Culture & Leisure
Hong Kong Pride Parade Rainbow Market
- 2022-11-14
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Yu Yin WONG、Tsz Ying CHEUNGEdited by: Phoebe Law、Jenny Lam
- 2022-11-14
Hong Kong Pride Parade Rainbow Market brings together the city’s LGBT+ community this weekend. The theme of this year is asexuality.
M+ museum marks 1st anniversary with debut of Yayoi Kusama exhibition, starts charging for admission
- 2022-11-13
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: Le Ha NGUYENEdited by: Malick Gai
- 2022-11-13
One year after opening, Hong Kong’s visual culture museum, M+, started charging admission this Saturday as it launched its first Special Exhibition, “Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now.” The museum charges HK$120 a ticket for general admission. However, visitors wishing to see the well-known contemporary Japanese artist’s exhibition and the largest retrospective in Asia outside Japan, have to pay an extra HK$120. “This is the first time in Greater China the full trajectory of Kusama’s art is presented in a comprehensive retrospective exhibition. It provides a holistic and unique perspective on the accomplishments of this visionary artist,” said Doryun Chong, deputy director and chief curator of M+ museum in a statement. The retrospective features more than 200 artworks, including paintings, sculptures, and installations, from the earliest drawings to the most recent ones of Kusama’s career spanning over seven decades. The 93-year-old “Queen of polka dots” specifically made three brand new works for her first showcase in Hong Kong: large-scale installation Death of Nerve (2022), immersive art environment Dots Obsession—Aspiring to Heaven's Love (2022), and two sculptures titled Pumpkin (2022). “I think it's very impressive to see an extensive collection which is nicely curated to show Kusama’s different stages of work,” said exhibition attendee Emily Liu, 35. However, Liu is among the visitors who disagree with the museum’s new ticketing policy. “Hong Kong is trying to promote its art and culture to the world and become a cultural center of Asia, but charging people relatively pricey tickets to enter a city’s landmark is contradictory to the concept,” said Liu. Concession tickets, for HK$150, are available for full-time students, children between the ages of seven and 11, senior citizens aged 60 or above, persons with disabilities and a companion, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. Free admission is granted for children below the …
Historical hand-made mahjong shop survives as government halts its eviction
- 2022-11-09
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: Wisha LIMBU、Tsz Ying CHEUNG、Subin JOEdited by: YANG Zhenfei
- 2022-11-09
Biu Kee Mahjong, an over 50-year-old store in Jordan, was supposed to vacate the stairway it occupies by the end of October, yet the government gave the store an extension as the landlord contacted them promising to modify the shop. “Of course, it’s not good, I may leave at any minute,” Cheung Shun-king, the third-generation owner of Biu Kee Mah-Jong, said to The Young Reporter. This stairwell store was ordered to close on Oct. 31 as the Buildings Department treated it as unauthorised building work and due to fire safety issues. As a technique listed in intangible cultural heritage inventory of Hong Kong, there are only three hand-carved mahjong stores left in the city, said Eric Wan, a mahjong instructor. The store representative said they received the eviction notice “suddenly”, and that they hoped the government could preserve the original site with conditions in their Facebook post on Oct. 5. Yet, the government released a removal order to the landlord of the building in May last year, requiring him to remove the unauthorised building works, UBWs, of the mahjong store by late July of the same year, said BD in the email answering the enquiries from The Young Reporter. The department received the tenant’s message in August this year, which said that he will submit alternative proposals to the government. “As no further information was received, the department wrote to the owner concerned again in mid-September, urging him to remove the UBWs as soon as possible,” said the department’s email. A work contractor appointed by the building owner has contacted the Buildings Department for further modification plans so far. “(Cheung) would not give up the work of hand-carved mahjong until one day he cannot make it anymore,” said the store’s Facebook post on Oct 5, “and he is not retiring …
Virtus Oceania Asia Games 2022: intellectually-impaired athletes in Oceania and Asia compete in their first world-class sports event
- 2022-11-07
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: Angela HuangEdited by: Clarice Wu
- 2022-11-07
The Virtus Oceania Asia Games 2022, an international multi-sport competition held for athletes with intellectual impairments, kicked off in Brisbane last Saturday. This is the first Virtus Regional Games held for the Oceania Asia region. During the one-week Games, hundreds of athletes from Asia and Oceania come to Australia and compete in athletics, badminton, basketball, cycling, judo, rowing, sailing, swimming, table tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis and Triathlon, according to the website of the organiser, Sport Inclusion Australia. SIA advocates a fair and equal environment for the able-bodied and athletes with intellectual disabilities. “Athletes with intellectual impairment have to overcome discrimination and prejudice to train and perform as high-performance elite athletes. But they have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else,” the OA Games 2022 website’s statement said. It is the first Para Sailing International Championship in which people with intellectual impairment can compete. Currently, only three out of 28 Paralympic sports offer classification for athletes with such disabilities at the Paralympics. “All these years, I have been helping all people with disabilities, no matter if it is physical, intellectual or any other form, to engage in sailing. So I am happy that people with intellectual disability can finally shine on the world stage,” said Shona Campbell, 47, an experienced volunteer in helping disabled people to participate in sailing. Philip Evans, 67, came from New Zealand to Brisbane to support his grandson who is diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. He said sailing has benefited his grandson because there would be fewer distractions from other people. “Sailing is good for him. I’d really like to see more world-class events like this be held for people with intellectual impairment,” said Evans.
Digital Art Fair Xperience Hong Kong 2022: 6 takeaways about NFT art
- 2022-11-06
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: Bella Ding、Yixin GaoEdited by: Clarice Wu
- 2022-11-06
The Digital Art Fair Xperience Hong Kong 2022 with a focus on innovative art is held in Central. It has showcased NFT utilising virtual reality and artificial intelligence, and tokens for transferring real-time data from the physical to the digital world. The fair features more than 400 digital artworks made with NFT with a total value of nearly HK$30 million from more than 70 artists. To coincide with the Xperience exhibition, DAF and Sotheby's, one of the world’s top auction houses, hosted the Xperience Digital Art Auction online. How has NFT affected art in recent years? Here are some takeaways for you. 1. What is NFT? NFT is a cryptocurrency asset representing either real-world or digital objects with a serial number based on Ether Blockchain, a decentralised and mainly user-generated content database with functions for storage, verification, transmission and communication. NFTs are non-fungible, meaning the value of each NFT is unique and cannot be used interchangeably. It could verify the ownership of a digital collectible. Individuals could bind their assets to the NFT, making the item a digital abstraction attached with a serial number. The asset could be in any form such as a song, a video or even a post on your social media account. While the assets themselves could be infinitely reproducible, the tokens that represent them are fully traceable on their underlying blockchain, thus providing proof of ownership for buyers. 2. How does NFT work in the field of art? “Traditional artworks are valuable because they cannot be copied,” according to Heiman Ng, Digital Art Fair Head of Business Development. Comparatively, general digital artworks are in a more awkward situation as people can easily copy and paste them, leading to copyright disputes. NFT artwork is a new branch of digital artwork that can avoid this problem by …
Handicraft bazaar attracts international vendors from different cultures
- 2022-11-04
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Ming Min AW YONGEdited by: Kate Zhang
- 2022-11-04
Richard Crosbie, an artist from the UK, has been preparing for the Halloween bazaar booth to sell his artwork. Crosbie has been in Hong Kong for 25 years and started his stall at the bazaar a year and a half ago. This time he became a vendor at a Halloween bazaar, which was held by a local organisation called Handmade Hong Kong, a body holds regular craft markets in the city. “There's a lot of planning (for the stall), and there's a lot of work that goes into it even though there is a one-day event,” Crosbie said. The Halloween night market is held on Oct. 30 at Discovery Bay, lasting seven hours. The celebration attracts many vendors, especially international ones. There are 93 stalls with different vendors selling unique handicrafts. Many hawkers are looking forward to the opportunity as their business has been bleak for the past few years due to the impact of COVID-19. Handicraft dealers from around the world promote cultural exchange while selling. Street trading has been part of local culture in Hong Kong for over 100 years. The city has 97 public markets, around 14,000 stalls, and 11 hawker bazaars with various commodities from fresh produce, food, clothing and household items, according to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. Megan Olinger, the founder of Handmade Hong Kong, said that she started crafting at home in 2007 and was introduced by her friend to organise a market. Their first event only had 12 vendors, and now they have around 150. The Discovery Bay Market has been operating for many years and has become the organisation's representative market. Their events receive strong support from the public. “What's been fantastic is seeing the amount of creativity in Hong Kong that people are doing at home on their own. …
Artists have faith in Hong Kong even after leaving the city
- 2022-10-28
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Bella DingEdited by: Jayde Cheung
- 2022-10-28
Vawongsir, a Hong Kong artist, has been drawing political comics for three years. Some of his art is critical of government officials. He does not wish to give his full name for the fear of reprisals. "When working in Hong Kong, I would get so nervous if there was any sound of keys hitting or door opening that made me suffer physically and mentally. So leaving Hong Kong is the solution," Vawongsir said. Returning the key to his landlord and moving out of his apartment, Vawongsir has been switching shelters from time to time since then so that he can leave in a hurry should the authorities come after him. In April, he left Hong Kong for good. "I had no choice but to leave," he said. Vawongsir is one of the artists who fled the city to escape the fear and political limitations on art and creation. The enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020 has set red lines for freedom of expression, shrinking a considerable amount of room for artistic freedom in Hong Kong. Of the 183 people arrested under the NSL since its introduction till Mar 28,2022, one-third have been made for speech crimes including secession and subversion as shown in the statistics of Hong Kong Police Force. The city is facing a severe brain drain with a 3.49% decrease in the labour force over the same period in the second quarter of 2022 according to the Census and Statistic Department. Bernard Charnwut Chan, the chairman of the M+ Museum Board, wrote to the South China Morning Post that the government’s move to require censorship of artworks could risk Hong Kong losing its global reputation. In January 2020, the school where Vawongsir was working for received an anonymous complaint that he was posting political …
Venues struggle to survive despite revival of Hong Kong’s live music
- 2022-10-23
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Dhuha AL-ZAIDI、Aruzhan ZEINULLAEdited by: Malick Gai
- 2022-10-23
Live music returned to Hong Kong’s culture and entertainment venues after the government announced on Thursday that it is lifting the ban on live performances that was in force since April 2020. Performers must undergo Covid-19 PCR tests twice a week and conduct a Rapid Antigen Test before entering the venue, as announced by Under Secretary for Health Libby Lee Ha-yun in a press conference last week. The announcement comes shortly after the government recognised the “ardent expectations of the live music sector for relaxing social distancing measures," according to a spokesperson for Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chi. The lifting of restrictions will quickly generate about 20% to 30% of business increase, according to Chin Chun-wing, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar and Club Association. However, the rule that there should be no eating or drinking during performances remains in force, impacting certain venues’ opportunities to make the profit they did pre-pandemic. “We just want to go back to normal where people eat and drink when we have the live band because it’s a different experience,” said Michael Ng, the restaurant manager of Lau Bak Livehouse, one of the few music venues with approved licensing to host live events in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Ng said his restaurant loses around HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 a day, which they try to mitigate through approximately 7,000 takeaways a week. “Hong Kong is a step behind what the world is doing,” said Jasmin Sin, 26, a marketing executive at Chanel, who used to attend live music events at least once a week. The ban on live music has burdened many musicians, who have lacked job opportunities since the ban was put in place over two years ago. The Musicians Foundation surveyed 465 musicians in June and found that over half of Hong Kong’s …
Policy Address 2022: Hong Kong’s new leader announces no new measures to boost international tourism; support for local tourism instead
- 2022-10-19
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Aruzhan ZEINULLA、Le Ha NGUYEN、Angela HuangEdited by: Malick Gai
- 2022-10-19
Hong Kong’s leader John Lee Ka-chiu announced support for existing measures to boost local tourism in his maiden policy address, with no timeline as to when the city will fully reopen to international tourists. The government will allocate HK$600 million (US$76 million) towards the three-year “Cultural and Heritage Sites Local Tour Incentive Scheme” to boost local tourism with an emphasis on cultural and heritage elements, a policy that was also mentioned in this year’s Budget Address. “To re-establish Hong Kong's position as the region's premier travel destination, the Hong Kong Tourism Board will enhance its support for tourism in light of the epidemic development so as to attract more high value-added overnight visitors to Hong Kong,” said Lee. A new round of “Spend-to-Redeem Local Tours” and “Staycation Delights,” campaigns providing the public with guided local tours and hotel staycation discounts, will be launched with an increased quota to enhance local consumption, the chief executive said in his policy address. “I would prefer tourists over government subsidies. There's very little opportunity for sustainable business with just local tourism,” said Amy Overy, the owner of Hong Kong Greeters, a travel agency that provides private tours for tourists. The city is still longing for further relaxation on quarantine requirements to attract mainland and overseas tourists. “HKTB is yet to find any unique elements to promote the city,” said Dave Chan, an instructor from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Chan said the government has been promoting cultural and historical elements but it failed to draw foreign tourists’ interest. Chan added that around half of the travellers arriving in Hong Kong every year come from mainland China but because the border is yet to open, the recovery of the …
Largest outdoor cinema in Hong Kong reopens after one-year closure
- 2022-10-14
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zimo ZHONGEdited by: Karmen Li
- 2022-10-14
Hong Kong’s biggest outdoor cinema, The Grounds, welcomed guests again on Thursday after Covid-19 rules forced its suspension a year ago. The cinema is at Central AIA Vitality Park. “It’s very challenging to build this event and put it together in Hong Kong. We just try to reopen this cinema as soon as we can,” said Simon Wilson, managing director and co-founder of The Grounds. The government announced a relaxation of social distance measures starting from Oct. 20, including allowing live performances and outdoor eating at some premises such as theme parks. This cinema can accommodate up to 380 people in 100 upgraded private garden pods. The audience can remove face masks in their booths. But only up to four people are allowed in each booth in order to comply with social distancing rules. Guests can order food from a web-based app. The menu offers Vietnamese food, tacos and wines. Three different types of tickets are available, depending on the location and the types of seats, with prices ranging from HK$200 to HK$900. Only classic and nostalgic movies are playing this season, including Forrest Gump and the Harry Potter series. Wilson said that movies in different Languages would be shown this season. The Grounds collaborated with Golden Scene Cinema to start the outdoor shows in 2021, and has shown local movies, including Suk Suk. The cinema is opened for three months each year and the current season will end on Dec. 30. “Actually I have seen today’s movie before. It is a good romantic comedy,” said Angela Shih, who invited four of her friends along. “ We just planned to spend our girls’ night here. I am really excited and looking forward to it.” Wilson said they had a great response in ticket sales, especially for musicals and blockbuster films. …