Design Trust, a leading organization supporting the design communities in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, is thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of its annual fundraising event, the Design Trust Decade Gala and Charity Auction 2024. Held on Friday, 22 March 2024, at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, the event brought together esteemed guests, influential sponsors, and creative minds to celebrate the transformative power of design.
Under the theme "The Art of Doubling" the Design Trust Decade Gala 2024 showcased the remarkable achievements and potential of design in shaping our built environment and fostering cultural dialogues. The event was graciously led by Co-founder and Executive Director, Marisa Yiu, whose visionary leadership has been instrumental in driving the organization's success.
Dior and IWC Schaffhausen, two renowned brands committed to supporting the arts and design, served as Lead Sponsors for the Gala, reaffirming their dedication to nurturing creativity and innovation in the region. Their generous contributions played a pivotal role in making the event a resounding success. A highly anticipated event on the city’s social calendar, this year’s gala again brought together a selection of the region's most influential creative talents, art and design connoisseurs, and captains of industry for a true celebration of the vibrancy and exuberance of Hong Kong design and creative communities.
The event also served as a platform to honour outstanding individuals in the design community. The Design Trust Legacy Award was presented to Professor Yung Ho Chang and Ms. Lijia Lu, Founders of Atelier Feichang Jianzhu (FCJZ) by Dr. Henry Steiner (Design Trust Legacy Award 2021 Honouree) and his wife Mrs. Margaret Steiner, in recognition of their prolific contributions to contemporary architecture design practice and education. Additionally, renowned designer and architect Dr. Rocco Yim, a Hong Kong native, received the Design Trust Heritage Innovator Award by Kamsen Lau (Chairman of the Board of Directors, co-Chair of the Benefit Committee) and Marisa Yiu ( Co-Founder/Lead Curator, co-Chair of the Benefit Committee), for his significant architectural design contributions to the region, including his role as the lead architect of the Hong Kong Palace Museum on the West Kowloon Cultural District and many important projects for his 40 years career path and journey since winning the 1983 First Prize Award for the L’Opéra de la Bastille international competition. Five pairs of creatives, Azusa Murakami & Alexander Groves, Leung Chi Wo & Sara Wong, Michael Young & Xavier Tsang, Julie Progin & Jesse Mc Lin, Bob Pang & Kevin Mak were announced as the co-recipients of the Design Trust Dynamic Duos Arts Prize 2024 celebrating past ten years of Design Trust.
The Gala showcased collaborations by Event Design Leads Victoria Tang-Owen & Christopher Owen with the event scenography inspired by the curatorial theme “The Art of Doubling”, Victoria Tang-Owen and Christopher Owen created around the concept of “Ao Tu” featuring poetic hand-painted panels as tabletop, “Ao Tu” ceiling organza installations and modular seating installations that enlivens the spirit of collaboration and generosity. With the ‘The Art of Doubling’ theme in mind, Victoria was inspired to develop a concept that showcases core traditional Chinese aesthetics with a modernised approach. Working with the concept of “Aotu / 凹凸”, she decided to reverse engineer and use AI tools to generate a symbolic hand-painted artwork based on the Design Trust’s 10th Anniversary colour palette. This process involved Victoria initiating a series of design prompts and refining AI-generated imagery, further engineering prompts to develop sequential images. As the visuals developed, some may recognise the resemblance to the transitions of skyline and sea horizons found in Chinese landscape paintings. Her intention was to create an abstract work that would serve as a conversational centrepiece - a piece that represents the duality of technique, aesthetic and message.
World renowned emerging artist-designer duo, and Design Trust Dynamic Duos Arts Prize co-recipients Azusa Murakami & Alexander Groves of Studio Swine (Design Trust Futures Studio 2019 Mentors) created “New Spring” as a feature installation presented at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, and travelled to the Continental (by the Upper House) for the Decade Party during the evening for the “The Art of Doubling” -Double happenings event theme. Their inspiring and interactive installation introduces ephemeral elements into a captivating new setting: delicate mist-filled ‘blossoms’ that vanish upon contact with skin, yet can be gently cradled by visitors equipped with fabric gloves. New Spring is part of their ongoing series they call ‘Ephemeral Tech’, where the conventional boundaries between digital technology and the forces of nature dissolve, giving rise to otherworldly phenomena crafted from tangible materials that engage all the senses.
A special debut of two songs that were specially crafted were performed the evening. Since November 2023 Ashley Lin and Eric Chong have been creating a new music piece based on the Design Trust Futures Studio Micro-parks programme. Inspired by the cyclic nature of the city and by how the Sitting-out Area under Flyover in Hill Road Park weaves into the urban fabric, “River” - a contemporary jazz piece by Eric Chong and Ashley Lin is an exploration into the phenomenological and mythical elements of public space and “Strangers” were played the evening. These two unique pieces will be recorded for wider release in benefit of Design Trust’s 10th-year anniversary activities this year and to engage the public on the powerful role of design and public space to impact and improve community life.
Reflecting on the event, Marisa Yiu, Co-Founder, Lead Curator, and Executive Director of Design Trust, expressed her gratitude and excitement for the profound impact of design on society. She thanked the entire patron and design community for their sponsorship, tables sponsors to Trustees, and very importantly, all the special unique editions of Art, Design auction lots, donated to the Charity cause with highlights auctioned off by double auctioneers Jonathan Crockett and Danielle So of Phillips Auction. Feature lots included William Lim’s micro-parks painting called “An Urban Miracle”, Freeman Lau and Frog King ink art special collaboration, Zaha Hadid Design partnership with Karimoku – a metallic finished unique oak Chair edition for Design Trust Decade Gala; Dr Henry Steiner poster designs to Hong Kong artist Movana Chen’s extraordinary works, and many more international gallery donated works from Friedman Benda, Hauser & Wirth to Massimo de Carlo gallery. The live auction and pledge sessions were successfully facilitated by Phillips Auction House and, featured exceptional pieces donated by designers, artists, and friends of Design Trust. Yiu emphasized the importance of design collaborations and the role they play in building vibrant communities and inspiring positive change. Yiu highlighted the organization's decade-long commitment to nurturing emerging designers and scholars, promoting experimental ethos, and bridging heritage values with design innovation.
Fundraising proceeds will also go towards a launch and announcement in May 2024 on a new regional mentor-menteeship programme under the DESIGN TRUST FUTURES STUDIO programme on the Greater Bay Area, a new research platform on shaping an Architectural Archive on Hong Kong of project-based histories, to a new partnership on a Graphic Archive Research Fellowship programme whilst supporting ongoing Granting projects and public space development projects.
