DESIGN TRUST FUTURES FESTIVAL 2025: “The Art of Transformation” is a new micro festival where Design Trust researchers, scholars, global partners to innovative designers, participate in and share further their ongoing work, where small scale site specific commissioned works around themes of “Exceptional Transformations” of the historic site Murray House at Stanley Plaza, a 3-storey Victorian style building with architectural significance and its extraordinary heritage and natural context enlivens conversations on the public realm. Curated by Marisa Yiu (Co-Founder, Lead Curator/ Executive Director) with Zheng Zhou (Head of Programmes/ Associate Curator), this new initiative is conceptualized to shape, test ideas and speculate on the future of spaces, urbanism and the role of creativity, as we respond to global conversations around sustainability, placemaking, role of tourism to culture and heritage of Hong Kong within the Greater Bay Area, and international context, in positive and impactful ways.
“The Art of Transformation” explores spatial constructions and interactions of design and architecture to re-imagine, transform perspectives of city heritage and the culture of nature. Situated in Stanley called “Chek Chue” in Cantonese, a coastal town located on the peninsula of Hong Kong Island in the Southern District with beaches, historic piers, to the popular annual dragon boat festival, heritage monuments and the seaside culture of Hong Kong. This natural context, forms the beginning of a unique programmatic and research-driven learning programme to inspire and gather for community collaboration. DESIGN TRUST FUTURES FESTIVAL 2025: “THE ART OF TRANSFORMATION” collaborates with over 60 designers, artists, architects and curators, over a three-month programme at Murray House, Stanley Plaza where the 19th Century Victorian-era building, fronted by Blake Pier and Ma Hang Park, sets the stage for new perspectives on material ecologies, ocean connectivity that links the 263 islands of Hong Kong. Five key exhibitions and multiple public space installations, features lightweight interventions throughout the historic building to echo the Stanley waterfront, and its environs, as a space for dialogue to speculate on the future of spaces, urbanism and creative discovery.
By Marisa Yiu (Co-Founder, Lead Curator/ Executive Director of Design Trust), 2025
Register for free via link
Opening Date and Hours
March 29th – June 18th 2025
Wednesday – Thursday: 2 – 6pm,
Friday: 2-9pm,
Saturday: 11am-9pm,
Sunday: 11am- 6pm.
Closed on Public Holidays unless announced for special programmes.
Special Exhibition Opening Hours on Dragon Boat Festival day, public holiday.
Saturday, May 31st 2025
11 – 7pm
Please refer to website for more details.
Address: Murray House, Stanley Plaza, 23 Carmel Road, Stanley, Hong Kong
Registration link
Drop-off at Stanley Main Street Roundabout by car/taxi:
Murray House, 96 Stanley Main Street, Stanley
Kindly note that Stanley Main Street will be closed for pedestrianisation from 7 pm - 11 pm on Fridays, 11 am - 11 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays; Stanley Market Road will be closed for pedestrianisation from 7 pm - 11 pm on Saturdays, 11 am - 6 pm on Sundays and Public Holidays
Drop-off at Stanley Plaza via Carmel Road by car/taxi:
Stanley Plaza, 23 Carmel Road, Stanley, Hong Kong
By public transportation to Stanley Plaza:
Carmel Road Bus Stop via Bus 6/6X/973/63/65/14, Mini Bus 40/40X, 16,52
Design Trust Futures Festival Programme Calendar
*Please check in at 1/F Design Trust Collaborative Space 15min before the tour starts.
Saturday, March 29th
Design Trust Futures Festival 2025 opens to the public
Friday, April 4th
Design Trialogues 2025 featuring Book Launch and Sharing Talk of Design Trust Feature Grant publication Breaching Sanctum led by Ingrid Pui Yee Chu
Friday, April 4th 2025, 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Design Trust Collaborative Space
Registration here.
Saturday, April 19th
Panel Sharing Workshop: Urban Transformation through Hong Kong Ghost Signs
Speakers:
Billy Potts (Writer & Designer, Design Trust Grant Recipient)
Diana Pang (Designer & Researcher)
Respondents:
John Carroll (Professor at Department of History, HKU & Author of “A Concise History of Hong Kong”)
Pan Lu (Associate Professor at Department of Chinese History and Culture, HK PolyU & Author of “Aestheticizing Public Space: Street Visual Politics in East Asian Cities”)
Moderator:
Marisa Yiu (Co-Founder, Lead Curator/ Executive Director, Design Trust)
Saturday April 19th 2025
2:00 – 4:00pm
Design Trust Collaborative Space, 1F Murray House, Stanley Plaza
Registration here
Saturday, April 26th
Design Trust Community Tours, Open House Hong Kong Special Edition
Stanley Neighbourhood Tour led by Sampson Wong
3:00 – 5:30pm (The tour will be conducted in Cantonese)
Registration here
Sunday, April 27th
Design Trust Community Tours, Open House Hong Kong Special Edition
Stanley Neighbourhood Tour led by Sampson Wong
3:00 – 5:30pm (The tour will be conducted in English)
Registration here
Saturday, May 10th
Design Trust Community Tours, Open House Hong Kong Special Edition
St.Stephen’s College Tour led by Kevin Mak, Charles Lai and Connie Maoshao
10:30 – 12:30nn (The tour will be conducted in Cantonese)
Registration here
Stanley Neighbourhood Tour led by Sampson Wong
3:00 – 5:30pm (The tour will be conducted in English)
Registration here
Sunday, May 11th
Design Trust Community Tours, Open House Hong Kong Special Edition
Stanley Neighbourhood Tour led by Zheng Zhou
3:00 – 5:30pm (The tour will be conducted in Mandarin)
Registration here
Saturdays, May 10th and 17th
Workshops led by Design Trust Feature Grant recipient Island Studies Network
May 10th Saturday , 4:00-5:00 pm
Registration here
May 17th Saturday, 4:00-5:30 pm
Dragon Boat Co-designing Workshop
Registration here
Saturday, May 17th
Design Trust Community Tours, Open House Hong Kong Special Edition
Ma Hang Housing Estate Tour led by Rico Samuel Diedering
3:00 – 5:00pm (The tour will be conducted in English)
Registration here
Friday, May 23rd
Workshop led by Design Trust Feature Grant recipient Niko Leung
1:00 – 4:30pm
Registration here
Saturday, May 24th
Sharing workshop led by Toshiya Hayashi & Hokuto Ando of We+
Saturday, June 7th
Design Trust Community Tours, Open House Hong Kong Special Edition
St.Stephen’s College Tour led by Kevin Mak and Connie Maoshao
10:30 – 12:30nn (The tour will be conducted in English)
Registration here
Stanley Neighbourhood Tour led by Sampson Wong
3:00 – 5:30pm (The tour will be conducted in Cantonese)
Registration here
Saturday June 14th
Design Trust Community Tours, Open House Hong Kong Special Edition
Ma Hang Housing Estate Tour led by Rico Samuel Diedering
3:00 – 5:00pm (The tour will be conducted in English)
Registration here
Wednesday June 18th
Design Trust Futures Festival 2025 Finissage SKETCHALOGUES
Registration here
Curators:
Marisa Yiu (Co-founder, Lead Curator/ Executive Director)
Zheng Zhou (Head of Programmes/ Associate Curator)
Participating designers, artists, architects, curators and collectives:
Henry Steiner, Elizabeth Diller, Kai-Yin Lo, Gary Chang, Joyce Wang Studio, Jacqueline Chak and Genevieve Chew of Editecture, Toshiya Hayashi and Hokuto Ando of We+, Lidia Ratoi, William Lim, Hou Jianan (with De Sarthe), Eddie Lui, Winnie Mak, Stephen Chun Hei Wong (with Gallery EXIT), Dominique Fung (with MASSIMODECARLO Gallery), Peep (with JPS Gallery), Judy Gee, Ngai Wing Lam, Frank Tang, Daphne Mandel, Ryo Matsuoka (with WKM Gallery), Joseph Munyao Mutuku (with Yenn and Alan Lo Foundation), Andi Fischer, Austin Bell (with Blue Lotus Gallery), Cynthia Mak (with JPS Gallery), Paribawga and Yuyang Wang, Danful Yang (with Pearl Lam Galleries), Maoshan Connie, Open House Hong Kong, Elaine Yan Ling Ng, Julie & Jesse, Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves, Chaklam Ng, Wang Xin (with De Sarthe), Chi Chun Tang and Leroy Yuen, Niko Leung, Inter-island Festival, Islanders, MAP Office (Gutierrez and Portrfaix), Leroy Cheng & Vanessa Ma, Island Studies Network, Florian Wegenast and Christine Lew, Donn Holohan, Yu Jianing and Winnie Heung, Gaau1 Up, Kevin Mak and Ken Fung with Chi Kai Wu, Ingrid Pui Yee Chu with Tap Chan, Leelee Chan, Ko Sin Tung and Ruyi Zhang, Billy Potts and Ben Marans, May Chow, Joya, Mengzy.
Design Trust would like to thank the following individuals and partners who supported this 2025 programme:
Elizabeth Diller, Kai-Yin Lo, Gary Chang, Jonathan Cheung, Kamsen Lau, Denise Lau, Dmitri Potshiko, Heidi Ho, Gabriela Kennedy, Ivan Pun, Alia Al-Senussi, Desiree Au, Margaret & Henry Steiner, Yama Chan, William Lim, Joyce Tam, Sylvia Chung, Catherine Kwai, Pascal de Sarthe, Elaine Choi, Kieran Ho, Human Wu, Charade Woo, Angelle Siyang-Le, Patricia Li, May Chow, Joya, Mengzy, Tap Chan, Tim Yu, Katerin Theys; Heritage Research Advisors: Puay-peng Ho, Wendy Ng; Production Partner: AdRegion; Lighting Design Advisor: Tino Kwan; and to all the dedicated artists, designers and architects involved in bringing this programme alive, alongside Board members, Trustee Council, International Advisory Council, and Greater Bay Area Design council.
Special thanks to: George Hongchoy, Emmanuel Farcis, Katherine Lo, David Ashton, the team of Link Asset Management Limited, and Southern District Office.
Design Trust Curatorial Team : Marisa Yiu, Zheng Zhou, Joel Yuyang Xiao, Nicole Chan.
Acknowledgements
Lead Organiser
Lead Venue Sponsor and Programme & Exhibition Co-sponsor
