RE: Tai Kok Tsui

Turn Around with Imaginations

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With the 6th round of the Urban Renewal Heritage Preservation and District Revitalisation Funding Scheme granted from the Urban Renewal Fund (URF), the Public Art Department at the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) presents the 'RE: Tai Kok Tsui' public art and community art project.

Tai Kok Tsui is the quintessential Hong Kong community that blends old traditions with new happenings. Over the decades, neighbours have come together to create a vibrant and decent living environment, fostering a sense of community and sharing collective experiences.

RE: Tai Kok Tsui encourages neighbours to make a slight turn and reimagine a new vision for an old district that embraces the curation of new living experiences. It provides an avenue for turning the past into a future that values sustainability, art, culture, and creativity.

PRELIMINARY RESEARCH IN THE COMMUNITY

Since the Project commenced in April 2023, the HKAC has been focusing on its research, preliminary study and groundwork, connecting various stakeholders and understanding the community to revitalise Tai Kok Tsui through different collaborations.

OPEN CALL COMPETITION FOR PAVILION

Hong Kong Arts Centre launched the Open Call Competition in October 2023, it invites eligible architects, designers and artists to design a temporary pavilion, which will be an anchor programme in the overall 'RE: Tai Kok Tsui' public art and community art project. The competition seeks to foreground and support emerging ecologically conscious young designers. The site of the temporary pavilion (approximately for 1-year use) is initially proposed to be located in the open area north of Olympian City 2 (facing Cherry Street and Hoi Wang Road).

More information on the Open Call Competition for Pavilion could be found here.

COMMUNITY CO-CREATION LABORATORY

Launched in late 2023, including 4 different series of workshops. Creative teams assembled by artists and community members to collaborate with local organisations and shops in Tai Kok Tsui to design and implement innovative programmes, turning imagination into tangible reality. The lab fosters an environment encouraging members to delve into the interplay between art and public spaces through observations, discussions, professional skill development, collaborative experiments, and localised trials. These endeavours are intended to establish a robust foundation of valuable insights and practical knowledge for forthcoming community art experiences.

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COMMUNITY MUSEUM SERIES - 'HOK HOK ZAAP KOK'

3 sessions of Community Museum are designed to be spread out through the project period, the first session is formed by a series of workshops and the programme named 'Hok Hok Zaap Kok' which is led by artists who co-create with residents and local organisations in workshops in March to May 2024 and an exhibition showcase in June 2024, uniting the Tai Kok Tsui community through shared learning.

COMMUNITY MUSEUM SERIES - 'MOVE ON TO TKT'

‘What if the city had emotions and memories, just like people?’

Inspired by this thought, we have engaged artist Chan Po Fung and his team @playbackconcept with the local community to explore the stories of Tai Kok Tsui’s transformation. Through conversations with residents and the creative repurposing of old items using metalworking techniques, we aim to capture the city's emotions and memories.

Through the perspectives of various characters and landmarks, the exhibition narrates the past and present of Tai Kok Tsui. It connects the people of different generations, offering a unique opportunity to delve into the rich stories of this historic area.

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PUBLIC SPACE ART INTERVENTION OPEN CALL 01

The HKAC selected three public space locations in Tai Kok Tsui to open call for creative proposals, each of the locations has its uniqueness. Through this open call, the HKAC aims to receive proposals that are suitable to the site context and Tai Kok Tsui community, promoting the overall 'RE: Tai Kok Tsui' project objective, vision, mission and value.

The HKAC invites eligible artists, designers, creative talents and the public to propose, design, develop, fabricate, install, deliver and display artworks and/or creative works for and in the selected locations for approximately 9 to 10 months (tentative artwork installation completion between November 2024 to January 2025, and display till September/October 2025).

More information on the Public Space Art Intervention Open Call 01 could be found here.

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IRON FLORAL SCROLLS - COMMUNITY-BASED CRAFT EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

The public art and community art project ‘RE: Tai Kok Tsui’ includes an ‘Artist in Residence’ program that collaborates with Dr. Ho Siu Kee to collaborate with Dou Chai Arts as Programme Collaborator for the 'Iron Floral Scrolls - Community-based Craft Education Programmes'. This initiative aims to pass on a traditional iron craft often seen in various life settings, promote craft education, and explore the history and culture of the hardware and iron industry in Tai Kok Tsui. It also seeks to discover the potential of 'Iron Floral Scrolls' in contemporary creative practices.

A total of 28 university students from the Academy of Visual Arts - HKBU, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK, Hong Kong Art School (Listed in alphabetical order) are participating in the project. The program will consist of three stages of workshops held from June to October 2024. These workshops aim to foster participants' innovative thinking, promote craft culture education, and apply and sustain the craft in community life.

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COMMUNITY GATHERING - DRAGON AND PHOENIX THEATRE & COMMON GROUND

In the 60s and 70s, there were many theatres in Tai Kok Tsui; the common ground outside the theatre was the main recreation and entertainment area for residents at that time.
"Dragon and Phoenix Theatre & Common Ground" takes the Tai Kok Tsui Theatre as its theme, providing the community with a cross-generational tea gathering and game experience on the Mid-Autumn Festival day, recalling the atmosphere of the common ground outside the theatre at that time. In view of the fact that Tai Kok Tsui is an old district with an older population, various stakeholders in the district (including schools, residential care homes, elderly centres, community centres, small shops, etc.) are invited to participate. This event has previously provided training workshops for secondary school students in the district, and later conducting cross-generational communication and exchanges as an inclusive ambassador at the event. Through tea gatherings and game experiences, guests will be able to try out soft meal, and learn about neighbourhood memories, local history, culture, and urban changes through the game experience area.
Allowing guests to re-experience the cultural history of Tai Koi Tsui, allowing the neighbourhood relationships of Tai Koi Tsui to continue, and reconnecting the old and young residents of Tai Koi Tsui.