ARTS IN THE CITY

Every Saturday, the curatorial team will guide participants through the two exhibition venues, beginning with the four groups of artworks and entering the memories and everyday life of Sai Wan across different periods. Through sharing the artists’ concepts, creative processes and the community stories behind the works, participants will explore the changing landscapes and everyday rhythms of Sai Wan across different periods of time.

When it comes to paper crafting, ritual or festive items may be the first things that come to mind. Yet with the creativity and skill of master craftsmen, what can be achieved goes far beyond these familiar forms.Over half a century ago, before production techniques were as advanced as they are today, craftsmen relied on the flexibility and versatility of bamboo craft to transform bamboo strips, paper and paste into astonishing handmade objects that served the needs of many different trades and occasions.In this workshop, Master Frankie Leung, the second-generation successor of Sang Woo Loong Art Advertising Model Work Co., a long-established Sai Ying Pun shop for over 70 years, will guide participants in making a unique flower lantern. Through his sharing, participants will also learn about the changes in wedding and funeral rituals in Sai Ying Pun, as well as the transformation of the paper craft industry and the local community.

Where would you go for a Saturday date in Sai Ying Pun? To a photogenic cafe, or a restaurant serving refined international cuisine? This guided tour takes participants to step into a time tunnel and return to Sai Ying Pun of the last century, exploring the traditional delicacies and food souvenirs that once drew people to the area.Participants will visit Hop Lee Seafood and Yu Wo Hop Kee, embarking on a journey of smells and flavours to discover the craft behind these intangible heritage foods and learn how these long-established shops have evolved alongside changes in Sai Ying Pun. Participants will also have the chance to experience the role of a shop assistant, speak with the owners, and hear insider stories from the old days.

Wandering through the streets and lanes of Sai Ying Pun, this guided tour unpacks enduring urban legends: is the area really filled with mass graves? Where do these ghost stories come from?Walking along the hillside of the Western District, participants will begin with legend and move through both familiar historical buildings and less-known street views, looking back on how residents of the district lived amid plagues and war, as well as the rapid pace of urban renewal. Along the route, participants will also encounter artworks that respond to community memories and present-day circumstances, rediscovering the layered community stories accumulated behind the legends of the western Mid-Levels.

The Secret (1979) marks the directorial debut of Ann Hui. It is an early classic of the Hong Kong New Wave. Kennedy Town serves as the film’s principal setting, and the distinctive atmosphere of the old neighbourhood lends the film a sense of mystery.Beyond the film itself, Kennedy Town was once home to a range of municipal and public-health-related facilities, including an abattoir, an incinerator, a mortuary, and an infectious disease hospital. This historical background, together with the various stories and local lore associated with the area, offers another context for understanding the neighbourhood, and has made Kennedy Town seem almost like a character in many film and television works.The “Sunset Screening” series revisits two classic films shot in Sai Wan, followed by themed-post-screening dialogues. Settle into the seats and wander through the community stories found from both on and off screen.Special thanks to the Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and to Hong Kong Film Services.

Rouge (1988) is one of Stanley Kwan’s important works. The bond between Fleur and the Twelfth Master unfolds in Shek Tong Tsui. In the early 20th century, Shek Tong Tsui was known for entertainment businesses; although its former appearance is no longer visible today, that history remains part of the city’s memory. While the film’s story is fictional, it also reflects a chapter of Hong Kong’s past.Beyond the film itself, the area holds many other histories worth revisiting. The gas-holder explosion that once took place there, together with a number of former municipal and public-health-related facilities, offers further clues to the history of the neighbourhood and forms part of the background to the urban legends later associated with it. Between history and legend, there is often a tenuous connection.The “Sunset Screening” series revisits two classic films shot in Sai Wan, followed by themed post-screening dialogues. Settle into the seats and wander through the community stories found from both on and off screen.

If Sai Ying Pun were experienced not through sight but only through listening, what kind of place might it become?Artist Larry Shuen will share his observations of heritage sites, terrain, movements and sound gathered through his walks in Sai Ying Pun. From seemingly symmetrical landscapes emerge asymmetrical soundscapes,   what might be heard by one pair of ears and how might that differ from what is heard by many?Participants will take up the “field sound tasks” designed by the artist, approaching heritage sites to search for and record sounds from different surrounding positions. Moving from individual listening towards a collective soundscape, participants will work together to create a sonic record belonging to Sai Ying Pun.

Building on the observation methodologies explored in the artwork, artist Larry Shuen will lead participants on a walking tour through Sai Ying Pun to visit heritage sites, historical buildings and the Centre Street Market, and to try out his “informal heritage research methods” proposed in the work. Along the way, a series of exploration tasks will invite participants to look closely at architectural details, traces in the streets and patterns of everyday use, examining the open and closed spaces around heritage sites from their own perspectives, and making records that differ from official historical accounts.Through this shared process of research, participants will gradually develop their own ways of looking at Sai Ying Pun and its heritage sites, connecting different places, spaces and histories to piece together a personal understanding of the neighbourhood.

During their creative process, the artist collective “Zaat Hap” conducted in-depth interviews in Sai Wan, gathering memories of the area from long-time and newer residents alike. Inspired by conversations with cleansing workers and by their careful observations of and quiet care for the community, this workshop reinterprets and shares their stories through contemporary bamboo craft.Pest control workers quietly support the everyday life of the neighbourhood, keeping a close watch on every scene and every corner. Drawing on the Cantonese homophone link, the artist collective connects these workers with the squirrels often seen in Kennedy Town. By overlapping the restless image of the squirrel with the industrious labourers, the collective develops the symbolic figure of the “Squirrel Worker”.Led by the artist collective, participants will experience traditional bamboo crafting techniques, using bamboo strips and paper to create lively squirrel sculptures. Through making by hand, they will gather local stories of Sai Wan at their fingertips and pay tribute to these unsung heroes of the community.