Hong Kong Youth Art Culture - Where is it going?
Hong Kong Youth Art Culture- Where is it going?
Art culture in Hong Kong for the past decade has been quite minimal. Although events such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival and Asian Film Awards occur annually, the arts and culture-enriching ventures have not been in the very forefront of the public’s mind— until now. Hong Kong’s government has been putting effort into facilitating the growth of the city’s creativity with the West Kowloon Cultural District, but how have the people been changing?
The arts and culture of a region is simply defined by the people who live and breathe it, and in Hong Kong the youth are impacting it more and more. In a quest to seek out real life examples of this, I found LOCAL Hong Kong.
LOCAL Hong Kong is “a digital magazine that reports on the latest happenings of culture and lifestyle in Hong Kong”. The magazine is founded and run by students of The University of Hong Kong, and its two most recent productions demonstrate the full strength of the youth and creativity itself. The first is “「尋找童年寶藏」Childhood Treasure Quest” a short film born of nostalgia for the 1990s childhood. The film centres around the SPI backpack, a staple for primary and secondary students alike during that time. The second is “S.E.E. Differently”; the first exhibition at HKU that combines art and community and service in order to “promote the understanding of social enterprises… from a different perspective”. The exhibition achieved this beautifully through many different pieces; including the artwork of disabled employees of the social enterprises, and films and posters detailing their lives in a fresh, accessible and creative way. Following the exhibition, I had the chance to interview the director of LOCAL Hong Kong, Tony Chiu, and ask him some questions relating to Hong Kong’s art culture.
What is your background, how did you become interested in and then prepare yourself for the industry of film?
I study History and Journalism. I have always been very interested in documentaries since my childhood, but I didn’t realise I could do it myself until I went to university and joined a media team. I didn’t really prepare for this. For things like these, you just have to cease every possible opportunity and see where it takes you.
With reference to "SEE Differently", how did you come to work with the social enterprises?
With SEE Differently, I approached a newly opened social enterprise, U Deli, on HKU campus for a short news-story in March. Very soon, I got interested in how these kinds of shops work inside a school environment. I dug deeper and made a short documentary out of it. When I finished, as with a lot of filmmakers, I wanted to show it to as many people as possible. So I made it into a small exhibition about social enterprises at HKU.
Where do you think Hong Kong art culture is heading, where do you think it should be going?
I think Hong Kong art is becoming better and better. People are getting more exposed to art, regardless of whether they are interested or not. Art here is no longer for the elite. It can be done and experienced by anyone, from anywhere at any age, abled or disabled.
How should the youth be involved with arts and culture in Hong Kong? Do you think its important?
I think the youth are quite involved with arts and culture already. You don’t form culture, you live it. If a person can’t find anyways to be involved, it most likely means he/she is not that interested in it. If you are interested in arts and culture, you should be doing it already. Regardless of age. Don’t wait for others, just do it yourself.
From this, there is no doubt that Hong Kong’s art is reaching a new era, and its youth are right at the forefront.
Interview and images above are courtesy of LOCAL Hong Kong, which can be found at http://www.localhongkong.com/
