heritage Hong Kong style” bogus reconstructions. Our itinerary will begin at the Military Cemetery (1933 with graves going back to 1842) and St. Stephen’s Beach (boundary marker 1844), and take us through Pat Kan Uk (Eight houses, mid-1930’s), Stanley Public Dispensary (1930s/1948), the old Post Office (1937), the old Police Station on Stanley Main Street (1859), glance uphill towards the Carmelite Convent (1933), Maryknoll House (1935), and Ma Hang Prison (converted 1930s government stores), the Shui Shin Temple (Qianlong 1836-95), Tai Wang/To Tei Temple and the Tin Hau Temple (1767). We will pass Murray House (1844/2002) and Blake Pier (1909/2007) and end at Pak Tai Temple (1805) before retracing our steps for lunch.

Resource Person
Dr. Stephen Davies, a Briton with family connections to Hong Kong that go back to the early 1930s, served in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines (1963-67), briefly designed atlases, and taught sailing and mountaineering before falling off a cliff and having to be screwed back together (1967-68). After university in Wales and London (1968-74) he taught political theory at the University of Hong Kong (1974-89). From 1990-2003 he and his partner sailed 50,000 miles visiting 27 countries in their 38’ sailing sloop; useful background for a maritime historian.

He was appointed the first Museum Director of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum in 2005. From 2005-2011 he built the collection and library, found the museum a new location, got government and donor funding for the expansion and relocation, and created the design and storylines for the new premises. In 2011, he was appointed the museum’s first CSSC Maritime Heritage Research Fellow.

Dr. Davies currently teaches a course on the sustainable use of heritage buildings at HKU’s Department of Real Estate and Construction, of which he is an Honorary Professor. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the University’s Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences and an Honorary Editor of the "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong". A prolific writer, Dr. Davies’s recent books are "Coasting Past: The last of South China coastal trading junks photographed by William Heering" (Hong Kong Maritime Museum 2013) and "East sails west: the voyage of the Keying", 1846-1855 (Hong Kong University Press 2014). He has just completed "Strong to Save: Maritime mission in Hong Kong from Whampoa Reach to the Mariners’ Club" to be published by Hong Kong City University Press in 2017 and is working on "Transport to another world: the life and times of HMS Tamar 1863-2015".

The Executive Committee is pleased to organise a guided tour of three galleries presenting exciting works from Hong Kong artists. We will start with Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery and Gallerie du Monde in Central, follow with optional lunch, and the tour will end at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center. At each gallery, we will have a chance to meet with the artist and the curator who will discuss the works and highlights about the exhibitions.

1. Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery
Beyond Senses, Beyond Colours – Leo K. K. Wong

The exhibition “Beyond Senses, Beyond Colours” will feature a total of 49 colour and black-and-white photographs spanning over 50 years of creation by Hong Kong photographer Leo K. K. Wong. The distinctive and differing styles of Wong’s colour and black-and-white works attest to the transition of his interests throughout his artistic practice.

Wong graduated with a degree in Medicine from the University of Hong Kong in 1959 and practiced as a physician until 2006. As a doctor, Wong was continually confronted with issues of life and death. To cultivate emotional balance and to ease stress, he began studying photography at the age of 34 under master photographer S.F. Dan. During this time Wong focused on monochromatic works depicting the daily lives of people in Hong Kong, including public housing estates, fishing villages, construction sites, and other social phenomena.

2. Gallerie du Monde
MEME – Fung Min Chip

Fung Ming Chip’s solo exhibition MEME provides a comprehensive insight into his decades-long exploration of the history and philosophy of the written word. Using ideograms and pictographs, Fung has investigated how meaning is transmitted in written languages through a combination of form and sound. These ideas lie at the heart of much of Fung’s work, including “Shu-fa”, “Zuan-ke”, sculpture, engravings on mixed media, ink painting and stop-motion animation.

Fung Ming Chip moved to Hong Kong in 1956 and to New York in 1977. Since 1986, he has been living between New York, Hong Kong and Taiwan and in 2006 settled in Hong Kong. Self taught, Fung’s quest to extend the conceptual field of Shu-fa, (Chinese calligraphy) began initially with his work in the related art of “Zhuan-ke” (seal-carving).

He has exhibited internationally with a major retrospective of his work held in 1999 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. He was artist in residence at Cambridge University, and has work included in major private collections and public institutions internationally. In 2014, he completed After Mi Fu Handscroll, Response to Mi Fu’s Boat on Wu River, commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA.

3. Asia Society Hong Kong Center
Breathing Space: Contemporary Art from Hong Kong

This exhibition presents 11 local artists whose works look at the pressure of living in this city and make room for us to pause, reflect, respond and possibly challenge the world around us. Their works engage with urban experience, current affairs, and shared and personal history in a range of medium from painting to sculpture, video to mixed media installation. The exhibition consists of two parts: inside the gallery are extant works that contemplate various restrictions we encounter every day, from the spatial to psychological, the social to historical. Beyond the gallery, the outdoor area of our site is opened up for new commissions that strive to overcome these boundaries through artistic experimentation.

The participating artists are: Chilai Howard, Chloë Cheuk, Cheuk Wing Nam, Enoch Cheung, South Ho, Vaan Ip, Ko Sin Tung, Andio Lai, Siu Wai Hang, Adrian Wong and Magdalen Wong, and the exhibition is led by in-house curator Dominique Chan with Joyce Hei-ting Wong and Ashley Nga-sai Wu as assistant curators.

The Museum Society is pleased to co-host the opening cocktail and first of the Museum lecture series with Asia Week Hong Kong 2017. Opening the 5th year edition is an evening lecture by Mr. Francois Curiel, the Chairman of Christie's Asia-Pacific. Mr. Francois Curiel will present a fascinating talk "France: Art and Institutions" on French collector's taste in art, the influence of Asian art in France and French museums in Asia.

The Executive Committee is honoured to present Dr. Uli Sigg as the guest speaker for this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). A significant early collector of Chinese contemporary art, Dr. Sigg is widely recognized for his generosity in providing the cornerstone collection for Hong Kong’s newly established M+ Museum for Visual Arts.

Although having first arrived in China in the 1970s at the time when Deng Xiao Ping initiated China’s policy of openness to the world, Dr. Uli Sigg waited until the 1990s before beginning to amass his huge collection of Chinese contemporary art. At one time his magnificent Sigg Collection comprised of over 2300 works by 400 Chinese artists, including Ai Weiwei, Gu Dexin, Fang Lijun, Zhang Xiao Gang, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Peili and Geng Jianyi. Universally considered the pre-eminent, most comprehensive collection of Chinese contemporary art, the Sigg Collection spans China’s recent decades of modernization from the Cultural Revolution to the present, and mirrors the historical development of Chinese contemporary art as well as that of modern Chinese society.

The M+ Sigg Collection was assembled in 2012 when Dr. Sigg chose to donate 1450 pieces as well as to sell a further 50 artworks from the original Sigg Collection to M+. In sharing his art collection, Dr. Sigg sought to display the breadth and depth of Chinese experimental art against the backdrop of one of the most culturally dynamic periods in modern Chinese history.

Dr. Sigg will recount the fascinating story of his long association with the Chinese contemporary art scene since its early days, the extensive journey which he undertook to build his collection, his many exchanges in getting to know each one of his artists, his exhibition activities, as well as his thoughts on the future of this distinctive Chinese phenomenon.

Speaker
Dr. Uli Sigg grew up in Switzerland where he completed his studies with a Ph.D. at the University of Zurich Law Faculty. Originally a journalist and editor for various Swiss newspapers and magazine, Dr. Sigg joined the Schindler Group in 1977 first as the Area Manager for Asia Pacific and subsequently, as a member of the Group Executive Committee and Shareholders Board. Credited with establishing the first Western joint venture with China in 1980, Dr. Sigg served on the boards of numerous global companies until his appointment from 1995 to 1998 as Swiss ambassador to China, North Korea and Mongolia. Over the years, he continued to assume board memberships
or senior advisory roles for a number of prominent global and Chinese institutions. Presently Dr. Sigg is vice chairman of Ringier, Switzerland’s largest media company. He is Honorary Director of China Foreign Investment Association, Beijing and Founder and Honorary Member of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

As one of the most renowned collectors of Chinese contemporary art, Dr. Sigg has throughout the past 30 plus years assembled the furthermost important collection in this genre. In 1997, he established the Chinese Contemporary Art Award (CCAA) for Chinese contemporary artists living in China; in 2007 he created the CCAA Art Critic Award. He is on the board of the Museum and Acquisition Committees of M+, and serves as a member of the International Council of New York MOMA, as well as the International Advisory Council of Tate Gallery in London.

As a sequel to our introductory talk on kunqu 崑曲 with Ms. Cheung Lai-chun 張麗真, the Executive Committee is delighted to organise a special kunqu opera performance by Ms. Ying Kam-sha 邢金沙 at the elegant setting of the Fung Ping Shan Gallery. A recipient of the Plum Blossom Award, Ms. Ying will demonstrate the delicate relation between words, music and dance that exemplifies the uniqueness of this classical performing art.

Dating back to the 14th century, kunqu music originated in the Wu cultural area. It was given shape in the 16th century by Wei Liangfu 魏良輔 and his contemporaries who combined it with three other forms of southern music, and with northern tunes from the drama of the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Together, they standardized the rules of rhyme, tones, pronunciation, and notation, making it possible for this regional form of music to become the national standard. In 2001, kunqu was listed by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Programme
This evening’s programme will begin with a presentation (in Cantonese) by Ms. Cheung Lai-chun. Immediately following, Ms. Ying Kam-sha will perform the role of Du Liniang 杜麗娘 in a selected scene Dreamland Revisited 尋夢 from the classic kunqu opera The Peony Pavilion 牡丹亭. This masterpiece was written by Tang Xianzu 湯顯祖, the greatest poet playwright of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). In an utterly refined and languidly poetic style, the drama reveals romantic yearnings and afflictions of love endured by the young in the feudalistic society of China. This daring and avant-garde subject, which is an outcry against the suppressive tradition, together with the moving poetics of the language, makes the poet's endorsement of freedom of love between the two young protagonists a lasting force in the history of Chinese literature and theatre.

Resource Persons
Cheung Lai-chun is a member of the Commission for the Research and Promotion of Kunju of the Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture, researcher of the Centre for Chinese Cultural Heritage of the Hong Kong Baptist University, and the chairman of the Concordia Kunqu Society of Hong Kong. She teaches the Art of Kunqu at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of the Hong Kong Baptist University. Dedicated to the exploration of traditional Chinese vocal art, she has given vocal interpretations in three recent publications in Hong Kong, one of which is The Vocalisation of the Ci Poems of Jiang Kui 白石詞擬唱 published by the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of the Hong Kong Baptist University.

Ying Kam-sha is a former actress of the Zhejian Kunqu Opera Troupe who specialized in the role of guimendan (highborn female) and daomadan (young female warriors). She studied under the famous Chuan-generation Kunqu Opera artist Yao Chuanxiang. Ying is a recipient of the Outstanding Little Hundred Flowers Award, the First Prize for Young Performer at the 2nd Zhejian Theatre Festival, and the 24th Chinese Theatre Plum Blossom Award. She actively promotes the development of Kunqu, Peking and Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong. She is currently a lecturer of performance in the School of Chinese Opera at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Her repertoires performed include Tale of the Wicked Sea, Legend of the White Snake, Mountain Lanke, The Butterfly Dream, The Hundred Flowers Fairy and The Peony Pavilion. Ying Kam-sha and Wen Yu Hang performed the Tale of the Jade Hairpin for the opening performance of the 2016 Chinese Opera Festival in Hong Kong.

A specialist will guide members through one of the highlights of Le French May, an exhibition on the history of Louvre at the HK Heritage Museum. Through an abundant and brilliant selection of works and masterworks from all of the Louvre’s departments, the exhibition will tell a tale of the Louvre, from a royal palace to one of the biggest museums in the world. With exhibits ranging from different periods of time, the exhibition will enable visitors to explore and celebrate the history and culture of the Louvre and France.

The exhibition is jointly presented by Le French May, the Musée du Louvre and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

Special Note

Organised in conjunction with this exhibition, Professor Greg Thomas, Chair of the Department of Fine Arts at HKU will present a lecture –
"France’s Palace Museum: Displaying Power and Art in the Louvre"

Date: 13 May 2017
Time: 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Venue: Hui Pun Hing Lecture Hall, LG1/F Library Extension Building, HKU Main Campus
To register, please visit
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCFnUqQUe-9TuxHApw1LYzFFpQYSARpww1cUYS651HyVlF5w/viewform?c=0&w=1

The fourth edition of Asian Art Hong Kong (AAHK), organized by Orientations magazine, will run from 1 – 9 April 2017 as a platform to share the best of Asian art in the city. The week aims to enable access to and enhance public awareness of Chinese history, cultural heritage and Asian art from antiquities to the contemporary. The week-long programme will include an exciting series of public events, including talks, tours and special exhibitions that highlight and promote the rich history and heritage of Asian art. Apart from bringing together professionals from across the globe for specialist talks and lectures, AAHK will lead discussions on the current trends in Asian art. In addition, participating galleries will showcase special exhibitions in their spaces, featuring a wide array of artefacts that are open to the public free of charge.

Please join Olivia Wang, founder of the Scholar's Ink Studio, on a specially curated tour of the participating galleries.

Resource Person
Prior to founding the Scholar's Ink Studio in 2013, Olivia Wang previously worked as a specialist in the Chinese Works of Art department at Sotheby's Hong Kong. She has also worked in the UAE for the Saadiyat Island Cultural District, where she developed public and exhibition programmes. She received her undergraduate degree from Brown University and her MPhil from Oxford University. The focus of her MPhil dissertation was contemporary Chinese ink painters of scholars' rocks.

Join Museum Director Florian Knothe for morning coffee as he leads a special viewing of the exhibition “Illustrious Illuminations II: Armenian and Georgian Manuscripts from the Gothic to the Age of Enlightenment”.

This exhibition is sponsored by the HKUMS.