Culture & Leisure

The new performance architecture exhibition Pollinator comes to Hong Kong for the first time at WestK harbourfront as part of the WestK FunFest 2025, creating a unique space for collaboration between local artists from different fields. The Pollinator is co-created by American artists Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley. They have invited 18 local performance and visual artists to take turns living in the five tents that are connected by a giant wheel. The idea is to attract artists from different cultural backgrounds and to explore how architecture affects social connections, according to the poster at the exhibition. During the artists’ residency, the only way to communicate or to move between the buildings is to use the giant wheel, which is entirely human-powered. “The wheel is like a mixer that mixes us up together as a community,” said Ward Shelley, 75, one of the co-creators of Pollinator. Each artist occupies one of the tents as a studio to display their creative process and final work. The first group of cohabitating artists comes from four fields: performance architecture, paper art, dance, and performance art. “One of the rules in the community is that artists cannot come down from the buildings for the whole period, and artists are not allowed to rest in the building where they have their studios,” said Shelley. “The rules make us interact.”  “We do not know each other and we all come from different countries, so we think differently, ” said Florence Lam, 33, a performance artist.  “But because we are going to be sharing the space and interacting with each other, my ‘neighbours’ will be involved in what I am creating,” Lam added. Ho Tung is a 27-year-old dancer. It is her first time participating in an outdoor performance art exhibition. “I often go to the ‘neighbours’ …

Picasso's iconic works are displayed together with those of contemporary Asian artists, offering an opportunity for a unique cross-cultural experience for visitors. Co-organised by M+ and the Musée National Picasso in Paris, and in association with the French May Arts Festival, this exhibition named “Picasso for Asia-A Conversation” is held at the M+ Museum from Mar. 15. It provides the audience a fresh and unique look at Picasso's influence on Asian art, and explores the complex relationship between Western and non-Western, according to the M+ website. “Influenced by Picasso's Cubist painting style, Asian artists have injected traditional Oriental calligraphy and Zen into the Cubist framework, constituting a unique Oriental aesthetic,” said Wang Jingfang, 51, Director of China Artists Association.  “For example, Hong Kong artist Chen Fushan's painting Untitled (Figures Transfixed by a Butterfly) combines geometric segmentation techniques to show surreal spatial layers in ink painting form,” Wang added. “I have a deeper understanding of Picasso's art when comparing the paintings of Picasso and those of Asian artists,” said Zhang Qing, 20, a university student in architecture. “Such cross-cultural exhibition is the presentation of artistic works and ideas at a higher level.” Lee Kityue , 45, a member of M+, has visited many different kinds of exhibitions before.   Lee said that unlike previous solo artist exhibitions, this cross-cultural fusion exhibition made her feel fresh. “Breaking away from Western perspectives and interpreting Western art through Asian culture is very interesting,” Lee said. “I hope to see more exhibitions of this type in the future.” In addition to the basic artwork display, the exhibition also features a variety of immersive interactive installations, such as audio-visual projections and interactive painting systems. “Art is not a static image, not a one-way output,” said Yuki Zhang, 30, a digital artist. “With the use of interactive installations, …

Australia's Neil Robertson won the inaugural 2025 Snooker Grand Prix at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium. The tournament was a brand new venue and offered a different experience for both players and spectators. The prize money for the tournament was also much higher, which motivated the players to strive for a better result and to promote the development of snooker in Hong Kong.

Crowds seeking spiritual release queued up under the Canal Road Flyover in Causeway Bay on Mar.5. For only HK$50, the self-proclaimed psychic, also known as the “godmother”, can cast a spell on a villain of your choice. A client would write the name of the hated person on a piece of paper. The godmother would then fold the paper talisman, hit it viciously with a shoe then stuff it into the mouth of a paper tiger, which was then burned to ashes.  The client would then offer incense to the god of the earth and the white tiger. The white tiger is the bogeyman in Chinese folklore and the offering, again is supposed to dispel bad luck. Finally, a piece of paper with a prayer on it would be offered  to the deity. Clients would then  use a divination block to ask the deity questions and then get responses through the divination block. The ritual called “villain hitting” is believed to take away bad luck, is a form of folk witchcraft practiced in the Cantonese-speaking regions of China.  This activity is especially popular on the day of  the “Awakening of Insects”, one of 24 solar terms in the Chinese calendar, which symbolises the revival of insects, as well as t pests. While Hong Kong is far from agricultural, the Awakening of Insects is also a time to ward off evil.  Koline Kong, a 20-year-old local girl waited more than three hours for a five minute villain hitting session.  “It's my first time at this event, “ she said. ‘My sister asked me to help her clear up her bad luck.” “I found this activity very interesting on Rednote, so I came to experience it with my good friend,” said Sylvia Wang, a 23-year-old Hong Kong University student.  The “godmother” also …

Visitors to this year’s Hong Kong Arts Festival can immerse in a virtual reality party in Paris, titled Le Bal de Paris. The experience at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre has been on offer since Thursday as part of the Arts Festival. The dance is created by Spanish choreographer and film director Blanca Li and developed by a team of 100 people.  All 1,100 tickets were sold out according to the Hong Kong Arts Festival website. Kot Ka-ching, 16, a secondary student, was asked by her school dance teacher to try the VR experience to try out different parts of the dance.  “I am pretty surprised that during the dance, I can smell the scent of flowers and feel the breeze, making me fully immersed in it,” Kot said.  “It would be great if there is someone to lead us throughout the experience, as there are too many places to explore, which made us a bit confused,” said Kot. Alex So, 30, a media worker, said he was impressed by the sense of space of the VR experience and felt he was in a boundless world, despite being in a limited space in real life. “I want to experience women's clothing because I never have the chance to wear it in real life,” said So. “This experience was so special. As soon as I put it on, the sense of immersion was instantly heightened.”  “It is my first time at the Hong Kong Arts Festival,” said Catherine Zhang Ziyun, 30, the founder of Shanghai Serenade Culture.  “I have always paid attention to the integration of culture, art, and technology. I believe art needs to be combined with science and technology to create new content and elements,” Zhang said. Zhang added she is looking forward to seeing more VR experiences, which …