CREATIVE CITY GUIDE :: Hong Kong 香港

A little bit of history and context:

Hong Kong is a special place. It’s unique, as a literal “special administrative region” that engulfs New Territories, Kowloon, Hong Kong Island and its surrounding archipelago right off the coast of Shenzhen. Other than the newly minted Lok Ma Chau Loop, the border between People’s Republic of China (usually called “Mainland China”) and Hong Kong is a hardened one. Hong Kong has an unusual trajectory: once an island of small villages, it's now grown into one of the world’s major global economic, financial, and increasingly, cultural hubs.

In 1842, parts of Hong Kong (mostly Hong Kong Island) were annexed as part of the colonial British Empire after the Opium Wars. In 1860, the British grabbed land in Kowloon up to Boundary Street (hence the name). For some reason, in 1898, the British decided to only lease everything north of Boundary Street for 99 years, then agreed that the archipelago would be returned to China after the lease was up. The handover in 1997 created the "One country, Two systems" rule in which Hong Kong would (in theory) maintain everything about its way of life, except defense and foreign affairs—its own currency (Hong Kong dollars), its own passport, its own borders, the rule of law, freedom of assembly and speech, and many other socio-political structures set up under British rule—for at least another 50 years, with whatever happens after 2047 to be determined. But mainland China's reach already encroaches on many of these conventions. In 2014, the Umbrella Movement, pro-democracy protests erupted all around the city to demand universal suffrage, and the debate over territorial and cultural independence continues even more widely in 2019 and 2020.

Around 7.4 million people live in Hong Kong today. The landscape is a mix of extremely dense urbanization with skyscrapers built into the sides of mountains, adjacent to a lush tropical jungle. The Kowloon side looks and feels closer to cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen (which are just about an hour’s train or ferry ride away). Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is fast and quickly expanding, there is also a network of double decker trams and buses, and the city is generously walkwable. Ferries connect Kowloon and Hong Kong island if boats are your thing, but Hong Kong is surrounded by hills, with a network of staircases, elevators and escalators, so biking can be tricky in some parts of town. At the turn of the 21st century, Hong Kong’s air pollution was a serious matter, but it has gotten significantly better in the past ten years. Pollution from manufacturing plants on the mainland has a tendency to drift over. It’s hot and humid most of the year, with an extremely rainy summer season with occasional typhoons.

Cantonese 廣東話 is the most widely spoken language, and Hong Kong uses traditional Chinese characters, as opposed to the simplified ones which used on the mainland since the Cultural Revolution. British colonization also embedded British English into education institutions, laws and governance and remains widely spoken. Mandarin is also becoming more common. About 10% of people living in Hong Kong are from elsewhere: half of the expatriate community are Filipina, Indonesian and Thai women, working mostly as domestic workers under unfair labor conditions, with Sunday as their only day off where they gather in public spaces. The other 5% of expats in Hong Kong are from all over the world, many working in finance, law, and hospitality.

Cantonese is the most widely spoken language, and Hong Kong uses traditional Chinese characters, as opposed to the simplified ones employed on the mainland since the 1950s. British colonisation also made English widely spoken, and now, Mandarin is also becoming more common, though Hong Kong–Mainland sentiments vary from indifferent to extremely hostile (see above protests for reasons why). Hong Kong also has a huge community of Filippina, Indonesian and Thai women, working mostly as domestic helpers under unfair labor conditions, with Sunday as their only day off where they gather in public spaces. Hong Kong is also home to a sizeable expat community, many working in finance, law, and hospitality.

Hong Kong’s commercial art galleries, auction houses, non-profit organizations, and independent, community & DIY spaces have established a strong art and cultural ecology over many decades. But in recent years, the art world’s attention turned to Hong Kong as a major focal point in Asia. With Art Basel running an edition of its monumental art fair in the city since 2013, and then Art Central in 2015 emerging as a counter, with  several private and government-funded museums recently opened, Hong Kong has become a bigger supporter of arts and culture.

Hong Kong Island:

Sai Ying Pun 西營盤, Sheung Wan 上環 & Central 中環 

Sheung Wan was one of the earliest places occupied by the British. The area is dotted by parks, markets, temples, and ladder streets (stone staircases connecting these neighborhoods with the mid-levels further uphill.) These neighborhoods make up the western part of Hong Kong Island, forming the core financial business district. In Central, tall skyscrapers, malls, and office buildings line the hilly, multi-level landscape. Blue chip galleries are clustered in the Pedder Building and HQueens. Other art spaces and pop-ups emerge in the hilly clusters in the trendy Star Street (arguably in the Wanchai District), Tai Ping Shan Street, and up the escalators of Soho.

Nonprofits & Museums: Art Asia Archive, Asia Society, Hong Kong Fringe Club, Tai Kwun, University Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre vA!

Galleries in HQueen’s: David Zwirner,  Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery, Tang Contemporary Art

Galleries in the Pedder Building: Lehmann Maupin, Gagosian, Pearl Lam Gallery

Galleries on Star Street: Odd One Out, Woaw Gallery,Taka Ishii Gallery

Galleries & Art Malls elsewhere in Western District: 10 Chancery Lane, Blue Lotus, Edouard Malingue, Leo Gallery, Perrotin, K11 chi art space, PMQWhite Cube,

a ladder street in Sai Ying Pun

"Hong Kong is just interesting, it’s such a tiny island that has a lot of cultural and historical significance for China and the global context as well. It’s a city full of traders, of mediators, who have always been able to speak many languages and tell many stories. That’s the flexible, dynamic nature of the Hong Kong spirit that can mediate between the East and the West. As for the art scene, I think we need to have more rigour and push towards becoming a leader of culture. For that to happen I think our ecology has to be expanded because it’s still very narrow." 

- Isaac Leung, Director of Videotage

Wan Chai 灣仔 + Causeway Bay 銅鑼灣  + Quarry Bay 鰂魚涌

Non-profit Spaces & Residencies: Oi!, Para Site, The Foo Tak Building, Rooftop Institute

Art (in/as) Malls: ArtistTree, Window and Alley

Stickers in the Foo Tak Building elevator

South District 南區: Aberdeen 香港仔, Wong Chuk Hang 黃竹坑 & Tin Wan 田灣

The Southside of the island is home to a growing number of galleries & non-profit spaces seeking lower rents, larger spaces, and a quieter atmosphere away from the hurried northern side. The MTR opened in 2015, making the area much more accessible by public transit.

Residencies: Spring Workshop [closed in 2017]

Non-profit Spaces: Warehouse

Galeries in Wong Chuk Hang: Blindspot, Pekin Fine Arts, de Sarthe, Art Project Asia, Ben Brown Fine Art, Aishonanzuka, Rossi Rossi, Sin Sin Fine Art

Galleries in Tin Wan: Gallery Exit, Empty Gallery, Mur Nomade, Alisan Fine Arts

Planters on Spring Workshop's roof during Hong Kong Farm's yearlong residency.

"With Hong Kong Farm, we have also have autumn harvest workshops and we also invite children and anyone who is interested in teaching a class with the planters and so in a way its also trying to communicate what were doing, and not make this something really insular and secret. We are very interested in opening up processes."

- Christina Li, Director of Spring Workshop

Kowloon 九龍

Kowloon means ‘nine dragons’ and used to be mostly jungle (apparently the British went tiger-hunting there...) Nowadays, Kowloon is just a ferry ride or a few metro stops away from Hong Kong island. The southern waterfront of Kowloon, Tsim Sha Tsui (abbreviated ‘TST’) is a major shopping destination for tourists from the mainland, and is also home to a growing museum mile along the waterfront. From the newly renovated Hong Kong Museum of Art to the West Kowloon Cultural District located on mostly reclaimed land, it is home to M+, Asia’s largest museum for contemporary visual culture, and the Palace Museum. Since 2012, M+ has created online, popup & roaming exhibitions and has since opened in 2021.Kowloon’s infamous walled city stood in Kowloon Cityuntil its demolition in 1993. Other than TST, it is mostly homg to the working-class as well as home to many of Hong Kong’s immigrant and migrant communities from Southeast Asia, public housing and light industry. Kowloon is also where some of the most vibrant independent spaces set up shop. Sham Shui Po, selected as a design district, is a key testing ground for such independent spaces. Another building is JCCAC (Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre) in Shek Kip Mei, the operation base for over 140 artists and collectives.  . A government-run artist-village in the repurposed Cattle Depot is home to art spaces like Videotage & 1A as well as larger-than-life performance artist Frog King. In 2019, Eaton Hotel in Jordan reopened with a new mission to focus on creativity & social justice, complete with artist and activist residencies, a gallery, screening room, a music venue & radio station. Residencies: Tonglau Space, In Situ, Videotage & soundpocket, Eaton Hotel

Nonprofit & Independent Art Spaces: C&G Apartment, Current Plans, Douchai Art Society,, 1A, Common Room & Co, Bound by Hillywood,  Floating Projects, Printhow, JCCAC, Feyerabend, RnH Space, Parallel Space, Openground

Museums & Universities: Hong Kong Museum of Art, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, M+ Pavilion, M+, Palace Museum

Apilu Street in Sham Shui Po, home to Things That Can Happen and 100ft Park.

"Our space isn’t about programming, it’s a responsive and fluid art space. It made sense to have a space for artists to live in, and it just worked out that this space had that. Residencies are a good way to get in touch with people who aren’t in Hong Kong but who could contribute to the conversation and bring them outwards to connect them with conversations happening elsewhere."

- Chantal Wong, co-founder & director of Things That Can Happen [closed in 2017]

New Territories 新界

To the north of Kowloon lies the New Territories, just below the border with mainland China. More recently, some art and cultural spaces have moved to develop communities in industrial areas such as in the Kwai Chung area. Mill6 Foundation opened a massive art space and residency in a former cotton spinning factory in 2019, CHAT (The Center for Heritage & Textile Arts), and the Fotan Studios in Fo Tan  is home to hundreds of artists who host annual open studios. 

Museums: Hong Kong Heritage Museum

Nonprofit & Independent Art Spaces: CHAT, Fotan Open Studios

Galleries: Hanart

sea, skyscrapers & mountains in Sha Tin, New Territories

Fairs, Festivals & Events

Art Fair Week usually happens in the middle of March (outside of pandemic years,) with Art Basel, Art Central, the Photo Book Fair, the South Island Cultural District Day and many more events, openings, and parties all crammed into one week to coincide with when a slice of the international art world parachutes into Hong Kong. 

More recently, Tai Kwun hosts the annual BOOKED, an art book fair where visitors can find anything from local zines, join workshops or connect with independent booksellers from around the world. 

Music & Arts Festivals: Clockenflap happens every November, Freespace Happening is usually in February, and other international festivals like Sonár have also set up Hong Kong editions recently. For those interested in more rural festivals, Shi Fu Miz is held on the outlying island of Cheung Chau. 

Microwave Media Arts festival, a new media art festival which began in 1996 headed by Videotage is also  held annually

Film Festivals: Hong Kong is one of Asia's main cinematic hubs, with the Hong Kong International Film Festival taking place every year since 1972. The city also hosts a multitude of independent festivals, like the Pineapple Underground Film Festival, Fresh Wave (for shorts) and Jit Ze, as well as an edition of Sundance and film festivals showcasing films from the EU, France, and the Jewish or LGBT communities. 

News, Blogs & Listings 

On top of our general recommendations for staying up to speed with the news in China, here are a few English language Hong Kong specific resources: Hong Kong Free Press, South China Morning Post, Time Out, My Art Guides.

Map

Check out our public China Residencies Google Map and zoom in to Hong Kong to find all the places listed above!

Many thanks to our Hong Kong-based friends for their input and to the Australian Embassy Beijing for their support in developing these China Residencies Artist City Guides! This guide was written by Kira Simon-Kennedy in 2017 and updated by Hong Kong correspondent & researcher-in-resident Clarissa Lim Kye Lee in 2022. Our resources are works-in-progress and will be updated regularly. Send us a note at nihao@chinaresidencies.com with your suggestions and recommendations.