Art Central Hong Kong 2023
As Art Central’s Education Partner since 2015, Asia Society Hong Kong Center will be back at Art Central 2023 this year hosting a full program of performance art, video art and panel discussions at the Asia Society Theatre.
Performance Program
Program Curators: Joyce Ng, Amanda Lee
Program Contributor: Hain Yoon
Kensa Hung and Kiwi Chan
Pack / Unpack
In between packing and unpacking, we are experiencing homelessness.
From the collective experience of packing/ unpacking, a conflicted performance with 5 scenes will be derived from some keywords: Select / Eliminate; Drag / Drop; Gather / Dismiss; Expose / Dissemble, & Grounding / Uprooting.
Natasha Cheung
She Taut
The female Asian body is stereotypically treated as an exoticised and ambiguous object, simultaneously bounded and amorphous. Through generations, elements of Chinese culture and identity have been carefully as well as randomly selected as a means of survival within Cheung’s personal identity, descended from Chinese diaspora spanning but not limited to Panama, the Philippines, Australia and Hong Kong. Performing through her queerness, Cheung pulls taut what elements she takes advantage through as well as what her body is subject to, inviting us to experience the paradoxical evolution of feminine diasporic survival.
Stephanie Keung
54 of 206
54 of 206 is an ongoing movement-research-into-choreography project curious about the possibilities of images, perhaps eventually stories can be created by the detailed articulation of (not only) fingers, palms, and wrist. It was fundamentally a personal discovery to further develop the artistic voice of Stephanie Keung through human body movement research. The name of the project is inspired by the 54 bones in human hands and wrists with a total of 206 bones in average human anatomy, which describes the starting point of the project mainly focusing on the above specific body parts without neglecting the rest.
About the Artists
Kiwi Chan, an independent performing artist whom creations focus on Butoh, experimental theatre, and site-specific dance. She enjoys the dilemma of body, Butoh and Contact Improvisation have been her biggest inspiration since 2012. She devotes herself to contemporary theatre, as she believes that performing art is the best field for sharing the presence.
Kensa Hung, a multifaceted artist working with a variety of media including drawings, paintings, sculptures, and manga. He has been drawing since an early age, with a fascination with mother nature, his creations were often influenced by living creatures and illustrated guides (Botanical and Zoological). He later on developed an interest in Chinese calligraphy, after years of practice he infiltrated the eastern aesthetic into his artworks.
Natasha Cheung (b. 1998, Sydney, Australia) received her BA in Fine Arts and Visual Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 and her MA in History of Art and Archaeology from SOAS, University of London in 2021. In particular, she is interested in the languages and belief structures constructed to describe sight and vision and making visible how these non-neutral interfaces have contributed to continued colonial imaginaries as well as how to manipulate these languages to render the absurdity of our reality.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Stephanie Keung is a contemporary dance artist who graduated from Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, the Bachelor of Arts program in the Northern School of Contemporary Dance with First Honour and studied in the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Keung had also been involved with various art forms, such as photography. Since she believes that her expression to the world should not be limited in one single form, she would like her art piece to be inspirational and stimulate audience’s attention to the world and their own selves.
Gok Dou Live
Program Curators: Joyce Ng, Amanda Lee
Program Contributor: Hain Yoon
Collecting Against the Grain
Tuesday 21 March 2023, 4pm
The art world feeds off social topics, shock value, and trends. We invite art collectors to discuss their journeys in art collecting, and whether their approach to art collecting has shifted.
Speakers: Collectors Sharon Cheng, Vernon Ho, Bonnie Lau
Moderator: Luyang Jiang, President & CSO, The Baer Faxt
Drifting in (Art) Spectacle
Wednesday 22 March 2023, 4pm
Four multi-media artists gather to discuss their artistic participation in this year’s Yi Tai Sculpture and Installation Projects sector, the fair’s platform for immersive installations, in conversation with the curator.
Speakers: Artists BAHK, Bev Butkow, Huo Yun, Clara Wong
Moderator: Chris Wan, Art Central 2023 Curatorial Advisor
In Conversation: The Art of Sound
Wednesday 22 March 2023, 6pm
In this panel discussion, the conversation correlates with the making of The Metaverse Symphony – the world’s first symphonic work to be performed in both a concert hall and the metaverse – in May 2023. Co-commissioned by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Asia Society Hong Kong Center, the metaverse performance will take place in a re-creation of Hong Kong’s iconic Statue Square.
Speakers: Henry Chu (digital artist), Elliot Leung (composer)
Moderator: Emmanuel Hui (music producer)
Making Your Name: The Trajectory of Contemporary Artists
Thursday 23 March 2023, 2pm
In this talk moderated by one of Hong Kong’s leading academic voices, three contemporary artists share their creative journeys and artistic practices, and what it takes to establish oneself in the art community and beyond.
Speakers: Artists Lindy Lee, Ticko Liu , Glary Wu
Moderator: Dr. Janet Fong, Research Assistant Professor, AVA, SCA, HKBU
Looking Forward: Hong Kong as an International Art Hub
Thursday 23 March 2023, 4pm
Hong Kong is quickly rebounding as a leading international hub for contemporary art. In this discussion, speakers from distinct creative fields share insights on how the Hong Kong art world is emerging from the pandemic – and what projects and patterns we can look forward to.
Speakers: Teresa Kwong, Programme Director, Hong Kong Arts Centre; Sunnie Lau, Director, MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node; Sally Yeung, Curator, Po Leung Kuk Museum
Moderator: Jennifer Pratt, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Artsy
The Healing Power of Art
Friday 24 March 2023, 2pm
How can art help you heal? In this panel discussion, four voices will share their professional insights and raise questions about the therapeutic nature of art that may provide an added dimension to artmaking and art appreciation.
Speakers: Grace Cheng, Director, Art in Hospital; William Chow, Associate Fellow, Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association; Laurence Wood, Professor, Department of Cultural and Creative Arts, The Education University of Hong Kong
Moderator: Joyce Ng, Head of Gallery and Exhibitions, Asia Society Hong Kong Center
The Challenge of Curation
Friday 24 March 2023, 4pm
The term ‘curation’ has been propagated into many forms. In this panel discussion, speakers will explain the ongoing challenges that they embark on through their local and international curatorial practices.
Speakers: Wong Sze Wai, artist; Timothy Wong, Head of Arts and Creative Industries, British Council; Zoie Yung, independent curator
Moderator: Prof. Yu-Chieh Li, Programme Director of MA in Curating and Art History, Lingnan University of Hong Kong
Teaching the Next Generation
Saturday 25 March 2023, 2pm
Education has radically evolved in recent years. Invigorating our next generation about arts and culture has been impacted due to the absence of in-person experiences. In this education-focused discussion, we ask our speakers to share their future plans about what to teach, and how to teach well.
Speakers: Bernardo Coronardo Guerra, Program Manager, Shuyan Studio, The ISF Academy; Alejandro Reyes, Director of Knowledge Dissemination, Asia Global Institute, HKU; Michael Whittle, Assistant Research Professor, Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University.
Moderator: Amanda Lee, Assistant Curator, Asia Society Hong Kong Center
Citrus Worlds
Program Curators: Joyce Ng, Amanda Lee
Program Contributor: Hain Yoon
Citrus Worlds invites us to a refreshment of nine Hong Kong artists’ digital narrations. Encompassing interpretations of absurdity, odes, fairytales, and observations, the artists’ creative visions are emulated into forms of multi-media works. From the artists Herman Chan, Choi Sai Ho, Colbie Fung, Lau Wai, Florence Lee, Masahiro Nakamura, So Siu, and Tsui Hou Lam and Winsome Wong.
These selected works offer a tart reminder on revisiting memories and embracing fantasy, welcoming everyone to dive into the world of digital fun and immersion!
About the artists
Chan Ho Wang is a full-time designer, he makes art after work and during the weekends. His work revolves around social trauma and social norms. He believes in the power of photography, and this has become the point of departure for his practice. Chan mainly uses images and moving images to present his ideas. Some past exhibitions include Ah Q is Not Okay (Lumenvisum, 2023), Noble Rot Part 1 (Para Site, 2021), HKFOREWORD 21 (10 Chancery Lane Gallery, 2021), 'What's Next?' A JOINT EXHIBITION OF YOUNG ARTISTS (Lumenvisum, 2021)
CHOI Sai-Ho graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong. He taught as a part-time lecturer at the City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University. He now works as a media artist and composer. Portrait by Max Chan.
Colbie FUNG Ho Pui received her Bachelor of art degree from the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University in 2022. She is interested in using moving images, sound, and text as a medium to write, which enables her to destruct and construct materials. Her work discusses the strength of storing memory through media tools. Being open to media archaeology, she often seeks for new in the old in media arts.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, currently based in New York. LAU Wai utilizes photography, moving images, new media, sculptural objects, and installation to investigate how history, fiction, personal memory, and virtuality collide in the process of identity formation. Their research and material sources range from personal and historical archives to cinematic imagery, popular culture, and emerging technologies.
Florence Yuk-ki Lee (b. 1994, Hong Kong) is an animation artist and visual communication designer. Assembling and staging ephemeral figures, lived experiences, and poetic visual metaphors in her practice, Lee unearths ideas and inspirations from her daily encounters in Hong Kong—the city where she grew up—to investigate the multilayered connection between herself and her cultural identity. Her animation works comprise digitally hand-drawn still frames that flow seamlessly from one to another, evoking numerous micro-narratives summoned from her memories or pure imagination. Emotionally charged, Lee’s work extracts the poetic from the mundane to explore the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Masahiro NAKAMURA is passionate in lens-based work, familiar with photography from a young age. He enjoys presenting his view of the city through his photos, while incorporating themes of identity, sexuality, domesticity, and the archive within his other practices. Masahiro is influenced by the consciousness of emotions and sensations, invoked by international culture and nostalgia. In 2021, Masahiro graduated from the Bachelor of Arts program by RMIT University, co-presented with Hong Kong Art School. Masahiro was born in Hong Kong, and he is currently based in Hong Kong and occasionally Tokyo, Japan.
So SIU graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in directing. She became a freelance video worker after graduation. Currently studying for her master degree in the Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Continuously creating... Her recent work "Simon Says, Simon Says." won the Fresh Wave Award and Best Screenplay at the 16th Fresh Wave International Film Festival, and was selected for the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival.
Hou Lam TSUI (b. 1997) lives and works in Hong Kong. Tsui received a BA in Fine Art and History of Art from the University of Leeds in 2018. Her practice centres around personal experience, gender politics, boundaries, and peripheral storytelling. Her recent exhibitions include Post-Human Narratives—In the Name of Scientific Witchery (Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences, 2022), Blind Curve (RNH Space, 2022), and Noble Rot (Para Site, 2021).
Winsome Wong mainly works on videography and the sculpting of images. Through moving along with her camera, composing and sculpting the texture and rhythm of the images, she believes that art helps guiding her to comprehend and step into daily life. Therefore, most of her works are about her daily life and people around her, leading her works to be created in different cultural contexts along her mobility, such as Cambodia, the Philippines and Hong Kong. She also spent a lot of time thinking about the authority of images and artwork, that there are times she credits that sources of her works are people around her and that she acts as an “agent” or “co-creator” of the works. She’s a member of Floating Projects Collective.