Necessary Edges: Reviving Birdcage Craft
This project explores the local craftsmanship of bamboo birdcage and its tools and fabrication process. This design research highlights the work of Master Chan Lok Choi, as a means to preserve his techniques, while documenting a ground-breaking collaboration with Japanese bladesmiths, so as to co-create modern replacements that facilitate cultural continuity and inspire new generations of craftsmen to learn this craft, and reclaim their craft legacy. By blending traditional skills with contemporary innovation, the project seeks to revitalise the tools for birdcage crafting and foster appreciation for this unique aspect of cultural heritage.
This project explores the local craftsmanship of bamboo birdcage and its tools and fabrication process. This design research highlights the work of Master Chan Lok Choi, as a means to preserve his techniques, while documenting a ground-breaking collaboration with Japanese bladesmiths, so as to co-create modern replacements that facilitate cultural continuity and inspire new generations of craftsmen to learn this craft, and reclaim their craft legacy. By blending traditional skills with contemporary innovation, the project seeks to revitalise the tools for birdcage crafting and foster appreciation for this unique aspect of cultural heritage.
- 2025
- Grantee: Dylan Tat Lun Kwok
A Hong Kong-born designer, began his creative journey after moving to Vancouver in his teenage years. Following studies in Toronto, he worked at Burdifilek in Toronto, contributing to interior projects for brands like Benefit Cosmetics and W Hotels. His passion for Nordic design led him to Finland, where he earned a Master's degree from Aalto University, winning a thesis award and a Helsinki design competition.
Upon receiving the Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award in 2009, he returned to his hometown. His innovative public space design, "Hack-a-Bench" (2017), and subsequent projects like the "蟲wormhole洞" installation at the 2022 Nanhai Earth Art Festival, have established his community-focused practice.
Dylan is also dedicated to preserving intangible heritage. He apprenticed under master craftsman CHAN Lok choi to learn traditional bamboo birdcage making, publishing the book "Open Birdcages" in 2023. In 2025, he founded "BOAF" an Offline Oasis in Mong Kok, continuing to bridge traditional craft with contemporary cultural practice.