Archives: Activity

The Main Campus of the University of Hong Kong covers about 14 hectares in the Bonham Road and Pokfulam area of Hong Kong Island. The hilly terrain makes for a unique landscape and variety of vegetation types. As the oldest tertiary education institution in Hong Kong, the buildings represent a diversity of architectural styles, but that is not all! The spaces between the buildings are home to a wide range of interesting trees and other flora. We are privileged to organize a guided tour with Mr. Gavin Coates, Senior Lecturer of Landscape Architecture at HKU, to get acquainted with some of the notable trees and plants, and the intriguing stories they have to tell.

The route is hilly but not rough. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and bring water, hat and sunglasses. Mosquitos should not be out in force at this time of year but do bring mosquito repellent if you’re susceptible to their attentions.

Speaker
Gavin Coates is a Senior Lecturer at HKU’s Division of Landscape Architecture teaching Planting Design and Ecology, Landscape Technology including topography, and Landscape representation including hand drawing. He is a Registered Landscape Architect in Hong Kong, Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects, Chartered Member of The Landscape Institute (UK) and a Member of the Chartered Society of Designers (UK).

After graduating in 1980 he joined leading British landscape consultancy, Brian Clouston and Partners in London, transferring in 1982 to the Hong Kong office BCP Hong Kong (now ACLA Limited). He participated in several key Projects for the Hong Kong Government including Tseung Kwan O New Town infrastructure, various public housing estates, Yuen Long Town Park and the design of the waterfall area of Hong Kong Park.

From 2004 to 2015, Mr. Coates served as Principal Landscape Architect at ACLA Limited in Hong Kong, primarily involved with the design and site supervision of the Greening Master Plan programme instigated by the Civil Engineering and Development Department of the HKSAR Government, projects requiring a range of skills from city-wide urban planning, through streetscape improvement and waterfront promenade design, to detailed practical planting design and participation in public street tree planting events.

Mr. Coates is also well known as an illustrator and author of environmental children’s books.

 

Photo credit:
https://www.digarb.hku.hk/

 

The HKU Museum Society is pleased to present the inaugural event of the Margaret Wang Memorial Lecture Fund – an evening with Maestro Professor Wang Shu.  As the first and only Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate from China, Professor Wang Shu was awarded the honour in 2012.  He is not only an architect, he is also an educator, philosopher, conservator, innovator and much more.

The numerous international awards presented to Professor Wang Shu over the decades are but a glimpse of his remarkable achievements in the world of architecture.  His dedication to preserving nature and building in harmony with the environment are reflected in the painstaking details of his designs and construction process.  While restorations are a key element incorporated in his build, Professor Wang Shu does not ever lose sight of the intent of the project.  His innovative use of local and/or original materials of the site brings to light traces of history that are seamlessly woven into modern architecture. 

It is our great privilege to have Professor Wang Shu and his collaborator Professor Lu Wen Yu as the distinguished speakers of the Margaret Wang Memorial Lecture Fund inaugural event.  The Fund was established to commemorate and honour the legacy of the Society’s Founder, Mrs. Margaret Wang.  We are most grateful to have Margaret’s husband, Professor Wang Gungwu, former Vice Chancellor of HKU, who will travel the distance from Singapore to celebrate Margaret’s devotion and vision. 

Please join us for an evening with Professor Wang Shu as we learn from his latest endeavours, and to have moments of in-depth conversations up-close with the maestro. The lecture title is The Vision of the Architecture.

 

Speaker
Wang Shu is the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate. He is an architect and educator. He co-founded Amateur Architecture Studio with Lu Wenyu in 1997. Together they founded the architecture department at China Academy of Art (CAA) in 2003. He became the first dean of the CAA’s School of Architecture upon its establishment in 2007.

Together, Wang and Lu have focused on re-establishing a contemporary language for Chinese architecture, which is reflected in their built works such as the Ningbo Historic Museum, the renovation of Wencun Village, and the Fuyang Cultural Complex, among others. In 2021, their design of the Xiangshan Campus of CAA was one of the 25 Most Significant Works of Postwar Architecture as selected by the New York Times.

Wang has been a visiting professor and fellow at leading architectural institutions around the world, including MIT, UCL, the University of Hong Kong, and Tongji University. In 2011, he was named the Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). That same year, he was awarded the French Gold Medal of the Academy of Architecture. He has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World (Time, 2013), and was the recipient of the Gold Medal of Tau Sigma Delta in 2019. He is the Sin Wai-Kin Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities at the University of Hong Kong and currently serves as a juror for the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Photo credit:
https://arquitecturaviva.com/works/xiangshan-campus
www.wuyueart.com
Deseret News
Iwan Baan; https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/baracuta-book
https://www.shine.cn/feature/art-culture/2207298598/

The HKU Museum Society is pleased to organize a guided viewing of Couplet Pair Rebus – The Principle of Cause and Effect, presented with support of the HKUMS 30^th Anniversary Endowment Fund. This viewing will be guided by Dr. Harald Kraemer, Curator at UMAG

This exhibition explores the interplay of causality in art in multiple ways. From poem to poem, COUPLET presents itself as a place for reading, as a space of resonances. PAIR is dedicated to balance and symmetry. Here, pairs of artworks form a three-dimensional equilibrium. REBUS presents itself as a space of associations, forming a network of content-related references. The viewer’s task is to be inspired and to decipher the connections.

With poems, and works of art by: Irene CHOU・David J. CLARKE・Christoph DAHLHAUSEN・DENG Chengxiu・DENG Shiru・ DUAN Jianwei・Adrian FALKNER・FANG Zhaoling・FANG Zhiyong・Beat FELLER・Ian Hamilton FINLAY・FUNG Yee Lick Eric・HAN Wo・HUANG Shiling・JAO Tsung-i・JAT See Yeu ・JIA Dao・Tobias KLEIN・LAI Jixi・LAM Man Kong・Robert LETTNER・LEUNG Kui Ting・ Joseph LEUNG Mong Sum・LI Ki Kwok Victor・LI Jing・LI Zhanzhi・LIANG Qichao・LIAO Zenping・LIU Haisu・LU You・Thích NHAT HANH・Shirin NESHAT・POON Yeuk Fai・Mary Curtis RATCLIFF・Peter SCHLÖR・Debe SHAM・SHE Xueman・SHI Shuqing・Sim SHUM Kwan Yi・SONG Yonghong・Philipp STADLER・Herbert STAREK・SUN Xingge・TANG Yin・ TING Yin Yung・TU Chen Tsui・WENG Tonghe・XIN Haizhou・YIK Yuet Sek・YUAN Jiagu・ YUEN Hung Shue・ZHANG Huaqing・ZHANG Zhidong・JI Zigao・ZHU Ruzhen and 88 generally symmetrical objects from the UMAG collection, ranging from neolithic earthenware to Nestorian crosses and wood carvings to papercuts.

Speaker

Dr. Kraemer is an art scholar, curator and designer with a focus on Museum Studies and Media in Museums. His PhD on Museum Informatics & Digital Collections is considered a standard work for digital museum documentation. As a pioneer of museum informatics and through his involvement in 40 museums in the planning, design and production of database systems for collection/museum management, digital online strategies for museums and numerous interactive online and offline media applications with cultural themes and e-learning courses, he is counted among the founders of the Digital Humanities. In Vienna, Dr. Kraemer completed the first MA programme for exhibition curators and has since curated and designed over 80 exhibitions. He has written and published widely on applied museology, museum documentation, media in museums, curating, and contemporary art and has taught these topics at universities in Bern, Glasgow, Hong Kong, and Zurich, among others. He was one of the founders of the European Master of Excellence Program Media Arts Cultures and Head of the MA Program Curating Art & Media (SCM, 2014-2021). Since August 2022 he has been a curator at UMAG, where he also teaches courses in Museum Studies. 

Image Credit:
Dui (Food Container) with String Design Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period (ca. 475—256 BCE) Bronze
Courtesy of UMAG

The HKU Museum Society is delighted to present a guided viewing of Gazing at Sanxingdui: New Archaeological Discoveries in Sichuan with Dr. Tianlong Jiao, Head Curator of HKPM.

The special exhibition presents the astounding new archaeological discoveries at Sanxingdui in China’s Sichuan province. A significant part of the “Archaeological China” project, the excavation at Sanxingdui has enriched and transformed our understanding of the advanced ancient culture in the Chengdu Plain in particular and the upper Yangtze River valley in general. The exhibition features 120 remarkable bronze, jade, gold, and ceramic objects dating back some 2,600 to 4,500 years. Nearly half the objects on view come from the latest archaeological excavations at Sanxingdui from 2020 to 2022; they will be shown for the first time in a major exhibition outside of Sichuan.

Speaker
Dr Tianlong Jiao is the Head Curator of the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM). Specialising in Chinese archaeology and art history, Dr Jiao has over twenty years of curatorial experience in the United States and Hong Kong. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Peking University and his PhD from Harvard University. He has curated many international travelling exhibitions in collaboration with major museums. Aside from having served as curator at museums and as faculty and visiting professors at universities worldwide, Dr. Jiao has also conducted archaeological projects in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Hawaii and Honduras. He has authored/co-authored seven books and more than ninety research papers both in Chinese and in English. His book The Neolithic of Southeast China (Cambria Press 2007) was the winner of the 2007 Philip and Eugenia Cho Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Asian Studies.

 

Photo Credit:
Mask
1300–1100 BCE
Gold
H. 17.5, W. 31, D. 16 cm
Sanxingdui Pit 3, excavated in 2021
Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
© Sanxingdui Museum

The HKU Museum Society is delighted to present a guided viewing of Kings’ Inscriptions · Contemporary Interpretations with Dr. Sarah Ng, Curator at UMAG and Oil Street Art Space. The guided viewing starts at UMAG and continues at Oil Street Art Space.

In Chinese history, inscriptions in stone, along with written copies and rubbings made to disseminate their meanings, frequently referred to the qualities and actions of kings. In our contemporary era, it is the work of self-proclaimed kings, such as the King of Kowloon and Frog King, among others, that captures our imagination. The selection of artworks by various artists, including the display of rubbings on stone, calligraphic works on paper and the incorporation of script on ceramics. Additionally, the contemporary art installations serve as carriers of both text and meaning. This mixed-media display is a sign of our times. As less text is handwritten and digital presentations become more common, it is inspiring to appreciate the artistic qualities that transcend our increasingly rapid modes of communication.

This exhibition is supported by the University of Hong Kong Museum Society and the University of Hong Kong Libraries.

 

Speaker

Dr. Sarah Ng is a historian of visual arts and material culture specializing in late imperial Chinese painting, calligraphy and ink rubbings. She is the curator of the Hong Kong University Museum & Art Gallery (UMAG). The relationship and reinterpretation of the Chinese tradition in contemporary art practice is her primary area of scholarly interest. Her work also addresses collecting, connoisseurship, canon formation, workshop practices, art conservation, museum studies and bookplates. She lectures on these subjects and other areas of expertise internationally.

 

Photo Credit:
Calligraphy and Printed Ink Rubbings of Inscriptions for the Ultra-space Frog Utopia (Detail) Kwok Mang Ho (Frog King) 2023 Mixed-media installation Dimensions variable
Courtesy of UMAG

The HKU Museum Society is pleased to organize a day trip to Nanshan, Shenzhen 深圳南山 to visit the Nanshan Museum 南山博物館 and the Nantou Ancient City 南頭古城.  At the Nanshan Museum, we will have the privilege to be guided by Ms. Lee Meiyin 李美賢老師 who will share highlights of the exhibition, Oriental Smile – Art of Maijishan Mountain Grottoes (東方微笑 – 麥積山石窟藝術展).

Maijishan (麥積山石窟) is one of the four great Grottoes in China.  It was built during the Sixteen Kingdoms (AD304-439) and displays Buddhist art from the Northern and Sothern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties.  It is famous for its clay sculptures and earns the name as the “Showroom of Oriental Sculptures”.  The current exhibits in Nanshan Museum include imitations of these clay sculptures and mural paintings from different grottoes.

Our trip begins with a high-speed train transfer from West Kowloon to Futian.  Upon arrival, we will be coached to the Nanshan Museum for a full morning’s tour of the current exhibitions.  From the Nanshan Museum, we will enjoy lunch at a nearby restaurant before embarking on a visit to the Nantou Ancient City 南投古城 located at the Nanshan District.  Revitalized in 2020, it was once called Sin On 新安 , and was an important centre of administration, commerce, and coastal defence.  The trip concludes with a return transfer by high-speed train, arriving Hong Kong at 17:00. 

 

Resource Person
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.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sotheby’s in Asia, this autumn season Sotheby’s Hong Kong will bring an extraordinary series of auctions including masterpieces from the collection of the founders of the legendary Long Museum, Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei.  Please join us on a guided viewing of the Contemporary works of art presented by Ms. Florence Ho, Head of Day and Online sales, Contemporary art.

 

It’s a perfect time to gather in celebration of art and endearing friendship!  You are warmly invited to join us for the HKU Museum Society’s 35^th Anniversary Dinner at the Hong Kong University Museum & Art Gallery, 1/F, T. T. Tsui Building, on Tuesday, 26 September 2023.

The special evening promises to be filled with fun and fellowships, sumptuous cuisine, joyous entertainments, fabulous auction items and lucky draw prizes.  Together, we will reflect on the wonderful events the Society has organised since our founding, the astonishing support that we have given to the University Museum and Art Gallery, and the inimitable camaraderie among members.

Our heartfelt thanks for your support over the years!  We hope to see you at the 35^th Anniversary Celebration.  To join, please register by 4 September 2023. Seating at UMAG is limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

We welcome cash donations commemorating the HKU Museum Society’s 35^th Anniversary.  Please click here for the Donation form.

 

The HKU Museum Society is delighted to organize a visit with artists Lucia Cheung and Arnaldo Acconci at their home studio in Pokfulam.

Lucia and Arnaldo have graciously agreed to share with us their recent works and collections, some of which have been fitted into their house. After the viewing, we will enjoy a cup of tea with them in the artistic ambience of their home.

 

About the Artists

Cheung Nga Yin Lucia (張雅燕) was born in Macau and settled in Hong Kong at an early age. Trained in both Western and Chinese art, Cheung’s body of work ranges from oil paintings of still life and abstract subjects to Chinese ink-and-brush paintings of landscapes. Mentors who had great influence on her western art were Professor Chan Shu-Soo and Master Luis Chan. In the 1970s, she further studied fine art and language in Italy. Since 1979 she studied Chinese painting under Professor Yang Shan-Shen, one of the masters of Ling-Nam School of Southern China.

In addition to painting, Cheung was art coordinator/tutor at the Hong Kong Arts Centre and contributing editor of ‘Ming Pao Children Weekly’. From 2005 to 2008, she served as a member of the Advisory Board for Visual Studies of Lingnan University.

Cheung has held fifteen solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous group exhibitions. Her works are in museums, public and private collections.

Arnaldo Acconci (夏安逹) was born in Macau and moved to Italy when he was five. During the mid 60’s, he frequently visited his family’s marble workshop in the suburb of Pisa where he sometimes worked as an apprentice.

Acconci was coached by his father Oseo, an accomplished and talented sculptor, in many different techniques, aspects and secrets of the art. Through his father’s encouragement, he decided to pursue and further his knowledge of art. 

Acconci moved to Hong Kong in the late 1970’s to help with the family marble construction business. In 2005, he retreated from the family business entirely and dedicated all his time to sculpting and drawing. His creations are of the traditional style with a modernistic approach; themes are mostly related to Italian literature.