Jeff Leung, An Overview of the Transitions Undergone by Major Art Exhibition Venues during the Last Decade 概述十年藝術展覽主要場地的更替

8/18/2019 Jeff Leung, An Overview of the Transitions Undergone by Major Art Exhibition Venues during the Last Decade …

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/jeff-leung-an-overview-of-the-transitions-undergone-by-major-art-exhibition 1/17







專題論述 E An Overview of the Transitions Undergone by Major Art Exhibition Venues during the Last Decade

81

Hong Kong art became the focus ofattention upon the changeover of the territory’s

sovereignty in 1997. There appeared a number

of overseas exhibitions and articles which

embodied the views of Hong Kong people

on the handover by means of art. Thereafter,

Hong Kong art, with its sporadic exhibitions by

individual local artists, fell out of the limelight in

the international art scene. Rather, the series of

art activities sparked off by the July 1st protest

of 2003 and the conservation controversy on

the Star Ferry Pier (2006) and the Queen’s Pier

(2007) were the chief factors that stimulated

local cultural studies academics and the media to

focus once again on Hong Kong art. However,

research, verification and comprehensive

analysis on the overall development of Hong

Kong art have always been insufficient among

local art establishments (especially universities

and academies). Under such condition, art

activities became no more than “reference”

or “illustrations of cultural activities” of certainevents under certain social issues, which made

it impossible to open up further discussion. The

publication of Xianggang meishu shi (History

of Hong Kong Fine Arts)1

by Mainland scholar

Zhu Qi once triggered some discussions, but

the art world in general has not yet sensed theurgency of research on local art history and

the organization of archive material.2

With

inspiration from Xianggang shuhua tuanti

yanj iu (Study on Calligraphy and Painting

Organizations in Hong Kong)3

and “The Two

Phases of Independent Art Space Development

in Hong Kong”,4

I will look at the changes in

mainstream indoor exhibition venues over

the past ten years amidst the development of

contemporary art in Hong Kong, according to

my personal experience. My solitary effort is

only a drop in the ocean for the research on

Hong Kong art history, but I hope this essay

could call attention to the compilation of Hong

Kong art history among the art professionals.

Space is a major limitation affecting local

artists as well as the exhibition culture in

Hong Kong.5

In the early days, artists funded

themselves to hire venues for gather ings,

while exhibiting their works at the same time.6

With the foundation of the Hong Kong ArtsDevelopment Council (ADC) in 1995, and

the popularity of installation art at the time,

a number of art groups made use of the

ADC’s funding to hire retail and industrial

units and turned them into exhibition spaces

Translated by Chan Lai-kuen (Text)

Wong Xiangyi (Endnotes)

Leung Chin-fung Jeff



82

for installation art, hence a new culture of

exhibition space was brought into shape. The

relationship between art groups and exhibition

spaces became inextricable, as the art groupswere at the same time managers of the spaces

and vanguards of artistic trend that created the

proliferation of art spaces after 1997. With the

increasing institutionalization of art spaces, and

with exhibition bookings being at the point of

saturation, artists came up with the solution

of opening their studios for exhibition,7

thus

a myriad of studio openings and exhibitions

sprung up after 2001, creating the phenomenon

of “studios in factory buildings”.8

For those

without a studio, they endeavoured to holdexhibitions in places accessible to the public,

such as cafés, bookstores, shopping malls and

shops. Exhibitions in shopping malls are not

new in Hong Kong, yet they thrived again

after 2003 with the government’s boost to

creative industry (2003)9

and the launch of

the West Kowloon Cultural District (2004),10

with a twist in style from popular photographic

works and community art to works by

internationally renowned contemporary artists.

With the advantage of wide media coverage,

exhibitions in shopping malls have attracted

numerous contemporary artists, and have

hence become the new trend in exhibition in

the new millennium. It is just within expectation

that property developers made use of art

exhibitions as a branding strategy to pave the

way for entrance to the “West Kowloon”. At

the same time, as two major auction houses

made Hong Kong their bases for auctions of

Asian contemporary art, together with thebooming art auction market and extensive

media coverage, all these served as catalysts for

the proliferation of international art exhibitions

in shopping malls and the continuous growth in

number of small to medium scaled art galleries

in the territory. There were only a few galleries

representing Hong Kong contemporary art,

but today various new galleries focusing on

Mainland art also include Hong Kong artists in their exhibitions. They have not yet created a

market for Hong Kong art, but they do serve as

alternative exhibition venues for local art.11

Pioneers of Art Space –

Exhibition Venues in the 1990s

and before

Before the inauguration of the Hong Kong

City Hall in the 60s, there seemed to be no

formal venue for art exhibition in Hong Kong.

Exhibitions were held in hotel ballrooms orchurches, known examples were the lobby

of St. John Ambulance Headquarters and the

gallery of Joint Publishing (H.K) Company.12

Subsequently, the Hong Kong City Hall (1962)

and the Hong Kong Arts Centre (1977)

became major exhibition venues for modern

art. Although the various city halls and civic

centres in Hong Kong should be providing a

considerable quantity of exhibition venues,13

their bureaucratic practice and expens ive

hiring charges were no longer compatible with

contemporary modes of art practice.14

With

the overwhelming popularity of instal lation

and mixed media art, art spaces with flexibility

such as the Hong Kong Arts Centre and the

Fringe Club still fell short of demand, which

gave rise to the emergence of self-started

exhibition spaces and mode of practice.15

From

the two-day exhibition “Waiwei” (Outside,

1987) in the big house at 15 th Kennedy Road,16

Quart Society which transformed a residentialunit into a darkroom and exhibition space,

17

to “Artist-in-Western Project” of Para/Site18

held in a rented ground floor retail unit,19

all

these reflected the incapability of traditional

exhibition space for accommodating the




83

transformation of contemporary art in Hong

Kong, thus artists were compelled to search for

their own space. This indicated that exhibition

spaces were becoming increasingly flexible,mobile and transitory, creating a culture of a

“borrowed place, borrowed time”.20

Era of the “Art Space”

Quart Society founded in 1990 was the first

art space founded in the 1990s in Hong Kong.21

Subsequently, Artist Commune,22

Para/Site

Art Space, 1a Space, and the Museum of Site

came into being around 1997, each with its

own distinct direction and character.23

Wong

Shun-kit, who moved to Hong Kong from the Mainland, is one of the founders of Artist

Commune. He connected the organization

with avant-garde art in the Mainland, since

then, Artist Commune has become a window

to Hong Kong art for Mainland artists. Born

amidst the trend of installation art, Para/Site

placed emphasis on facilitating the promotion

of contemporary art in Hong Kong, thus has

laid the cornerstone of its curatorship-based

direction.24

Para/Site persisted in publication

of a visual arts journal, alongside producing

exhibition programmes and holding seminars,

since then it has become a model for art

activities for other art spaces to follow.25

The

Oil Street Artist Village was formed in 1998.26

Z+ of Zuni Icosahedron27

and 1a Space were

born inside the complex, while at the same

time Artist Commune had moved in from

an industrial building, making it a major site

for contemporary art exhibitions in Hong

Kong. After the end of the “Oil Street Era”(1998-2000), Z+ was closed, while other art

spaces were relocated temporarily in the old

Kai Tak Airport and the Cheung Sha Wan

Slaughterhouse. In 2001, Artist Commune,

1a Space and Videotage moved into the

ex-Ma Tau Kok Animal Quarantine Depot

in To Kwa Wan (Cattle Depot), which was

the largest exhibition hub in continuation of

the spirit of Oil Street. At first visitors werescarce due to limited accessibility, but after the

exposure brought by art festivals and book

festivals held there and media coverage, it had

once won immense popularity; the present

image of Cattle Depot Artist Village was thus

established. Ever since the commencement

of the “Cattle Depot Era”, three prominent

art spaces formed a cluster, each developed

in its own way: Videotage continued its

distribution work, at the same time hosted

exhibitions of various media; 1a Space carriedon its emphasis on curatorship, while playing

an active role in exhibiting works by young

artists (Plate1); Artist Commune maintained

connection with Chinese avant-garde artists

located in different parts of the world and

exhibited their overseas works periodically

(Plate 2). 1a Space and Artist Commune still

owned the biggest exhibition spaces; as the

trend of installation art began to wane, both

these two spaces and Para/Site in Sheung Wan

developed into the “white cube” format, each

in different occasions pinpointed site-specificity,

locality and community participation in their

development of thematic and curatorial modes

Plate 1 “aWay: Group Exhibition of Contemporary

Visual Artists”. 1a space, Hong Kong. 2006.



84

of the ADC’s One-Year Grant, these art

spaces were required to be corporatized and

institutionalized,31

to submit annual overall

targets and direct ions, and to proact ive lyschedule their plans and to present exhibitions.

For instance, 1a Space and Para/Site have each

held international conferences on the issue

of art spaces,32

so as to establish their global

positioning and networking. Subsequently their

international exchange activities have become

more frequent, and this period marked the

height of prosperity for the local art spaces.33

They responded to the trend of globalization in

contemporary art by gradually placing focus on,

and advocating the culture of curatorship.Apart from developing various creative

media and curatorial directions, the art spaces

also broke new ground in administration.

Para/Site became the first art space to hire

a full-time overseas curator in 2005, and has

held solo exhibitions for world-renowned

artists such as Cao Fei, Laurence Weiner and

Dennis Oppenheim (Plate 4).34

In 2007, eight

major art institutions (including the three art

spaces) joined hands to co-present October

Contemporary , indirectly facilitating cooperation

among the art spaces, which had been working

in isolation.35

Plate 3 “Shanghai Street Artspace” at Yau Ma Tei.

Plate 2 “Hong Kong sCULpTURE” Exhibition. Artist

Commune, Hong Kong. 2005.

Plate 4 In 2005, Para/Site Art Space was moved from

no. 2 to no. 4 of Po Yan Street.

of exhibition, as if they were exhibition centres

for contemporary art in Hong Kong.

Besides, Shanghai Street Artspace (SSA)

project was launched by the ADC in 1999

(Plate 3).28

The ADC accepted annual proposals

from community organizations and sponsored

them to run the space and hold exhibitions,

while requiring part of the exhibitions to be

related to community culture. Throughout the

years, the SSA has created the ambiance of a

“community gallery” and has contributed to the

development of Art Map29

and cradled new

art groups.30

Since 1997, under the conditions




85

public openings of such studios in industrial

districts, the first self-started cross-studio

exhibition took place in 2001. It was organized

by a group of teachers and students at the FineArts Department of the Chinese University of

Hong Kong, who had rented units in the Wah

Luen Industrial Centre in Fo Tan.40

Due to lack

of publicity, the initial openings only attracted

fellow artists and friends. However, after years

of persistence, it has attracted a great deal of

media exposure and public interest. Other artists

in the same district joined in,41

and the annual

“Fotanian – Fotan Artists Open Studios” was

created (Plate 5).42

At the same time, students

at the Hong Kong Art School had set up studiosin Ming Pao Industrial Centre, and hosted

the exhibition “Kaizha” with accompanying

seminars to complement the launch of their

studios in 2002.43

It succeeded in attracting

media coverage and public attendance, thus

could be considered the first successful example

of large-scale “open studio”,44

but as artists

started to move out subsequently, the event

was discontinued eventually.

By opening up the studio for exhibition,

each artist has his or her own expectations.45

From administrative perspective, it is of utmost

importance to gain total independence and

flexibility in terms of form, content, exhibition

Post-Exhibition Space: “Studio

Cluster” in Industrial Buildings

after “Studios”

As the various art spaces matured, in order to obtain grants and to achieve sustained

development, their programme schedule

became increasingly busy, while exhibition

booking became saturated, and gradually they

won the acknowledgement of the government

and funding bodies. This led to the inevitable

result of the “centralization of the marginal”

which limited their flexibility and room for

experimentation.36

For instance, a proposal

by an external organization or artist to hold

exhibition in such art spaces would need to besubmitted half or a whole year in advance, and

would need to wait for an approval. While the

supply of such spaces for hire to independent

artists or art organizations has not increased, it

was necessary to look for new opportunities and

space. Rising to the occasion at the economic

downturn immediately before and after the

outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong, artists found

it easy to rent units in industrial buildings as their

studios, where they also exhibited their works

as a means to attract invitations to exhibitions.

These studios became new exhibition sites after

the art spaces aforementioned.37

Studio opening is no novelty. As part of the

Fringe Festival in the mid 1990s, artists’ studios

were open to exhibit their works.38

These

included workshops that doubled as galleries

(1983-1996),39

and the “Artist-in-Western”

studios in Sai Wan (1996), which were first

used as workshops and then transformed into

exhibition galleries. Whereas after the year2000, “studio clusters” have been formed by

a myriad of studios in close proximity to each

other, and the trend of exhibiting the studio’s

natural condition alongside the artworks has

emerged. Though there had been sporadic Plate 5 Poster for “Fotanian Open Studio 2007”.



86

dates and to achieve full autonomy of the artist,

for instance, freedom from the administrative

work involved and the limitation on availability

in the use of art spaces and other exhibition

venues, and to be free from intervention of

the curator. “Fotanian”, a self-financed, annual

event featuring opening of a group of studios

at the same time, has created a new artistic

community culture of the “Shop (exhibition

space) in front and home (studio) at the back”.

At first, it was difficult for an exhibition in Fo

Tan to attract visitors because of its remote

location, but as it caught media coverage as a

long-standing annual event, and has obtained

commercial sponsorship,46

it has transformed the otherwise private factory space into a

brand new exhibition venue. Thereafter

similar events sprouted in other parts of the

city,47

with Kwun Tong’s industrial zone being

the most outstanding counterpart.48

Apart

Plate 6 “LEAP—Local East-Kowloon Art in Progress”

organized by teachers and students at the Hong

Kong Art School. Sing Win Factory Building,

Kwun Tong. 2006.

Plate 7 Osage Gallery opened a Kwun Tong branch in

2004.

from the curatorial oriented “LEAP—Local

East-Kowloon Art in Progress” (2006) (Plate

6) organized by teachers and students at the

Hong Kong Art School who had rented units in

Sing Win Factory Building,49

Osage Gallery has

opened a Kwun Tong branch in 2004, which

expanded soon after moving in the location,

and has become Hong Kong’s largest private

exhibition space (Plate 7). Part of the artists

who moved out of the Ming Pao Industrial

Centre moved into Chai Wan Industrial City,

where a number of photographers have set

up studios, making this another industrial zone

with exhibitions held at irregular intervals. The

media tended to compare these studios inindustrial buildings with other art communities,

such as the Cattle Depot in To Kwa Wan, Foo

Tak Building in Wan Chai,50

and the Jockey

Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei

(Plate 8),51

so as to highlight the variety of local




87

art communities. By “studio clusters”, I refer

to those gathered naturally in commercially

run factory buildings, as set apart from

those officially organized ones run by certaininstitutions. These studio clusters in industrial

buildings were characterized by a culture of self-

motivation and simple organization. The post of

the organizer would change from one project to

another, while the exhibitions were in the form

of an aggregation with the individual studio as

a unit, with unified publicity. Compared to art

spaces, the organization of studios were loose

with no specific core members, exhibitions

were self-financed without the tendency to

develop into officially sponsored art groups.

Obviously their development was influenced

by the property rental market,52

but by now

this cluster has already attracted a considerable

number of artists and local galleries,53

the

number of exhibitions to come is guaranteed,

and the atmosphere is bound to last.

Alternative Guerrilla Attacks –

Exhibitions Outside the Venue

Artists (especially new, nameless or stillin school) were unable to rent officially run

exhibition halls and art spaces due to various

reasons, therefore industrial units, shops

on the first storey or above, and shopping

mall lobbies have become their temporary

exhibition sites. Apart from those events

which the curator invited collaborating artists

and poets, such as CityPoetry (2001) held in

show windows in various shops in Central,a number of bookstores and café have also

provided exhibition space after the year 2000.

Though equipped with basic exhibition lighting,

these spaces are small and informal, often

limited to the walls adjacent to bookshelves

or dining tables, therefore quite often only two

dimensional works could be accommodated.

Some of the shop proprietors welcome

proposals as they aim to combine art, business

and living.54

This kind of mini exhibitions is most

advantageous in attracting media coverage, andboth the store/café and the artists can access

each other’s clientele, thus creating a two-way

publicity channel. Some “first floor bookstores”

(bookstores located on the first storey or

above in commercial buildings) have also

hosted exhibitions. Apart from photography

or paintings by individual artists, curated

exhibitions tend to fuse visual art with literature,

resulting in a mix-media approach that aptly

suits the context of a bookstore.55

Examples

are “Qiuying shi huazhan” (Qiuying Poetry

and Paintings Exhibition),56

a commemoration

of the poetry journal’s anniversary, and

“C—Alternative Reading on Text” (Plate 9);57

Plate 8 Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei.

Plate 9 “C—Alternative Reading on Text” Exhibition.

Mackie Study, Causeway Bay. 2005.



88

bustle of Prince Edward) were artist studios

that doubled as exhibition space.60

After Para/

Site’s “Para/Site Central” lodging in Hanart TZ

Gallery,

61

which is just the size of an exhibitionpanel, White Tube62

is perhaps another tiny

exhibition space, making use of corridors

outside classrooms for small scaled exhibitions

by students and alumni of the Hong Kong Art

School (Plate 11). Unconventional exhibition

sites are more often home for new media

art, for example, “Upstairs • Downstairs—a

dialogue with Hong Kong” (2005) located in

the Broadway Cinematheque and its bookstore,

and “Project Big Bang” (2007) which took place

in a ground floor retail unit of an industrialbuilding on a temporary lease. Because

conventional venues are not always able to

provide professional technical aid or facility,

it is a necessity for new media art exhibitions

to conduct very comprehensive exhibition

design and layout, in whatever kind of space

they exhibit. Therefore, based on curatorial or

resource consideration, to hold an exhibition in

a shopping mall or a public space actually could

fetch more visitors and attain greater flexibility

of space usage.

Exhibitions in Shopping Malls

Some artists believe that metropolitans

some accompanied book launches by the

exhibiting artists, such as Xinhua dongwu lieqi

(Xinhua Animal Hunt)58

and Studio Hong

Kong—London.59

Now there are not manyexhibitions held in “first floor bookstores”, but

more often they take place in major stores such

as Joint Publishing Company (Hong Kong) in

Wan Chai, Cité Bookshop, Xin Hua Book City

and Commercial Press in Tsim Sha Tsui, which

have set up function rooms and exhibition areas

for cultural activities or exhibitions.

The number of exhibitions per month has

been on the rise, thanks to ADC’s sponsorship.

Whereas due to lack of funding or curatorial

considerations, different kinds of exhibitions

have never stopped to develop in alternative

venues, especially in small or private spaces.

“Prison Art Museum” (2007) (Plate 10) and

“The Hong Kong Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale

of Urbanism / Architecture” (2008) are two

examples where exhibitions were held in the

historical monument, Victoria Prison, with art

works displayed in prison cells and offices. Some

chose to exhibit in residential units due to

curatorial reason, such as “Jiashi” (Home Affairs,1999) and “Kaiwu” (Open Home, 2007), while

Artiststudio: Arthome (Sik On Street, Wan

Chai), Mr 221, Studio Bibliothèque (Fo Tan),

and C & G Artpartment (a painting studio cum

exhibition space located above the hustle andPlate 11 “White Tube” situated outside the classrooms

on the 10 th floor of the Hong Kong Arts Centre.

Plate 10 “Prison Art Museum” Exhibition. Victoria Prison

Compound, Central, Hong Kong. 2007.




89

today do not frequent museums, therefore

exhibiting in a shopping mall becomes a more

effective alternative to reach the public.63

A

number of group exhibitions came to thescene upon the rise of curatorial culture, such

as “ART Windows” in various shop windows,64

and “Box, A Hong Kong Exhibition” featuring

art works by various artists in display cases

in Langham Place.65

While “arttube” remade

from a retail unit at exit J of Mass Transit

Railway Hong Kong Station, and “Roving Art”

— a series of cylindrical showcases in various

train stations, are among the considerably-

scaled venues that exhibit Hong Kong art on

a regular basis.Since the initial proposal of the West

Kowloon Cultural District was scrapped and

is waiting to be redrawn, the number of

exhibitions held in shopping malls has risen

drastically, with those in Times Square and

Sino Group venues being the most impressive

in scale. The Sino Group has not only provided

free venue or co-presented the exhibitions,

but has also dedicated in the promotion

of art by creating the “Art in Hong Kong”

programme which consisted of exhibitions

with accompanying seminars and workshops,

and has increased the number of permanent

exhibition venues from one to three.66

Three-

dimensional works by renowned contemporary

artists have been exhibited in Times Square for

a number of times, they graced the atrium on

the second floor as well as the outdoor plaza,

attracting passersby to take photos (Plate 12).

Other shopping centres such as the Taikoo

Place in Quarry Bay, Three Pacific Place in Wanchai, and Langham Place in Mongkok, all

have hosted art exhibitions from time to time.

Exhibitions with popular themes are much

more fitting in these places than avant-garde

or experimental art, but they never lack artist

participation, as exhibitions in shopping malls

can draw wide media attention, thus enhanceartists’ exposure.

Gallery Exhibitions

Before 1997, there were only a handful of

art galleries representing local artists, including

Hanart TZ Gallery, Alisan Fine Arts, and

Art Beatus Gallery. They were also veteran

galleries representing contemporary art from

the Mainland. John Batten Gallery and Grotto

Fine Art, opened in 1997 and 2001 respectively,

were both small scaled galleries who persisted

in representation of Hong Kong art. Their

founders have written prolifically about Hong

Kong art, besides being active promoters

of Hong Kong art to collectors. Apart from

the above galleries that worked closely with

local art, the number of galleries featuring

contemporary art has risen remarkably from

2005 to 2007.67

Among them many were

founded by art aficionados and artists, such as

UMA G in Wanchai (2005-2007), YY9 Galleryin Happy Valley (opened in 2004), and Edge

Gallery in Causeway Bay (opened in 2007)

whose founders each runs an architectural and

interior design business, apart from being agents

of contemporary art.

Plate 12 “Black Sheep” Exhibition. Times Square,

Causeway Bay. 2007.



90

The Pottery Workshop founded in the 80s,

OP fotogallery in the 90s,68

Too Art (Plate 13)

in 2005,69

and “hulahoop” gallery in 200770

are all small-scaled artist-run galleries. Thoughspace is generally limited in new galleries in

Hong Kong, they provide room for thematic

exhibitions of two-dimensional art works such

as painting and photography. Galleries with a

Hong Kong focus such as Grotto is a rarity,

but Grotto has facilitated the rise of a group of

young artists such as Chow Chun-fai and Lam

Tung-pang, making lives as “full-time artists”

possible. In addition, a number of newly opened

galleries started to feature local artists, attracting

more local talents to exhibit in galleries so as to gain knowledge of the local market and

to explore the possibilities of going full-time.

As a result, galleries have become another

stronghold for exhibition favoured by Hong

Kong artists.

Post-exhibition Era

The number of exhibitions held in

unconventional venues has been on the rise,

as the demand for exhibitions grows daily.

The exhibition spaces are characterized by

unique geographic location, dates and scale

of exhibitions, thus the artist is compelled toconsider the influence of such factors on the

display and interpretation of art works. In the

face of never-ending supply of exhibitions

in unconventional venues, the listings and

promotional features in popular magazines

often confuse the reader, making him /her

unable to tell whether a certain event is actually

a short-term exhibition or a promotional event

by artists or a store in the shopping centre. As

one is surrounded by exhibitions everywhere, a

“post-exhibition” ambiance is thus created.I think the transitions that exhibition

venues have undergone reflect the changes

in the mode of practice among visual arts

organizations in Hong Kong. From the 60s to

the 70s, art organizations were mainly founded

by active artists who advocated new concepts

and styles in art by grouping like-minded artists

and holding exhibitions consistently. In the

80s, the organizations gathered for the chief

purpose of hosting joint exhibitions, thus group

exhibitions conveying various ideas were often

produced. Artists at the time strayed out of

the beaten track of conventional venues to

find the ideal site for their new art forms, such

as installation or performance art. In the 90s,

the One Year Grant of the ADC prompted

the existence of “art space” organizations

which run their own exhibition spaces. Based

in their respective sites, the art spaces have

motivated different modes of exhibition, from

the initial, more mainstream direction of thecritique of the nature of exhibitions and local

identity,71

to the grand direction of “out of the

exhibition hall, into the community” during the

era of the “art spaces”, which the art spaces

materialized by absorbing and creating annualPlate 13 “Too Art” was set up in the Hong Kong Arts

Centre in 2005.




91

plans for various curatorial projects. Therefore,

the term “art spaces” does not only mean the

venues that inspired discussions and trends

within the art industry, but has also becomea synonym of major art organizations in the

1990s. The plunge in property market and

economic downturn of post-SARS Hong Kong

enabled more art studios to sprout in various

districts, especially in industrial buildings. Due to

location and rent prices, more studio clusters

formed by artists with different art forms and

backgrounds have emerged. A different team

of artists served as organizers for each studio

opening, this reflects that artist groups have

transformed from ins titut ions to regionalaggregation, with organized annual exhibitions

transformed into short-term alliance. Exhibition

venue management, however, is still the core

of power in this densely populated city, and

space is still a crucial factor in the development

of Hong Kong art.

Leung Chun-fung Jeff is Independent Curator

1 Zhu Qi, Xianggang meishu shi (Hong Kong:

Joint Pub lishing (Hong Kong) Company Limited,

2005).

2 Leung Chin-fung, “Ji ‘HistoriCity’— Xianggang

yishushi shuxie yuanzhuo zuotanhui,” Hong Kong

In-media (20 October 2007). See http://www.

inmediahk.net/node/261562.

3 Zhang Huiyi, Xianggang shuhua tuanti yanj iu

(Hong Kong: Department of Fine Arts, Chinese

University of Hong Kong, 1999).

4 Cheung Mei and Crystal Lai, “The Two Phases

of Independent Art Space Development in Hong

Kong,” in Howard Chan and Cheung Mei, eds.,

In-between International Community-initiated Art

Space (Hong Kong: 1a space, 2002), p. 133.

5 Oscar Ho, “Loujia yu yishu xingshi,” Hong Kong

Economic Journal, 26 Nov 2003, p. 28.

6 Tsang Tak-ping, “The Experience of Establishing

an Experimental Art Space in the Grassroots

District,” in Zhang Fenglin, ed., Complement and

Supplement: Appreciation of Hong Kong Installation

Art (Hong Kong: Step Forward Multimedia

Company Limited, 1999), pp. 179-189.

7 Cheung Mei, “Zai gongye dasha de chuangyi

tiankong,” Hong Kong Economic Times, 24 Sept

2003, C18.

8 “Dushi kaihuang,” Hong Kong Economic Journal,

8 Feb 2006, p. 28.

9 Research Department, Hong Kong Arts

Development Council, “Hong Kong Cultural

Affair Record (2003)”. See http://www.hkadc.

org.hk/rs/File/info_center/reports/200402_hk_

cultural_events_2003.pdf.

10 Research Department, Hong Kong Arts

Development Council, “Hong Kong Cultural

Affair Record (2004)”. See http://www.hkadc.

org.hk/rs/File/info_center/reports/200501_hk_

cultural_events_2004.pdf.

11 Olivia Chung, “Too Close for Comfort,” Muse

Magazine, 2007, no. 9, p. 42.

12 For information on exhibitions, see Zhu Qi,

Xianggang meishu shi; Alex Ng, Sheying zazhi:

Xianggang sheying 20 nian (Hong Kong: Pop Art

Group Ltd, 2007).

13 See note 6.

14 Leung Po-shan, “Cong ‘gongzuo shi’ daobi kan

bendi zhanchang kongjian,” in Lai Kin-keung and

Leung Po-shan, eds., Cong guodu kuayue qianxi: qi

ren shiyi pinglun zixuan wenji (Hong Kong: Hong

Kong Arts Center, 2002), p. 181.

15 Tsang Tak-ping, “Jiushi niandai Xianggang de

yishu kongjian,” in Chan Yuk-keung and Mok Kar-

leung, eds., Hong Kong Visual Arts Yearbook 1999

(Hong Kong: Department of Fine Arts, Chinese

University of Hong Kong, 2000), p. 30.



92

16 Oscar Ho, “ ‘Waiwei’: yi ge lishixing de zhanlan,” in

Lai Kin-keung, ed., Xingcai fengliu: Xianggang shijue

wenhua shihua (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (Hong

Kong) Company Limited, 2002), pp. 72-75.

17 “Xianggang linglei kongjian lishi jianbiao,” in Howard

Chan and Cheung Mei, eds., In-between International

Community-initiated Art Space, p. 33.

18 “Para-site,” the antecedent of “Para/Site”, lasted four

months. See Leung Chi-wo, “Arts Space in Para/Site

and Hong Kong,” in Navigating the Dot: 50 th Venice

Biennale, Artists from Hong Kong, China (Hong Kong:

Hong Kong Arts Development Council, 2003), p. 20.

19 See note 15, p. 33.

20 See note 18, p. 19.

21 See note 15, p. 33.

22 Artist Commune was founded by core members of

the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundat ion in 1997. Its

earliest registered address was Cheung Fat Industrial

building, Shek Tong Tsui.

23 For the origin of each art space, see Tsang Tak-ping,

“Jiushi niandai Xianggang de yishu kongjian” and

“Xianggang linglei gongjian lishi jianbiao”.

24 See note 6.

25 Well-known followers include “White Tube” initiated

by teachers and students of Hong Kong Art School

(corridor at 10/F, Hong Kong Arts Centre) and their

White Text , and the “Shanghai Street Artspace” run by

Creative Arts Department of The Hong Kong Institute

of Education in 2005-06.

26 In 1998, Government Property Agency leased units

at the old building of the Government Supplies

Department at Oil Street in North Point at a low

price. Many artists and art organizations were attracted

and thus rented them. The “Oil Street Artist Village”

was named as it resembled the East Village in New

York. Many local visual art organizations, including

Artist Commune, 1a space and Positive Null, moved

into the Oil Street Artist Village and made it the most

important exhibition site at the time. In October 1999,

Hong Kong SAR Government decided to retrieve the

building for urban reconstruction when the leases

termin ate d in Dec ember tha t yea r. Af ter some

confrontations and negotiations, the government

finally agreed to provide artists with the Cattle

Quarantine Depot in To Kwa Wan, Kowloon, under

a 3-year lease, and promised to renew the lease if

such a renewal would not effect future development

of the land.

27 For Z+, see Chan Yuk-keung, “Xianggang zhuangzhi

yishu—xie zai 2000 nian” in Chan Yuk-keung and Mok

Kar-leung, ed., Hong Kong Visual Arts Yearbook 1999,

p. 53.

28 In 1999, Hong Kong Arts Development Council,

with the support of Home Affair Bureau and Land

Department, rented with a small sum of money No.

404, ground floor, Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei

and made it an exhibition venue. Its purpose was to

encourage art creation and promote the development

of visual arts in Hong Kong by providing a free

exhibition venue for art organizations and artists. Also,

it aimed to offer more opportunities for the public to

participate in and learn about visual arts.

29 Art Map was established in 2001 and Art Map

Limited was registered to be non-profit-making

arts organization in 2002. It was entrusted with the

management of the “Shanghai Street Visual Art Space”

from 2003 to 2004. For more information, see Lau

Kin-wah, ed., Yishu ditu: zhanlan + chuban 2001-2005

(Hong Kong: Art Map Limited, 2006).

30 Department of Creative Arts and Physical Education

of The Hong Kong Institute of Education was

entrusted with the management of the “Shanghai

Street Artspaces” from 2004 to 2006 (http://www.

ied.edu.hk/news/html/2004/20040806_c.html). Later,

some members formed an art body to run the space.

For details, see “Renwen fengjing” anchored by

Zhang Zhuoxiang at Radio 1, RTHK (29 September

2007) (http://www.rthk.org.hk/asx/rthk/radio1/

CultureTalk/20070929.asx).

31 See note 18, p. 20.

32 Alice Jim, “In-Between / Space Traffic: Premising Art in

Hong Kong,” Space Traffic: Artist-run Spaces beyond a

Local Context (Hong Kong: Para/Site Art Space, 2002),

pp. 115-120.

33 Para/Site Collective formed by some members of the

Para/Site was selected to participate in La Biennale di

Venezia in 2003, which confirmed the achievement

of arts space in Hong Kong.

34 Clarence Tsui, “Fresh Canvas,” South China Morning

Post , 22 March 2005, C6.

35 “Shiyue ‘zai’ duli”, Hong Kong Economic Journal , 8

October 2007, p. 39.

36 Tsang Tak-ping, “Ziwo zhongxin shuo bianyuan,” Hong

Kong Economic Journal, 17 January 2002, p. 32.

37 Cheung Mei, “Zai gongye dasha de chuangyi tiankong,”

Hong Kong Economic Times, 24 September 2003, C18.

38 During the “Fringe Festival” (renamed as “The Annual

City Festival” from 1998) held by Hong Kong Fringe

Club in the years of 1993, 1994, 1997 and 1998, some

artists’ studios were open to visitors. See “Xianggang

linglei kongjian lishi jianbiao”.

39 For the history and mode of “studio”, see Howard

Chan and Cheung Mei, eds., In-between International

Community-initiated Art Space, pp. 33, 133.

40 In 2001, the exhibition “Huihua jiaju” (Painting

Furniture) was held in the “Yi Liu Painting Factory”. In

the meant ime, students at the Fine Art s Department

of the Chinese University of Hong Kong held the “318

Studio Opening”. See Lam Tung-pang, “Cong huotan

dao huotan,” Twenty-first Century , vol. 101, June 2007,




93

pp. 11-13.

41 Artists and art organizations that participated in the

“Open Studios” of “Laohuo xintan (2003)” and that

of “Fotanian (2004)” were different. Since then, there

have been different units tha t joined or withdrew from

the “Open Studios” each year .

42 For a brief history of Fotanian, see Leung Po-shan,

“Retreating from the Forefront of Organization: the

Example of Artists in Fo Tan Industrial Area,” in Mok

Kar-leung and Chan Yuk-keung, eds., Hong Kong Visual

Arts Yearbook 2003, pp. 112-125.

43 Choi Wing-sze, “Bangong bansi, fenxiang yu canyu,” in

Tang Ying-chi, ed., Oasis: Artists’ Studios in Hong Kong

(Hong Kong: Hongya chuban youxian gongsi, 2007),

p. 157.

44 The exhibition was held in six artists’ studios in Ming

Pao Industrial Centre, Chai Wan, on 5, 6 and 12

October 2002. See “Jiang gongchangqu jiancheng

yishu shequ,” Wenweipo, 28 October 2002, A20.

45 For viewpoints of different artists, see Tang Ying-chi,

ed., Oasis: Artists’ Studios in Hong Kong .

46 In 2007, Fotanian obtained sponsorship from Sino

Group for advertising and printing, and financial

supports from other private sectors.

47 Examples included N ai dau artspace in Central (2005-

2006), Black Spot (since 2007) and Artiststudio in Wan

Chai (since 2007).

48 Sherry Lee, “Industrial Action,” South China Morning

Post , 21 October 2004, C5.

49 “LEAP—Local East-Kowloon Art in Progress” was

held in six artists’ studios in No.15-17 of Sing Win

Factory Building, Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong, on

17-19 February 2006. The exhibition was composed

of shows designed by different curators in different

studios exhibiting various living status of artists.

50 Tenants of the Foo Tak Building are mainly art

organizations. For details, see Yeung Hiutong,

“Chengshi yu xiwang xilie zhi faxian yishu (2) liaojie

Fude lou—wei yu naoshi de wenhua yishu kongjian,”

Artslink , July 2005, pp. 2-3.

51 Huang Jieyu, “853 dazao Shixiawei chuangyi zhongxin,”

Wenweipo, 26 November 2006, C1. See http://paper.

wenweipo.com/2006/11/26/YC0611260002.htm.

52 Oscar Ho, “Chuangzuo kongjian de sheng yu si,” in

Tang Ying-chi, ed., Oasis: Artists’ Studios in Hong Kong ,

p. 11.

53 In 2007, Hanart TZ Gallery and the newly established

Blue Lotus Gallery purchased units in the Wah Luen

Industrial Centre in Fo Tan. In 2006, 10 Chancery

Lane Gallery set up its gallery in the Chai Wan

Industrial City. These galleries held exhibitions and

activities irregularly. In 2004, Osage Gallery was open

in Kwun Tong Industrial Area, putting up exhibitions

regularly.

54 Examples included Culture Club, Les Artistes Café,

DY Club and “Shiyi hang” Tea Shop.

55 Chan Sai-lok, “Xishuo ‘Qiuying shi huazhan’ yi ci zai

erlou shudian ‘niqing woyuan’ de meili xiangyu”. See

http://www.hkbobby.com/qypoetry/exhi_con.htm.

56 “Qiuying shi huazhan” consisted of fourteen

exhibitions, which lasted for about one year (May

2004 to June 2005). It was curated by Chan Sai-lok

and He Di of the Qiuying Poetry Society and held in

Violet Books in Mongkok.

57 Exhibition entitled “C—Alternative Reading on Text”

was curated by Nian jiu ji (29s) Publisher and Leung

Chin-fung, held in the Mackie Study, Causeway Bay,

from 23 May to 3 July 2005. See http://www.29s.org/

exh_mac/c.html.

58 “Kwai Tsing Amusement Park and Xinhua Animal

Hunt—Sculptures by Wong Tin-yan” (Exhibition

Gallery, Kwai Tsing Theatre, from 19 January to 5

February 2006; Xinhua Book City, from 7 February

to 16 March 2006) was one of the exhibit ions of t he

“Artists in the Neighborhood Scheme III”.

59 Accompanying the publication of a new book entitled

Studio Hong Kong—London, an exhibition of the same

title was held in the Activity Area of Tsim Sha Tsui

Books Centre of the Commercial Press from 14 to

18 October 2007.

60 C&G Artpartment Gallery, located in a retail and

residential space at Sai Yeung Choi Street in Prince

Edward, was established by artist Clara Cheung

and Cheng Yee-man who once worked for Artist

Commune. See http://www.candg-artpartment.com/

index_CHI.html.

61 “Para/Site Central” lodging in Hanart TZ Gallery was

established in 2001 and run by Para/Site Arts Space.

See http://www.para-site.org.hk/central/central.htm.

62 “White Tube”, formerly known as The Art School

Learning Centre Galleries, was established in 2001 at

the East Town Building. In May 2004, it moved to the

corridors outside the classrooms on the 10 th floor of

the Hong Kong Arts Centre. See www.whitetube.org.

63 See note 14.

64 “ART Windows”, curated by Sabrina Fung, invited

local artists to display their art works in various shop

windows. See http://artwindows.sffahk.com.

65 “Box, A Hong Kong Exhibition”, curated by artist

Simon Birch and The Great Eagle Group, displayed art

works of various artists and designers in glass cabinets

in different parts of the Langham Place from 29 June

to 31 J uly 2005.

66 Three exhibition venues included ground floor of

Olympian City I, the lobby and corridor of the 1st floor

of Central Plaza in Wan Chai, and the basement of

Hollywood Plaza in Sheung Wan (the exhibition hall

was leased to a commercial gallery in 2008 and thus

no longer available).

67 Leung Chin-fung, “The ‘Ecology’ of Visual Art in Hong



Kong—A Response to Carol Lee,” White Text ,

2007, no. 4, pp. 101-102.

68 See note 17.

69 For the background of “Too Art”, see http://

www.tooart.com.hk.

70 For the background of Hulahoop, see http://

www.hulahoop.hk/home.html.

71 Oscar Ho, “Zhanlan cehua de fazhan,” in Chan

Yuk-keung and Mok Kar-leung, eds., Hong Kong

Visual Arts Yearbook 1999, p. 26.

Documents

Jeff Leung, An Overview of the Transitions Undergone by Major Art Exhibition Venues during the Last Decade 概述十年藝術展覽主要場地的更替