Grant Recipients from the 2024 April Grant cycle:
“PLATANUS” by Samuel Yip, is an exhibition portraying a fictional residential property sales gallery tour with three chapters addressing the possible environmental hazards and changes to the existing neighbourhoods of KwuTung area. The exhibition prompts reflection on the balance between capitalist development, the preservation of nature, and the positioning of humans in the future. The exhibition is curated as an immersive journey, comprising three new media art installations with components from video installation, interactive devices, A.I. Technology and 3D-Point Cloud visualization. Traveling into the unknown future which is as well a fading past, this exhibition poses a question to audiences on how they weigh the envisioning of future with economic development versus the preservation of memories in nature and community.
“Pixelated Histories (PART II): Exploring the Hidden Stories from Islands in Hong Kong” by Leroy Cheng and Vanessa Ma, is a community engagement programme and a dynamic social initiative to engage the public in dialogue and action towards the sustainable development of the outlying islands. Through a series of interactive zine-making workshops, sharings and talks, as well as island guided tours, the project invites participants to explore the unique cultural heritage, environmental significance, and socio-economic dynamics alongside the island exhibition. By fostering dialogue and collaboration, “Pixelated Histories [Part II]” seeks to raise awareness and appreciation for the outlying islands among the general public in Hong Kong while promoting sustainable development practices and community empowerment, aiming to inspire collective action and foster a sense of ownership and responsibility for the future of these precious island communities.
“RE : SEW FOR FUTURE” by Sylvia Lai and Toby Crispy, seeks to reclaim the essence of the rich heritage of local sewing culture and reignite appreciation for the sewing traditions. Through the exhibition showcasing sewing machines and clothing tools from bygone eras, the project bridges the gap between the past and the future connecting the knowledge, the craftsmen, and the stories of our heritage, reigniting the value of clothing and fostering a culture of zero waste, circular economy and material upcycling. Through participatory workshops, the project also provides a space for reflection and creation as well as appreciation for the craftsmanship of garment-making through experience, while exploring a path towards a more sustainable and meaningful future for the textile and garment industry.
“Villa Moderne: In search of Hong Kong Post-war Modern Homes” by Alex Yuen, is an exploration, documentation and exhibition of post-war modern homes in Hong Kong built in the 1940s-90s. Along the southern shores of Hong Kong Island, in places like Shek O and Repulse Bay, most modern villas find their muse in the serene beauty of the French Riviera. These homes, rapidly emerging across the hilly and rocky terrains like Kadoorie Hill or Jardine's Lookout, or the urban garden city of Kowloon Tong, serve as enduring symbols of affluence in society and class distinctions soon after WWII. This project aims to expand the public's understanding of Hong Kong modern villas as a cultural heritage by creating a digital platform as well as a physical exhibition that aims to actively shift the focus of real estate sale of these properties from a purely profit-driven market towards a more design-led approach. This will involve mapping, documenting, modelling to foster an appreciation for the art of architecture.
“Interior Sketch Series: Cha Chaan Teng in Hong Kong and Macau” by Rolling Books, is a research survey publication of Cha Chaan Tengs in Hong Kong, where limited spaces are maximised to the fullest to fulfil its food and beverage function. Among local Cha Chaan Tengs, the owners/operators always make critical design decisions about how dining desks and chairs are positioned and how menus and cuisines are displayed. Continuing the success of the previous publication in indie book stores in Hong Kong, the project brings together Designer/illustrator Ikey Poon and writer Lui Ka-chun for journey to study a dozen of significant Cha Chaan Tengs from various perspectives through illustration drawings and artifacts study to reveal the spatial complexity of Cha Chaan Tengs as well as the unknown stories along the ever-changing urban context of Cha Chaan Tengs.
“Joinery Collection” by Yat Muk Studio, is a research survey examining 100 kinds of wood joinery craftsmanship from classic joints, Chinese Ming style to modern. This project aims to create a collective of wood joint listings, including traditional and innovative transformations from Chinese, Japan and western culture, showcase their names, photos, structure. The research will result in a book aiming to improve the public's knowledge on wooden joints while also preserving and protecting this traditional craft which is at risk of disappearing. The Joinery Collection project is a celebration of the resilience and innovation of traditional crafts and a reminder of their importance in our cultural heritage.
“This is Loofah?” by Yu Jianing, is a series of furniture designs that harness the inherent properties of natural plant loofah and bioplastics made from gelatine, resulting in a thoughtfully crafted fusion of new materials. The project explores potential ways to extend the natural properties of loofah(luffa) and applies it as an alternative material for furniture design. Different types of furniture are created to demonstrate the spatial privacy, weight efficiency, and material sustainability given by loofah. By employing an innovative manufacturing process, the loofah-based furniture not only offers durability for prolonged use but also presents an eco-friendly solution. The exploration transforms the underutilized and overpopulating loofah plant from rural China into functional and aesthetically pleasing furniture pieces.
“Tell me Concrete Stories” by Mirna Zordan and Enza Migliore, is a cross-disciplinary research project on the profound impact of concrete on urban life through the unique perspectives of construction workers, exploring how perceptions evolve from bystanders to builders, and how this material shapes cities and human experiences, culminating in design research aiming to inform future urban visions. The project aims to understand and interpret the city through the construction workers’ intimate, social, and physiological relationships with the material they are shaping. The goal is to characterize the cognitive and emotional properties of concrete as a fundamental interface of people with the built environment, transcending its merely technological, functional, and progressive nature, offering pathways for crafting more desirable built environments.
“Tile Tales: The lives and after-lives of iconic flooring” by Fizza Inayat Qureshi, Willie Siau and Stefan Luk, seeks to archive tessera tiles in Hong Kong and encaustic tiles in Sindh, which have phased out in favour of other building material over recent decades but have been revived as cultural memorabilia. It explores the socio-political and economic conditions that led to their once widespread adoption as the building surfaces of choice in both places, and inquiries into the more recent processes that have injected new cultural significance into the tiles. Through chronicling the remaining tiles in both regions and documenting the stories and memories around them, the project ultimately investigates how design plays an integral role in the process of remembering and creating ‘identity artifacts.’ By doing this, this project seeks to carry out the important work of preserving narratives, documenting cultural histories and tracing the life-cycle of iconic tiles.
