DESIGN TRUST ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL AND HONG KONG BASED DESIGNERS, CURATORS AND ARTISTS AS LEAD CREATIVE COLLABORATORS
FOR ITS FUNDRAISER on SATURDAY, MARCH 18th 2023
&
HONOURING DR. VICTOR LO for DESIGN TRUST LEGACY AWARD 2023,
CELEBRATING CHI-WING LO for his pursuit of timelessness,
and CAO FEI for her contemporary artistry.
All fundraising proceeds go towards ongoing design research, community projects and cross-cultural programmes.
(Hong Kong, 6 March 2023) Design Trust, a charity and grant funding and community platform established in 2014 by Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, a registered charity in Hong Kong since 2007, announces the launch of Design Trust Auction 2023 with the theme “The Art of Presence, Hong Kong”. The annual fundraising gala event and charity auction will be held on March 18th, 2023, featuring 45 lots of artworks and experiences generously donated by galleries, artists, architects, and friends of Design Trust. Returning from a hiatus due to the uncertainty of the pandemic in the past years, this year’s Design Trust charity event is built around the theme of “The Art of Presence, Hong Kong” inspired by curatorial dialogues between Master Chi Wing Lo & Marisa Yiu, Lead Curator & Co-founder of Design Trust.
Marisa Yiu, Co-Founder, Lead Curator and Executive Director of Design Trust, said: “Design Trust Gala 2023 is centred around the theme ‘Art of Presence, Hong Kong’, that celebrates the alluring power of both presence and absence as a philosophical gesture, artistic and material manifestation of humanity, and optimism that restores community connection and collaboration. ‘Art of Presence, Hong Kong’ also evokes deepened awareness, resilience, mindful presence, and the importance of connection within interpersonal relationships.”
With both Live Auction and Silent Auction, the charity event will feature an extensive collection of art, design, and experience lots, each donated by patrons, including blue-chip galleries, collectors, and luxury lifestyle purveyors. This year’s auction will include works by Tsang Tsou-choi, William Lim, anothermountainman (Stanley Wong), Zaha Hadid, Jaffa Lam with Axel Vervoordt, Danh Vo with White Cube Gallery, Brian Rochefort with MASSIMODECARLO as well as many other leading artists from Hong Kong and abroad, with Phillips Auction House as auctioneer.
All fundraising proceeds go towards ongoing design research, community projects and cross-cultural programmes, such as DESIGN TRUST FUTURES STUDIO micro-parks programme that is ongoing with key projects recently opened in the neighbourhoods in Hong Kong; future partnership programmes in Greater Bay Area, education, design development projects, and grants for the DESIGN TRUST, focusing on the community, sustainability and Hong Kong’s forefront role in design and creativity. The invitation-only event Design Trust Gala 2023 will welcome a luminous register of world-renowned creatives and arts patrons, and stakeholders to gather in benefit of the registered charity. Since its foundation, Design Trust has supported and stimulated design research, cross-cultural collaboration and public arts programming in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, and continues to nurture the design industries through research grants that enrich the artistic landscape of the region. Thanks to the generous support of the Regent Hotel and Mrs Yama Gaw, Co-Chair of Design Trust Gala 2023 Benefit Committee and Trustee of Design Trust since 2017, this year’s venue has its own decades-long legacy of being a gathering point for Hong Kong’s diverse creative communities across design, media, architecture and more, symbolising a convergence of interests that makes it an ideal host venue. The charity event also marks the first time that Design Trust Gala is taking place in March, enlivening the spirit of creative collaboration in the lead up to Hong Kong Art Week and Art Basel Hong Kong. Creative performances, Hong Kong designers and artists involved include Henry Chu, Batten & Kamp, Xiaolin & Stephanie Teng; unique sensory experiences by Adelaide Tam, Niko Leung & Xavier Tsang are also being crafted for the guests of the private evening fundraising event.
Yiu added: “With many years of physical and mental disconnection, we are proud and excited to physically gather our community to continue celebrating creativity and collaboration. I am also delighted to welcome internationally famed designer and creative visionary Chi-Wing Lo to the helm as a curatorial collaboratorof Design Trust Gala 2023. His inspirational and influential body of work has inspired many creatives around the world, courtesy to designs that timelessly showcase subtle yet powerful elegance, ingenuity and form. I can think of no more apt collaborator than Lo to help Design Trust express The Art of Presence, given his lifelong exploration through craft, material presence and balance of Eastern and Western philosophy to transform our understanding of the world around us.”
Chi-Wing Lo, who also served as the lead designer of the reimagined Regent Hotel, will be honoured alongside Dr. Victor Lo and Cao Fei with the foundation’s showpiece awards, as part of Design Trust’s mission to advocate for the positive value of the processes of design. Former Chairman of the board of M+ and titan of industry Dr. Victor Lo, who owns one of the world’s leading collections of Chinese ink art, will be honoured as a longstanding champion of the creative industries. Cao Fei is one of China’s most recognised artists, whose multi-media work that examines the daily life of Chinese citizens born after the Cultural Revolution has been exhibited at some of the world’s foremost galleries, museums and art fairs, including her seminal exhibition Blueprints at Serpentine Gallery in London in 2020 supported by Design Trust Feature Grant.
Design Trust Auction 2023 will be available online through https://designtrust.hk/designtrustgala2023 from Friday, 3 March 2023 to 3pm HKT on Friday, 17 March 2023, and continue in person on Saturday, 18 March 2023 during the evening of Design Trust Gala 2023. Online bids for live auction items will be close at 3pm HKT on 17 March 2023. Silent Auction will continue until 11pm HKT on Saturday, 18 March 2023 (Design Trust reserves the right to change the closing time). We welcome absentee bids for the live auction by email by 3pm HKT on Friday, 17 March 2023. Please fill in Absentee Bid form or contact gala2023@designtrust.hk for further inquiries.
Please help us raise critical funds by participating in our auction or by making a donation. For questions about auction items or making a donation, please contact by email gala2023@designtrust.hk or call at +852 2739 6889 .
For further information, please visit: https://designtrust.hk
#DesignTrust2023
#DESIGNTRUSTAUCTION2023
#theArtofPresenceHK
@designtrust
The Design Trust Gala 2023 Benefit Committee
Co-Chairs: Yama Gaw, Marisa Yiu, Kamsen Lau and Jonathan Cheung.
Alan Lo, Denise Lau, Ivan Pun, Desiree Au, Elizabeth Chu, Lars Nittve, Alfred Lam, Aric Chen, Krizia Li, Alia Al-Senussi and Leslie Tsang.
Honouring Dr. Victor Lo for Design Trust Legacy Award 2023 and
Celebrating Chi-Wing Lo for His Pursuit of Timelessness,
and Cao Fei for Her Contemporary Artistry.
Design Trust Gala 2023 Organiser and Sponsors
Lead Organiser: Design Trust
Venue & Hotel Partner: Regent Hong Kong
Gold Sponsor: Sino Group and Ng Teng Fong Charity Foundation
Curators: Chi Wing Lo and Marisa Yiu
Creative collaborations with Henry Chu, Batten & Kamp, Xiaolin & Stephanie Teng, Adelaide Tam, Niko Leung & Xavier Tsang and Zheng Zhou.
With local crafts artisans Fanson Lam, Nathan Wong & Hazel Lee.
Auction Partner: Phillips
Champagne & Wine Partner: Ruinart and Minuty
Gala Production Partner: The Ad Region
Media Partners: Tatler Hong Kong
Vogue Hong Kong
We would also thank other media partners for covering the event.
Media Relations & Communications Partner: Rubison
Trophy Design Partner: AE Folio
Design Trust
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Marisa Yiu
Board of Directors
Kamsen Lau (Chairman), Elizabeth Chu, Denise Lau, Gabriela Kennedy, Ivan Pun, Jonathan Cheung
Individual Trustees
Victor Lo, Yama Gaw, Alan Lo, Daryl Ng, Joyce Tam, Joanne Chow, Yvette Ho, Vanessa Cheung, Angelina Kwan, Desiree Au, Ariel Shartkman, Bosco Law, Justin Ng, Jo Soo Tang, Stephanie Lo, Charmaine Ho, Kristine Li.
Corporate Trustees
Chinachem Group
Chuang’s Consortium International Limited
International Advisory Council
Eva Franch, Beatrice Leanza, Liu Xiaodu, Rodman Primack, Thomas Heatherwick, Lyndon Neri, Lars Nittve, Zoë Ryan, Tom Dixon, David Gianotten, Giovanni Alessi Anghini, Liza Chong.
Greater Bay Area Design Council
Arnault Castel, William To, Eric Schuldenfrei, Aric Chen, Stephanie Poon, Winnie So, Ole Bouman, Tat Lam, Cole Roskam, Suzy Annetta, Keith Tam, Kate Jones, Marc Cansier, Clara Brito, Rong Zhao, Human Wu, Keith Lam, Helen So, James JJ Acuña, Manfred Yuen, Yoko Choy.
About Design Trust (https://designtrust.hk)
Design Trust was established in 2014 by Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, a registered charity in Hong Kong since 2007, as a grant funding and community platform. Design Trust supports creative projects that develop expertise, build research initiatives and content related to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. Working across a multiplicity of design disciplines from graphics, media, architecture to the built environment, Design Trust aims to actively accelerate creative research, design and development of meaningful projects that advocate for the positive role of design.
About Design Trust Futures Studio (https://designtrust.hk/DTFS/)
Design Trust Futures Studio (DTFS) is a long-term flagship programme that makes visible the processes and positive role of design in the culture of contemporary design and production. The programme stems from a project-studio concept that promotes life-long collaborations through a mentor-mentee programme. DTFS is a cross-disciplinary initiative created and conceptualised by Marisa Yiu, Co-founder and Executive Director of Design Trust. Experts from different fields will contribute to the mentor-mentee teams in the exploration of materials, production, and put forth the positive value of design of public spaces in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and internationally. In 2017 we examined the theme of smallness in Hong Kong and how it can be harnessed to create meaningful change with the theme “Small is Meaningful”. The 2018 edition continued this momentum with a new theme “Play is for The People” in designing and creating new micro-park designs for Hong Kong. In 2019, the theme and concept is focused on “Heritage is Innovation”, exploring the difficult yet animated definitions of Hong Kong identity, what it means to be a tourist or touring, shaping conversations on "Conservation", and finding new ways to open up heritage sites to build new narratives of the role and place of heritage – not as a static subject but a dynamic living and inspiring process. In collaboration and partnership with Project Twelve and Hong Kong Palace Museum, the 2022 edition “Heritage is Creative Generation” was an accelerated version of DTFS, looking into how the act of collaboration and experimentation can creatively passed on to future generations, to generate and inform new material techniques whilst respecting tradition.
Venue & Hotel Partner:
About Regent Hong Kong
Reborn and reimagined
A new chapter unfolds on Victoria Harbour with the return of Regent Hong Kong.
Generations of unforgettable experiences, thoughtfully re-envisioned, along with immersive new
delights.
Discover a rare haven for those seeking discreet luxury.
Amidst the unexpected harmony of Chi Wing Lo’s visionary design – majestic yet serene – find balance and connect over seamlessly curated moments that uplift and inspire. Here the experience is personal, the grandeur intimate, the dining decadent – all stunningly staged with the city’s best harbour views.
Inspiring discoveries await
https://hongkong.regenthotels.com/
Media Inquiries:
Any inquiry on Auction and Gala event related to Media or Press, please kindly connect to Design Trust, press@designtrust.hk, +852 27396889 and we will involve our communications partners to follow-up directly. Thank you!