A Map of Hong Kong ́s Hidden Music Scenes

  • Research drawing. Image courtesy of Diego Jarvier.
  • Event poster. Image courtesy of Diego Jarvier.

This project is a map of the musical peripheries of Hong Kong from within visiting, studying drawing and photographing the often ephemeral music venues, and then analysing them in reference to the city’s real estate dynamics and socio-political context, interviewing the main stakeholders, and reading the stories behind the music with the goal of deciphering the role of creative production in the current context of Hong Kong. The project provides an alternative understanding of the struggles over placeness in the city through the lenses of emergent culture, showcasing creative “tactics” to achieve diverse opportunities in a tightly controlled society.

This project is a map of the musical peripheries of Hong Kong from within visiting, studying drawing and photographing the often ephemeral music venues, and then analysing them in reference to the city’s real estate dynamics and socio-political context, interviewing the main stakeholders, and reading the stories behind
the music with the goal of deciphering the role of creative production in the current context of Hong Kong. The project provides an alternative understanding of the struggles over placeness in the city through the lenses of emergent culture, showcasing creative “tactics” to achieve diverse opportunities in a tightly controlled society.

Milestone

2019.Q4
Project awarded Design Trust Seed Grant

2020.Q4
Exhibition and zine publication

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2019
Grantee: Diego Caro Serrano

Diego Caro is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Hong Kong and a teacher assistant of History of Modern Architecture and Architecture and its Discourses. His fields of research are History & Theory of Urbanism and Urban Spatial Restructuring under Global Capitalism. He has presented his ongoing work on Madrid’s Ciudad Lineal at UC Berkeley and the Second urbanHIST Conference in Stockholm, and his studies on contemporary Hong Kong have been shown in renowned conferences and publications such as the 18th IPHS conference in Yokohama.

Before commencing his PhD he worked for over 7 years as architect and urbanist in renowned offices of Spain, Japan and China, including Kengo Kuma, Vector Architects and Neri & Hu. From 2017, he has developed the blog Broadway 128 on urbanism and art, and he is also a keyboardist and composer of the Hong Kong- based band Cracklebox.