Traditionally, art is presented as a language for self-expression, reflecting the relationship between the inner states of the artist and the outer existing world. There is even a notion saying that the best art can only come from a single artist working alone. 

Yet, the idea of artists as a collective working towards shared aims has grown exponentially. Artists start to get together with crossed ideologies and aesthetic, or even living and working as an extended family. In this discussion, leading art pairs and groups would explore this emerging phenomenon through conversations and offer insights for all who seek to work creatively and effectively with others.

C&G Artpartment is an art space formed by two Hong Kong artists: C&G (Clara & Gum) in 2007. With a strong concern over the local art ecology, C&G use their art to respond to social and cultural issues. Helping develop new flavours in the local art scene, their essential goal is to fill up the crack in the current art scene, and allow C&G Artpartment to become an art space for idea exchanges.

Dirty Paper, an art collective formed by Chan Wai Lap and Yau Kwok Keung since 2010. Their works represent their memories, experiences or those ridiculous things happening in their surroundings. Their works have been shown in solo and group exhibitions in galleries, including Ink Asia (2017), Everything’s Alright (K11 Art Foundation & chi art space, 2016), Young Talent Hong Kong (Affordable Art Fair, 2015) and Yesterday’s (Osage Gallery, 2013). Their works were collected by gallery and private collectors.

Otto Ng is the Cofounder of LAAB, a multidisciplinary art and architecture collective based in Hong Kong.  Otto studied architecture at HKU and MIT, and he is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at HKU, teaching algorithmic design and fabrication.  He was awarded the Young Guns of New York Art Directors Club in 2015.  He was also named as one of the “50 young game changers shaping Hong Kong’s future” by Hong Kong Tatler Generation-T in 2017.  Notable projects include “Hong Kong House” in the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field in Japan and “Rendezvous” – a series of art windows for Hermès.

PHUNK is a contemporary art & design collective based in Singapore. Founded in 1994 by Alvin Tan (b. 1974), Melvin Chee (b. 1974), Jackson Tan (b. 1974) and William Chan (b. 1973) when they were still students in Lasalle College of the Arts, they developed a novel approach to collective art-making based on the collaborative aesthetic of a rock-and-roll band, and informed by a shared interest in urban subcultures.

Vivian Ting is an independent curator and researcher, she works with universities and art organizations to develop curatorial projects that encourage multiple narratives of local history, articulated through creative means. Graduated from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, she did Museum Studies at the University of Leicester and gained curatorial experiences at the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath and the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. In considering what the arts and culture means to the public, She has been writing about local contemporary artists in various platforms, such as ARTouch, LEAP, and p-Article. Some of the writing can be read from her blog. (Moderator)