DESIGN TRUST ANNOUNCES HONG KONG BASED DESIGNERS AND ARTISTS AS LEAD CREATIVE COLLABORATORS AND PRADA TO BE THE TITLE SPONSOR FOR ITS GALA DINNER IN 2021
Curated by Marisa Yiu in collaboration with William Lim, Elaine Yan Ling Ng and Mak Ying Tung 2 to create “WINTER PLAYSCAPES”
and honouring Henry Steiner, known as the "Father of Hong Kong Graphical Design"
Design Trust, a non-profit organisation dedicated to creating platforms that support and stimulate the positive process of design through grant-making, community engagement, and the promotion of creative expression in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area region, announces Prada as its Title Sponsor for the gala dinner in 2021. The partnership between Prada and Design Trust is grounded in a shared vision to produce and support world class creative projects that stimulate and facilitate cultural discourse and engagement across art, design and architecture. Returning as a title sponsor, since supporting the gala dinner in 2018, Prada will once again present the Design Trust Gala 2021 in support of play, community and collaboration. Themed “WINTER PLAYSCAPES”, the annual fundraising event will be held on 16 December 2021.
Returning after a two years’ hiatus due to the pandemic, this year’s Design Trust Gala is built around the theme of “WINTER PLAYSCAPES”, celebrating the seasonal juxtapositions of our city through creating an immersive playful and dynamic event set within a lush green environment. Design Trust Gala 2021 Lead Curator, Marisa Yiu, explains that, “A playscape is a piece of land sculpted for children's play, a structure on a playground, or an alternative type of play environment. Playscapes feel like a natural environment; however, landscape architects and designers are increasingly using the term to express areas of cities that encourage more interaction and enjoyment for all ages with inter-generational collaborations.” Yiu’s creative act brings together three Hong Kong based creative collaborators, William Lim, a renowned architect, an artist, designer, patron and collector to share his acumen of design; Elaine Yan Ling Ng, – one of Design Trust’s first grant recipients starting her work in Guizhou in 2015 on sustainable textile techniques, and today expanding new research on the role of material innovation ; and the youngest of three, is Mak Ying Tung 2, - a conceptual artist born in 1989, not defined by any medium; yet adding play and humour to contemplate contemporary issues through the study of Humanities.
The collaborators will create an environment that incorporates palm trees, sunflowers, building landscapes, and elements of Design Trust Futures Studio’s micro-parks that allows audiences to enjoy a natural setting as well as stimulate open dialogues. The immersive environment, together with a long ‘socially-connected’ table in this “WINTER PLAYSCAPES” will augment how we share and collectively build an optimistic, playful, safe and healthy future together. World-renowned artist Cao Fei’s Nova film will set the scene of the evening, and further in the evening a special performance by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble will also be staged at the Gala, inspired by field recordings of DESIGN TRUST parks project in Yi Pei Square Playground in Tsuen Wan.
26 lots will be auctioned this year, thanks to the kind donations from artists and friends of Design Trust. The Great Visionary Transformation of the Auspicious (2012) by Zheng Guogu, a large-scale painting that explores the lingering power of Buddhist iconography, was on preview at Christie’s Autumn Auction from 26 November to 3 December, followed by a live auction at the Gala. Please click HERE to view all auction lots. Highlight lots of the gala auction include:
The Great Visionary Transformation of the Auspicious by Zheng Guogu
Year: 2012
Dimensions: 198 x 138 cm
Medium: Oil on canvas
Egg's Odyssey by Elaine Yan Ling Ng
(for Nature Squared)
Year: 2021
Medium: Eggshell bio-ceramic
Dimensions: 6 objects of various dimensions
Let Yi Be by William Lim
Year: 2021
Dimensions: 60 x 75 cm
Medium: Oil on canvas
The Aesthetic of Brutalism Concrete Art by Mig Lau and Joe Ma of Moldflip
Year: 2021
Edition: Concrete art is a unique work. Artists own its artist copy.
Dimension: 60 x 60 x 2 cm(Thickness)
Medium: Concrete on plywood panel
COLLECTED MEMORIES 003 by Derry Ainsworth
Year: 2021
Dimensions: 6614 x 8268 pixels
Medium: Non-fungible token (jpg)
Minted on 8 October 2021
This work is unique
SUBLIME-LC1 by Minoru Nomata
Year: 1991
Medium: Hand-coloured lithograph
SUBLIME-LC1
Edition 17 of 35
Dimensions: 56.2 x 74.5 cm
Design Trust is proud to honour Mr. Henry Steiner at this year’s gala, where Mr. Steiner will be presented with the DESIGN TRUST LEGACY AWARD 2021 for his contribution to graphic design. Hailed as the "Father of Hong Kong Graphical Design", the 87-year-old Austrian graphic designer, who has been based in Hong Kong since the 60s, is the mastermind behind some of the most iconic brand identity and design projects, including the Hong Kong banknote for the Standard Chartered Bank, as well as logo creations for prestigious brands such as HSBC, The Jockey Club, Hong Kong Land, Unilever, and more.
“My excitement of being able to host and realize this year’s gala is beyond words and humbling to see so many collaborators come to support us,” says Marisa Yiu, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Design Trust. “It has been a very challenging 12-18 months for so many people and organisations, and I would like to thank everyone’s support from the bottom of my heart to make this year’s gala possible. We believe in design and the positive impact it brings to our daily life. This year’s theme ‘WINTER PLAYSCAPES’ is a collective testament to our community to gather and support the ongoing inspirational research, projects and ongoing granting projects to connect various generations, and which impact our city with optimism, energy and vibrancy of shaping our cultural community.
Design Trust Auction 2021
The Gala auction features an extensive collection of art, design and travel-lifestyle lots, each generously donated by our patrons including blue-chip galleries, collectors and luxury lifestyle purveyors. This year’s auction features artworks by Zheng Guogu, William Lim, Elaine Yan Ling Ng, Mak Ying Tung 2, Derry Ainsworth from Digital Art Fair, Minoru Nomata from White Cube as well as many other leading artists from Hong Kong and abroad.
The live auction will take place on the evening of Thursday, 16 December 2021 at the Design Trust Gala 2021 . The live auction will be available online through 3pm HKT on Wednesday, 15 December 2021, and continue in person on Thursday, 16 December 2021 during the evening of Design Trust Gala 2021. Online bids for live auction items will be close at 3pm HKT on 15 December 2021. We welcome absentee bids for the live auction by email by 3pm HKT on Wednesday, 15 December 2021. Please fill in Absentee Bid Form or contact sophie.zhou@designtrust.hk.
All the fundraising proceeds from the fundraising Gala will go towards building robust initiatives on to benefit the public, such as the DESIGN TRUST FUTURES STUDIO “Play is for the People” micro-parks programme that is ongoing with key projects opened in neighbourhoods in Hong Kong and ongoing, and Hong Kong’s forefront role in research grants, d esign development projects, and community programmes for Design Trust. Support us and click here for all the details: designtrustgala2021.com
For information, please visit: https://designtrust.hk
#DesignTrust2021
#WinterPlayscapes
@designtrust
@Prada
For media enquiries, please contact:
Carol Lo, carol@suttoncomms.com, +852 2528 0792
Cat Wong, cw@advisorycouncil.com, +852 9877 1010
Blair Ng, bn@advisorycouncil.com, +852 6083 0414
The Design Trust Gala 2021 Benefit Committee
Kamsen Lau, Marisa Yiu, Alan Lo, Joyce Tam, Denise Lau, Ivan Pun, Desiree Au, Alfred Lam, Emily Lam-Ho, Jonathan Cheung, Julia Liu, Nathan Clements-Gillespie, Rosey Chan, Shera Law and Stefan Rihs
The Design Trust Gala 2021 Organiser and Sponsors
Lead Organiser: Design Trust
Title Sponsor: Prada
Lead Curator: Marisa Yiu
Creative Collaborators: William Lim, Elaine Yan Ling Ng and Mak Ying Tung 2
Venue Partner: Ocean Park Marriott Hotel
Auction Partner: Christie’s
Champagne & Liquor Partner: Perrier-Jouët Champagne
Gala Production Partner: The Ad Region
Wine Partner: Bellefont Belcier
Media Partner: Vogue Hong Kong, Tatler Hong Kong
Communications Partners: Sutton, Advisory Council
Trophy Design Partner: LASVIT
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Marisa Yiu
Board of Directors
Kamsen Lau (Chairman), Alan Lo, Denise Lau, Gabriela Kennedy, Ivan Pun and Joyce Tam
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 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”.
Since 2018, DTFS has been working alongside public and private agencies including the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and Architectural Services Department. From January 2018 to April 2019, DTFS’ “PLAY IS FOR THE PEOPLE” programme was sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK), while Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation was the Education & Community Outreach Partner. As conceptual designer and lead organiser, DTFS led and engaged, conducted research and design four micro-parks as public spaces of the future. These locations include: Portland Street Rest Garden, Hamilton Street Rest Garden, the Sitting-Out Area under Hill Road Flyover, and Yi Pei Square Playground. The aim is to transform the micro-park designs into reality, with Architectural Services Department as the works agent and Leisure and Cultural Services Department as the client of the parks. Capital works and support for the construction of the Yi Pei Playground were sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and funded by the Hong Kong SAR government. The three other parks capital works are supported by the Hong Kong SAR government.
Seventeen mentees formed the four multidisciplinary design teams, accompanied by one mentor per group, to overlook the projects including advisors from different fields. Led by Marisa Yiu, the team of mentors consist of local Hong Kong-based architect Gary Chang (Founder, EDGE Design Institute) and artist, photographer and designer Stanley Wong (anothermountainman) alongside international mentors Mimi Hoang (Principal, nARCHITECTS, New York) and Sam Jacob (Principal, Sam Jacob Studio, London). Richard Hassell (Co-founder of WOHA) has also been providing ongoing support and guidance to the teams as international workshop mentor, along with Elizabeth Diller (Founding Partner, Diller Scofidio + Renfro) and her team, who shared their design philosophy and processes for the Highline and other public space projects at the DTFS 2018 Research Study Tour in New York.
About Prada
The history of Prada begins in 1913 when Mario Prada, Miuccia Prada’s grandfather, opened the first store in Milan. Located in the prestigious Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the exclusive Prada store offered luggage and luxury goods manufactured with the finest artisanal manufactures, using exquisite materials. The store soon establishes itself as elegant shopping destination for the most prestigious Italian and European customers, consolidating its role in 1919 with the title of Official Supplier of the Italian Royal Household, which allowed the brand to include the House of Savoy coat of arms and knotted rope insignia in its trademark logo.
Since then, Prada has been synonymous with cutting-edge style. Its intellectual universe combines concept, structure and image through codes that go beyond trends. Its fashion transcends products, translating conceptuality into a universe that has become a benchmark to those who dare to challenge conventions focusing on experimentation.
Prada is part of the Prada Group, a leading player in the luxury industry, which also owns Miu Miu, Church’s, Car Shoe and Marchesi 1824. The Group designs, manufactures and distributes ready-to-wear collections, leather goods and footwear in more than 70 countries through a network of 633 stores as well as e-commerce channels, selected e-tailers and department stores around the world. The Group, which also operates in the eyewear and fragrances sector through licensing agreements, has 23 owned factories and approximately thirteen thousand employees.