Launch of Design Trust Futures Studio 2022: “Heritage is Creative Generation”

Design Trust Futures Studio 2022 is launched. Building upon the spirit of Design Trust Futures Studio of the 2019 theme “Heritage is Innovation”, 2022’s edition will delve again into our rich heritage through crafting new dialogues around tradition and contemporary modes of cultural production. Curated by Marisa Yiu (Lead Curator/ Executive Director) with Lead Commissioning Partner Hong Kong Palace Museum and Programme Partner Project Twelve, esteemed mentors and mentees involved, the new theme focuses on "Heritage is Creative Generation" simultaneously challenging complex notions of inheriting and innovating to explore new synergies through experimentation, that pass on new meanings of our heritage onto future generations.

Twelve Hong Kong-based designers are empowered to research and reimagine a Chinese Zodiac by crafting new interpretations of past artifacts and sculptural objects with contemporary sensibilities. Together with Hong Kong Palace Museum, Design Trust Futures Studio explores creative making and sustainability of material craft in Hong Kong, within a global context, as well as the way we collaborate amid these challenging times.

Design Trust Futures Studio 2022 started with a series of roundtable discussion and sharing. Moderated by Lead Curator Marisa Yiu, the kick-off roundtable featured Cynthia Sah, Chelsia Lau, Dennis Chan, Kan Tai-keung, Chi Wing Lo, Anthony Lo, Edwin Chan and Freeman Lau. Starting from its kick-off edition on 17 March, 2022, the roundtable series have run from March to April in parallel to designer-mentees’ design process, providing inspiration for their new interpretation of the past zodiac works.

As a key milestone of Design Trust Futures Studio 2022, designer-mentees gathered on 28 April 2022 to share their final design concepts in the interactive online-offline hybrid review sessions with Lead Curator Marisa Yiu, master-mentors, advisors and guest critics. Participating master-mentors included Freeman Lau, Chi Wing Lo, Kan Tai-keung, Edwin Chan, Chelsia Lau, Cynthia Sah and Dennis Chan, while advisors Wang Yiyou Daisy, Tianlong Jiao, and guest critics Louis Ng (Director, Hong Kong Palace Museum), Eric Schuldenfrei (Head of the Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong) also joined the session and shared their feedback and advice.

Stay tuned for the final unveiling of the twelve new interpretations of Chinese Zodiac soon. More details here.