STORIES OF MARKET: HONG KONG EVERYDAY LIVES IN COMICS

Organiser: Hong Kong Arts Centre (Comix Home Base)

Participating Artists:

·         CHI-TAK LI 利志達

·         LAI TAT TAT WING 黎達達榮

·         CHOCOLATE RAIN BY PRUDENCE MAK 麥雅端

·         STELLA SO 蘇敏怡

·         ISATISSE 湯欣樂

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong Arts Centre (Comix Home Base) with a Landmark Showcase of Hong Kong’s Creative Comix IP

Hong Kong Culture & History × Comix Innovation × Art Tech

The Hong Kong Arts Centre (Comix Home Base) (HKAC (CHB)) proudly present a grand exhibition marking the 20th Anniversary of HKAC (CHB). Five of Hong Kong’s most iconic comic artists—Chi-tak LI, LAI TAT TAT WING, CHOCOLATE RAIN by Prudence MAK, Stella SO, and ISATISSE—will bring their original comix IPs to the heart of the city, showcasing them to the public through this exhibition!

This brand-new exhibition, themed around Hong Kong IPs and their integration with the local community, will be the inaugural large-scale cultural event at Urban Renewal Authority (URA)’s new landmark, The Hall in Central. Drawing inspiration from the vibrant urban scenes of Graham Market, five original character IPs created by Hong Kong artists will be brought to life through diverse forms, including comics, illustrations, large-scale sculptures, and inflatable figures. In addition, a series of AI-generated animations featuring the five IPs will be specially created for the show. The exhibition highlights Hong Kong’s original IPs while interweaving the history and human stories of the city’s market culture.

Highlights of the Graham Festival

As one of the key events of the Graham Festival, the exhibition will feature colourful stalls showcasing artworks and nostalgic-style comic character blind boxes. Mini stalls will be set up around the century-old Graham Market in Central, where comic characters transform into street vendors selling local specialities and fresh products. This vividly captures the energy and human warmth of Graham Market, making it an integral part of Hong Kong’s cultural branding.

Central, as an international financial hub, is also a vital crossroads of East and West. With growing interest from both visitors and locals in cultural experiences of old city streets—especially in the collective memories of local history and people—the concepts of conservation and revitalisation of historic buildings have gained momentum, aiming to leave a lasting cultural imprint for Hong Kong.

2GATHERHK× Graham Festival

2GATHERHK has long been dedicated to organising cultural preservation activities with strong local characteristics, infusing ‘Hong Kong sentiments’ into artistic creations and breathing new life into old streets. As early as 2020 and 2024, the Urban Renewal Authority commissioned 2GATHERHK to host multiple cultural promotion activities at Graham Market, continuing to pass on the heritage of old city streets.

This year, the Graham Festival once again presents a series of interactive community programs. Together Network has invited local artist Kate Kam to collaborate with students from the Youth College under the Vocational Training Council, enrolled in Diploma of Vocational Education programs in Design & Print Media, Mechanical Engineering, and Image Design. The students will explore the historical stories of old city markets and interpret the traditions and neighbourhood spirit through diverse art forms. They will also design innovative product packaging for selected Graham Market vendors, promoting authentic local souvenirs and creating new business opportunities, while attracting more visitors and residents to experience the unique cultural charm of this century-old market.

During the Graham Festival, two Pop-up Stores will showcase creative Hong Kong souvenirs and artworks, alongside free interactive workshops open to the public—bringing comic creativity into everyday life.

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STORIES OF MARKET: HONG KONG EVERYDAY LIVES IN COMICS EXHIBITION

Exhibition Period

·         Date: 2 April – 5 May 2026

·         Venue: Activities Hall, B/F, The Hall  (23 Peel Street, Central)

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Special Edition Exhibition Merchandise: ‘Green Stalls’ × Hong Kong IP Blind Box

‘Green Stalls’ is a project centred on the nostalgic and century-old Graham Market in Central, dedicated to promoting and preserving traditional outdoor market culture. Four unique local comic characters transform into vendors at iconic green stalls, selling fresh local produce, highlighting Graham Market's vibrant evolution, human warmth, and status as one of Hong Kong's distinctive cultural brands.

About the Artists

CHI-TAK LI

Chi-tak Li began his career in the comics industry in 1982. He self-published Tong Men Shao Nian, a prominent title which rocketed him to fame in 1987. He has since developed a distinctive art style, creating his own visual world with eerily experimental works that broke genre rules. Li’s transmedia creations transcend the boundary of comics and expand into movies, experimental theatres, literature, pop music and sculptures. The poster that he created for Hong Kong (China) local sci-fi action movie Warriors of Future has been widely praised. 

Li is also well-known in the international comics scene. His comics have been published in places like Japan, Taiwan (China), Malaysia,the Mainland, France, and Italy since the 1990s.

In 2016, the Hong Kong Arts Centre jointly curated Li’s solo exhibition entitled Li Chi-tak, Hong Kong Wizard with the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France. He is the first Hong Kong comics artist to hold a solo exhibition at this renowned comics festival. Later, he was invited to participate in the BD Louvre project, alongside publishing the comic book titled Moon of the Moon (French and Chinese versions) in 2019.

His recent publications include romance comics Yum Sui, comics that pay homage to Franz Kafka's literary classics Kafka, children comics A Little Strawberry (2022 & 2024 Reprint Edition), In the Path Artworks Collection Book, Heroes, etc.

In 2022, Hong Kong Arts Centre awarded Honorary Fellowships to Li, recognising his invaluable contribution to the arts sector in Hong Kong and Asian region.

LAI TAT TAT WING

Lai Tat Tat Wing, a Hong Kong independent comics artist. Lai claims a rich portfolio of conceptual and experimental comics publications. He has published 25 comic books in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, France and Italy from 1995-2025. He was twice invited to the renowned Angoulême International Comics Festival in France in 2008 and 2011.

CHOCOLATE RAIN BY Prudence MAK

Chocolate Rain, founded in 2000, is a distinctive local design brand inspired by childhood dreams and whimsical adventures in wonderland. Each piece is meticulously handcrafted, combining mixed media and unique artistic elements to create truly one-of-a-kind arts.
Prudence, the visionary founder and designer of Chocolate Rain, graduated in Fine Art. In 2008, she received the prestigious Design Smart scholarship to pursue an MA Degree in Design Studies at Central Saint Martins, London. Her outstanding contributions to the design world have been recognised with numerous accolades, including the 2010 Ten Outstanding Designers Award, the 2012 Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award, and the 2013 Young Women Innovator Award by APEC. Prudence served as an Executive Committee member of the Hong Kong Designers Association from 2004 to 2016. In 2025, Prudence was appointed as a Senior Advisor for the Hong Kong Arts Centre, further solidifying her influence and dedication to the arts and design community.
Chocolate Rain's design collections and illustrations have been commissioned by global brands like Clinique, Luella, Stella McCartney’s Care, and Swarovski. The WHY THROW AWAY YOUR MEMORY art exhibition debuted at Times Square in 2009, and the BRITISH MUSEUM X Chocolate Rain Collection launched in London in 2010. Since 2008, Fatina Dreams Ltd has spearheaded global licensing projects.

ISATISSE

After working several years as a fashion and product designer, the Hong Kong illustrator Isabel Tong started her own illustration brand ISATISSE. The brand aims to bring joy to people with her cheerful and colorful artwork and products. Isabel’s illustration series Urban Diorama had won the Japan Illustration Award 2024 Bronze Award. She had won the Excellent Illustrator Award 2023 presented by Japanese Illustrator Association (JIA), the 3x3 International Illustration Show No.21 Merit Award and the White Ravens 2024 with her first picture book Be Yourself.

STELLA SO

Stella SO is a graduate from the School of Design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her final-year project, animation Very Fantastic was winner of the 8th Hong Kong Independent Short Film Competition in 2002 and was invited to a couple of film festivals abroad. Presented in a Chinese copybook, the animation based itself on the city's old districts to induce readers' reverie and expectation to Hong Kong's culture. SO's published works include Very Fantastic, City of Powder —The Disappearing Hong Kong, The Old Girl's Diary, etc.

Old Girl is a female creature between a teengegirl and a mature woman ever keeping a young mind. Old Girl is surrounded by handsome guys, but they are either married, in a relationship, or gay. Spicing up her dull life is Old Girl's everyday task. The Old Girl's Diary is a collection of Stella SO's self-appeasement and a tribute to her master and favourite cat Ting Ting.

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About Hong Kong Arts Centre

Hong Kong Arts Centre - Art for Passion, Art for Life, Art for All

Since 1977, the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) has been a platform for nurturing and supporting artists, and infusing art into everyday life. Its unique arts and educational programmes aim to make the arts accessible for all. The HKAC believes in the transformational power of art for people from all walks of life. Established for more than four decades, the HKAC endeavours to bring arts to the people of Hong Kong by presenting programmes in diverse art disciplines, such as visual arts, performing arts, moving images, media arts, comics, animation, arts education, lecture forum, public art, art festival and community art. With the vision of inspiring creativity in the local and international art community. With a vision of inspiring creativity in the local and international art community, HKAC focuses on four strategic areas: Leading Art Programmes, Nurturing Future Generations, Fostering Exceptional Art Education and Developing a Multi-Functional Building for Art in Wan Chai to create versatile exhibition spaces that accommodate a diversity of art forms and styles.

The HKAC aspires to engage everyone in the community to become an active participant in the arts - as an enthusiast, an artist or a patron. Let’s continue to embrace ‘Art for Passion, Art for Life, Art for All’, and share the inspiration.

Official website: hkac.org.hk | Facebook: Hong Kong Arts Centre | Instagram: @hongkongartscentre

About Comix Home Base

Comics and animation are important local pop culture and artistic creations. Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) has been dedicated to planning and organising diverse and unique activities to promote the arts and culture of comics and animation to the local community and abroad.

Since 2006, HKAC curated Comix Home Base project (CHB), and has been working closely with comics artists, animators, industry practitioners and various government departments to promote local works. Over 800 ani-com-related events are hosted, such as exhibitions, talks, workshops, performances, publications, screenings, public arts, etc.

In recent years, Comix Home Base has continued to proactively orchestrate cross-media collaborations and look for crossovers between comics and different media like public art, movie, dance, intangible cultural heritage, martial arts etc., expanding the creative space for comix. Outside Hong Kong, China, the footprints of Comix Home Base can be found overseas in France, Belgium, Britain, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Korea, Russia, Indonesia and Portugal etc. This has facilitated the involvement of numerous Hong Kong comics artists in international collaboration projects. Also, local comics have been successfully published in different foreign versions in European countries and the United States, increasing the international recognition of local comics and animation artists.

Comix Home Base is fully committed to creating a platform for the art of Hong Kong anime and comics to flourish and keep elevating comics that are 'made in Hong Kong' to the global stage with stakeholders.

Official website: www.comixhomebase.com.hk | Facebook: hkacchb | 

Instagram: @comixhomebase