Communities across Hong Kong gather to take part in art projects that uncover hidden stories of everyday life
Yarn bomber Esther Poon's creation at Lek Yuen BridgeThe Jockey Club Community Arts Biennale 2015 takes place in Hong Kong between April and July, with 24 professional local artists and thousands of young people exploring and celebrating our society.
People of different ages and backgrounds have come together to create art, and this has uncovered hidden stories of everyday life. These stories have been transformed into 24 large-scale visual art installations that will be exhibited in Sha Tin Park, Fly the Flyover 01 (Kwun Tong promenade), and ArtisTree.
The first exhibition at Sha Tin Park's Lek Yuen Bridge will take place from tomorrow until May 6. Don't miss it!
Exhibition 1: Sha Tin Park (April 16 - May 6)Knitting a Community Together
In the past, some cultures used knotted string for record-keeping or as a form of communication. With specific meanings assigned to different types and colours of string and different sizes of knots, combinations of these could convey complex messages.
Hong Kong's very own crochet artist and yarn bomber Esther Poon Suk-ban has transformed Sha Tin Park's 150-metre-long Lek Yuen Bridge with a stunning, large-scale crochet installation.
Working with more than 1,000 local students and people from community groups, Poon has created a piece that reflects the collective power of the community, and the threads that connect us.
Pigeon
Artist Cecilia Ho honours another old form of communication with a two-metre-high wooden sculpture of a carrier pigeon. Tied to the sculpture are hundreds of colourful ribbons with wishes and messages to loved ones, written by the artist's friends. Alongside the giant wooden sculpture is a series of smaller fibreglass pigeons created with the help of a group of local youngsters and members of The Hub Hong Kong Children and Youth Centre, who decorated the birds with personal thank you messages.
Pigeon Post
Led by project artists Kiwi Liu and Mable Wun, students from three secondary schools in Sha Tin took inspiration from the communities they live in to decorate 66 fibreglass pigeons with their thoughts and dreams, reflecting their sense of belonging. The colourful pigeons are designed to inspire and connect people of all ages and backgrounds.
Free Weekend Workshops for All
Every Saturday and Sunday during the biennale, a series of 30-minute workshops will take place in Sha Tin Park between 1.30pm and 4.30pm. The workshops are free of charge, open to all, and places are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Workshop 1: Weave Together: Learn to weave, then take home your own mini-masterpiece.
Workshop 2: Pigeon Post: Create and decorate your own pigeon to carry your words to a loved one.
Coming soon …
Exhibition 2: Fly the Flyover 01 (May 7-27)
Inspired by the saying "Pull up a chair", hundreds of young people have come together to produce chair-themed art on Kwun Tong promenade. Through their creations they explore their identity and take a closer look at their place in society. Alongside the installation on Kwun Tong promenade, there will be a human-sized interactive chess game - join us for some fun!
Exhibition 3: ArtisTree (July 4-24)
To celebrate traditional local crafts, young people and professional artists have collaborated with talented craftsmen to put together an insightful exhibition at this Quarry Bay venue. The results shine a light on some of Hong Kong's sunset industries, with inspiration taken from trades such as letterpress printing, Canton porcelain painting and the production of neon signs and bamboo ware. The work was made more interesting by the life stories shared by female elders from the walled villages of Fanling.
The Jockey Club Community Arts Biennale 2015 is sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and organised by the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (YAF). Visit the HKYAF website for more information.