Archives: Activity

Many photography enthusiasts have embraced digital photography in recent years. But the transition from analogue to digital was not always without problems and frustrations. Learning new terminologies and mastering the use of multi-function options to capture the perfect shot can be a challenge.

Carsten Schael, one of the distinguished jurors of the "Celebrations!" exhibition, is the President of the Institute of Professional Photographers and an award-winning photographer who has worked with digital imaging for over fifteen years. From capturing the shot to processing and outputting the final product, he has used digital technology to create a large variety of images for uses ranging from international advertising campaigns to fine art works.

In this comprehensive four-hour workshop, Carsten will provide you with answers, solutions, tips as well as tricks on how to make the most of your digital equipment.

Participants are invited to bring along your preferred camera for some hands-on instruction and problem-solving. You may also bring samples of your digital images (JPG files on USB stick) to solve any specific questions

Christie’s Hong Kong will again hold its autumn 2011 sale of Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. You are invited to join the popular preview tour led by Christie’s specialists, Pola Antebi and Rosemary Scott, to view the exquisite Chinese Works of Art objects featured in this season’s auctions.

Pola Antebi joined Christie’s Hong Kong in 1990 and since 2000 has been the Head of the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Department in Hong Kong. Her areas of expertise include Imperial ceramics, jades and works of art from the Yuan to the Qing periods. She is currently a member of the Hong Kong Management Committee. Rosemary Scott is the International Academic Director of Christie’s Asian Art Department and a former president of the London Oriental Ceramic Society.

Rosanna Li Wei Han is a well-known Hong Kong ceramicist whose robust ceramic figurines are imbued with cultural and symbolic meaning. For "Café Acrobatic", Li has created a troupe of “acrobats” who perform their daily tasks in the typical Hong Kong “cha chaan teng” – 茶餐廳 – with agility, grace and humour. Visitors to the exhibition will meet the chef and his staff, the cashier, waiters – everyone whose strength, speed and skill are admired by Li as they go about their everyday work.

“This exhibition is a big mix of my childhood fantasies and life-long obsession with traditional Chinese and local cultures,” Li says about "Café Acrobatic".

Born in Hong Kong, Rosanna Li studied ceramics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic. She pursued her undergraduate studies in Art Education at the University of Liverpool and earned a post-graduate Diploma in Art Education from the University of London. She also obtained a Master’s Degree in Educational Management from the Cheltenham & Gloucester College as well as a Master’s Degree in Cultural Studies from Lingnan University. From 1990 to 2010 she worked in the School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, while making successful endeavours in the art scene.

In this special tour, Li will talk about the inspiration for "Café Acrobatic" and the process of creating the figurines, a body of works that delights us and deepens our insight into everyday life.

Chinese theatre is one of the world’s three oldest theatres. Unlike the other two, namely, Greek theatre and Sanskrit theatre, which are rarely brought to stage nowadays, Chinese theatre has been actively performed for centuries to this day as what is generally known as Chinese opera. While understanding of the early development of this ancient art form was based heavily on textual sources, archaeological discoveries in the past few decades have offered us fascinating insights into the subject.

This talk will reveal to the audience images of actors and actresses in performance from tomb furnishings and temple decoration in the Song and Yuan dynasties. They are in the form of carvings, figurines and paintings. Through these depictions, we shall look into the characteristics of theatrical performance in China some 700 years ago, and their linkage to contemporary performance. The discussion will cover such aspects as stage architecture and design, costumes, and make-up, etc. The main focus is on the early development of the role category system, which is a unique feature of Chinese theatre. The visual data will enable us to appreciate some intriguing aspects of the role differentiation between male and female performers as well as cross gender acting, a practice that still persists in some regional genres of Chinese opera nowadays.

The Speaker

Dr Irene Tsang obtained her MA and PhD degrees from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in the field of art and archaeology. After finishing her doctoral study, she taught subjects of Chinese opera and Chinese art in City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She is now working on a book about the archaeology of performance in ancient China which is adapted from her PhD thesis.

Tina Yee-wan Pang, Curator of the University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), will give an informal presentation of current curatorial practices in the USA at a time of unprecedented cultural expansion worldwide, both with the building of new museums and the expansion of existing institutions. She will share her thoughts on how these exciting developments can encourage a closer reading of museum missions. She will explore the relationship of museums to their community, as well as describe how collections are currently being used, and the contexts in which art is being positioned.

Tina’s research would not have been possible without the generous support of the Lee Hysan Foundation, which funded her Asian Cultural Council Grant in 2010.

In addition to her role as Curator of UMAG, Tina is also an Honorary Assistant Professor in the Department of Fine Arts at The University of Hong Kong. She graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in Chinese and Art & Archaeology, and holds an MPhil from St. Hilda’s College, Oxford in Ethnology and Museum Ethnography.

Fine Art Asia 2011 is Asia’s leading annual fine art and antiques fair. Over seventy prominent local and international dealers from Asia, Europe and the USA will be represented in this event from 3-7 October at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. On display will be Asian and Western art, antiques, fine jewellery, Modern and Contemporary art. Fine Art Asia 2011 (www.fineartasia.com) will be held during the peak art and auction season of October in Hong Kong.

The Society is delighted that Robin Markbreiter, Director and Executive Editor at "Arts of Asia" (www.artsofasia.com), the foremost international Asian arts and antiques magazine, has kindly agreed to lead our members through this fair. A native Cantonese speaker and a collector of Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian art, Robin Markbreiter will bring to our attention a selection of highlights on display and introduce members to prominent gallery owners and exhibitors. This is a unique opportunity to become informed about the most desirable and finest quality objects at the show.

Robin Markbreiter graduated from Manchester University with a BA (Hons) in Economics and Accounting Finance. He received a MBA (Hons) from London Business School, and also attended the MBA Program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A writer and photographer, he has worked passionately at "Arts of Asia" for over twenty years, overseeing all aspects of the business from design to production. He attends important art fairs, auctions, museum and gallery exhibitions around the world, appears on radio and TV, and gives presentations on Asian art to Hong Kong and overseas organizations. Robin Markreiter is considered one of the most influential writer and commentator on the Asian auction and art fair scene.

Aberdeen was a pirates’ den two centuries ago before growing into a fishing village. But with today’s skyrocketing cost of real estate, many high-rise developments are becoming backdrops to Aberdeen’s Typhoon Shelter, towering above the numerous junks and sampans that sail daily to the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market. In this Saturday activity, we will experience how modern art blends into this former fishing village. The morning will start with a private tour to two contemporary art galleries – Koru Contemporary Art and Alisan Fine Arts – followed by one of the freshest seafood lunches in Hong Kong at the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market Canteen.

Koru Contemporary Art, established in 2001, represents a diverse range of contemporary international artists, specializing in modern sculptures. A large selection of their collection can be found in their two gallery spaces with a combined exhibition area of over 7,500 square feet.

Koru’s art consultant, Amandine Hervey will give an introduction on the evolution of glass and its role in art history. She will introduce the glass making centers and masters that have played key roles in art history, discuss in detail their techniques, both new and old, as well as identify useful tools to appreciate this special art. Following her talk, we will tour their collection to explore how contemporary artists are using the various techniques developed over centuries past.

Alisan Fine Arts, founded in 1981, was one of the first professionally run galleries in Hong Kong. Well placed to service the serious collector and novice alike, this gallery has been associated with some of the best contemporary Chinese paintings and sculptures, with styles ranging from traditional to abstract. Over the years, it has organized more than 100 exhibitions for Chinese artists around the world. Through these exhibitions and other events, Alisan has brought to Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, established international Chinese artists such as Zao Wou-ki, Chu Teh-chun and Gao Xingjian (France), Chao Chung-hsiang, Walasse Ting, John Way and Fay Ming (USA), Hsiao Chin (Italy) and Lui Shou Kwan (Hong Kong). In 1987 the gallery began promoting Chinese artists from the mainland, including Yang Jiechang, Wei Ligang, Wang Tiande and Luo Qi.

Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market Canteen has been operated by one family for several decades. Situated inside the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market, this cha chaan teng serves typical instant noodles with fried egg and sausage, milk tea and French toast to the various fishermen, seafood wholesalers and buyers from the early morning hour of 4 am. But by noon, it proudly presents its diners one of the freshest and tastiest seafood meals in the city. With its close proximity to vendors that distribute a large share of live-seafood imported to Hong Kong, the canteen serves only the freshest daily catch available in the simplest settings.

Join us for a sumptuous seafood lunch in this hidden gem. Advance reservations are required, as the canteen will purchase the live-seafood according to the number of diners in our group.

An ancient Tibetan Buddhist master described today’s Indian State of Sikkim as the hidden paradise where good-hearted people could escape the end of the world at the end of time. On invitation from the Princess of Sikkim, Dr. Andre Alexander began restoring the royal palace monastery in the capital Gangtok, using the knowledge he gained from restoring the 2010 earthquake stricken Yushu, the ancient trading centre of Qinghai province in China.

In Qinghai, the oldest timber-structure building is the Tibetan monastery of Serkhang, which houses a wealth of well-preserved wall paintings from different ages. Founded in 1340, its six surviving historic buildings were meticulously studied and conserved by the NGO Tibet Heritage Fund over four years.

In the early 10th century, the heirs to the throne of the Tibetan empire in Lhasa founded three kingdoms in the Western Himalayas. Pockets of ancient Tibetan culture have survived in the northernmost areas of both India and Pakistan. In India, the region of Ladakh became an important crossroad on a side branch of the Silk Road, and over centuries the ancient Tibetan Buddhist culture blended with elements of Central Asian cultures, to create the unique Ladakhi civilization.

Jointly presented by The University of Hong Kong Museum Society and the Friends of the Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, our speaker, Dr. Andre Alexander and Yutaka Hirako will introduce these monuments from the past 1000 years and discuss the challenges to conserve them against steep economic and climatic changes. They will also introduce two new publications by Tibet Heritage Fund: "The House of Tashi Tsering" by Pimpim de Azevedo and "Jullay Ladakh" by HK artist Fongie Chan.

Speakers:
Dr. Andre Alexander was born in Berlin, where he completed his PhD in Architecture. He studied Tibetan traditional architecture in Lhasa, and co-founded the NGO Tibet Heritage Fund in 1996. Since then he has directed conservation and research projects in Tibet, Ladakh, Bhutan and Sikkim. He has also published "The Temples of Lhasa" in 2005. Japanese architect, Yutaka Hirako came to Lhasa on bicycle from Kashgar in 1998 and subsequently joined the Tibet Heritage Fund, overseeing the Serkhang monastery project.

Founded in 2000, Asia Art Archive (AAA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting the recent history of visual art from the region with an international context. Its mission is to collect, preserve and make information on contemporary Asian art easily accessible in order to facilitate understanding, research and writing in the field. AAA endeavours to be pro-active in instigating dialogue and critical thinking through the regular initiation of educational and public programs, and in introducing as wide an audience as possible to this rich and free-of-charge resource.

As the official educational partner for the 4th year in a row, AAA presented "Backroom Conversations" during ART HK 11, an exciting series of discussions with leading experts and practitioners in the contemporary art field. New to the program, the "Inaugural Burger Collection Keynote Lecture" honours a significant voice in the field today and "Open Platform" selects projects from around the world that demand to be heard.

Co-Founder and Executive Director Claire Hsu will give us an introduction on the founding of AAA, its current progress and future development to meet the needs of art professionals and the public. Claire has participated as a speaker in a number of forums around the world and sits on the Museum Committee for the West Kowloon Cultural District; the Board of The Foundation for Arts Initiatives, New York; Advisory Board for "Yishu" Magazine; and the Advisory Committee of the Academy of Visual Art of HK Baptist University. She was a recipient of the RBS Coutts/Financial Times Women in Asia Awards in 2009; and was included in the Art Review’s Power 100 List in 2009 and 2010.

Susanna Chung, Head of Operations, and Head of Learning and Participation will guide us on a tour of AAA’s facilities, including their 32,000-volume library. Susanna is a grantee of Asian Cultural Council in 2010 for conducting research on art management, with a particular focus on audience development in contemporary art, specifically in museums, organizations and art centres in the United States.

Do join us for an inside look at this young and dynamic organization!