Experience the Archive as a Collaborative Process!

Visit Asia Art Archive and join our programmes during the Archive’s annual Open Weekend. Themed Spark!, the two-day event encourages general audiences as well as creative professionals and students to experience AAA’s collections and programmes as a collaborative process, accessible to all.


Programmes

BEHIND THE 'SEEN'

Workshop | Hide and Seek | Cantonese & English
A manuscript, a faded photograph, a back issue…this workshop led by AAA staff rethinks the concept of archiving and researching by piecing together a jigsaw of AAA documentary materials to recast a narrative in history. Register Now

6 July | 4:30-5:30pm
7 July | 3:30-4:30pm


Documentary Screening | From Jean-Paul Sartre to Teresa Teng: Cantonese Contemporary Art in the 1980s

From Jean-Paul Sartre to Teresa Teng: Cantonese Contemporary Art in the 1980s
From Jean-Paul Sartre to Teresa Teng: Cantonese Contemporary Art in the 1980s Cantonese and Mandarin with English subtitles | Ongoing loop, 50 min runtime
Written, directed, and produced by AAA

Based on primary research, rare film footage, and personal interviews with key artists, this documentary bears witness to the ‘reading fever’ that gripped the Chinese art world in the 1980s, and highlights the experimentalism and verve of artists and critics in South China whose contributions to the development of contemporary art have been long lasting and fundamental. Register Now

6 July | 5:30-6:30pm

7 July | 4:30-5:30pm


CONVERSATIONS

Talk | Hong Kong’s Urban Landscape in Art
6 July, 11am-1pm | Cantonese & English

Video (2hr 9min)

Hong Kong’s urban landscape changes on a daily basis. Disappearance has become the key term for looking at the city as everyday life dances with this condition. This talk will look at art that documents local lives impacted by various forms of disappearance.  Register Now


Speakers:
John Batten
, writer and art, culture, and urban planning critic
Siu King-chung
, Associate Professor, School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University



Material Display | Picks from the Collection

To coincide with the talk, AAA presents a range of materials concerning dramatic changes in the urban fabric of Hong Kong and other cities.


Meals & Sharing | Food for Thought

We are what we eat! Join artists in casual conversation while sharing food they selected. Register Now

Bar Talk: Whisky
6 July, 9-10:30pm | Cantonese
Artist Kwan Sheung-chi & Anthony Yung, Senior Researcher, Asia Art Archive

Chocolate Cake
7 July, 2-3:30pm | English
Artist Leung Chi-wo & Claire Hsu, Director, Asia Art Archive



ARTIST INTERVENTIONS

Meals & Sharing | Art Tastes Salty?!

Hosted by Vangi Fong

After developing recipes based on conversations about art and ‘taste’ with locals in AAA’s Sheung Wan community, the artist hosts a lunch and two afternoon tea sessions at AAA. Register Now

6 July

Lunch Gathering:

1-2:30pm | Cantonese


Tea Gatherings:
3:30-4pm | Cantonese
4-4:30pm | English


7 July
Lunch Gathering:

12-1:30pm | English


Tea Gatherings:
3-3:30pm | Cantonese
3:30-4pm | English


Organiser:
Vangi Fong initiates participatory art projects that work closely with different communities. She is a member of Wooferten, a community/art space. Her recent projects relate to leftover recycling in urban areas, including ‘Yaumatei Gardener’, ‘Yaumatei Leftover Guide’, and ‘Pick It Good.'

 

Tours | Life Archive

Tour by Kingsley Ng

Chinese medicine and dried seafood shops give Sheung Wan a distinctive character that resonates with attributes of the archive – as sites where intangible history is passed on through physical objects. The Life Archive project team documents artefacts from the neighbourhood and pairs them with items from AAA’s collection. The artist then leads tours to re-imagine Sheung Wan as an alternative archive. Register Now

6 July
2-3pm | Cantonese
4:30-5:30pm | English


7 July
2-3pm | Cantonese
5-6pm | English

Team members:

Step Au, Cici Cheung, Rivian Cheung, Kathy Ip, Hilary Ko, Crystal Wong


Exhibition
6 July | 9-10:30pm
Documentation of neighbourhood objects can be retrieved by scanning a small QR code tag placed discreetly aside the location tag of the selected item in the library, as well as at selected shops in Sheung Wan. At night, the tags glow to illuminate the library’s dark corridors. ‘Life Archive’ is envisaged as a long-term project.

Organiser:
Kingsley Ng is an inter-disciplinary artist with a focus on conceptual, site-specific, and community-engagement projects. Kingsley’s works have been showcased in the Guangzhou Triennial in China and Echigo Tsumari Art Triennial in Japan. He is currently a Lecturer at the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University.

 

CREATIVE NETWORKS

Youth Perspective
Workshop | Colourfull
| Cantonese and English

Experience the library with the spark of colour. Encrypted by colour, the material in the library can be decoded by individual interpretation. All you need to do is to respond to the colour around you – is that a melancholy blue, a bright orange, a furious maroon? Offer your own emotional interpretation of material, instead of receiving the information passively as we normally do. Register Now


6 July | 1-2pm / 4-5pm / 5:30-6:30pm
7 July | 3-4pm / 4:30-6:30pm

Organiser:
PageNEXT was initiated to introduce AAA to other young people (aged 15-25) and promote contemporary art in society.

Spatial Design Perspective
Workshop | Viewing the Archive/Archiving the View

6 July | 2-4pm | English
This workshop offers an opportunity for members of the public to experience how spatial designers (architects, landscape architects, and urban designers) document spatial conditions and experiences, using the space of AAA and its surroundings. Through a structured process, participants will take on the roles of designer, artist, storyteller, and archivist to create a visual narrative about the Archive and its immediate context.
Note:
Participants should bring a digital camera if they have one (not a camera phone). Register Now

Organiser:
transverse studio
is a collaborative design practice founded by Melissa Cate Christ. A licensed landscape architect, Melissa is also an Assistant Professor in the Division of Landscape Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. Andrew Toland is an architect, artist, and research associate with the Division. He is a frequent collaborator with transverse studio.

Publishing Perspective
Book Booth | MCCM Pop-up Bookshop

This pop-up bookshop features a series of books on Hong Kong visual culture among others published by MCCM Creations. These books jump between art, design, architecture, heritage, regional cultures, and literature.

Author Sharing | Documentation +

6 July, 4-5pm | Cantonese and English

Books reflect the soul of a city. One functional role of publishing is to document cultures and emotions through objects, people, place, and space – do books simply capture what we see, document what has happened? How do we develop visual documentation? Authors who have published books with the publisher MCCM Creations share how their visual stories were documented and told. Register Now

In Response: Selected materials from AAA’s collection will be showcased in conjunction with the talk

Moderator: Yang Yeung
Speakers:
Evelyna Liang, author of Grandma Grandpa Cook
Kenneth Lo, author of Nathan Road
Peter Cookson Smith, author of The Urban Design of Impermanence and The Urban Design of Concession
Kith Tsang, author of ‘內嘈外吵.寂靜決定’ (Chinese version) and The Phantom of Consumerism

Organiser:
MCCM Creations is an independent Hong Kong publisher founded in 2001. MCCM’s published titles have a strong cultural slant.


Design Perspective
Workshop & Mini-Exhibition | Unseen

6 July, 5-6pm | Cantonese
‘Unseen’ uncovers inspirational and rarely seen art books and journals in AAA’s collection and shares them with design lovers. Curated by local design studio Milkxhake, this workshop and mini-exhibition will be hosted within the Archive. During the workshop, participants may also select their own favourite book designs to become part of the ‘Unseen.’ Register Now

Organiser:
Milkxhake is a graphic design studio, based in Hong Kong since 2006. Founded by Chinese graphic designer Javin Mo, the studio advocates for the power of visual communication through branding, identity, print, and website design and works primarily in local arts, cultural, and institutional sectors.

Journalism Perspective
Workshop | Journalists-in-residence@AAA
7 July, 4-5:30pm | Cantonese
What role does a physical archive play in art news writing and criticism when both print and online media journalists’ responding to the demand for instant information, conduct much of their research through the Internet? This workshop invites cultural reporters/editors to become Journalists-in-residence at AAA, during which time they will research and write feature articles on contemporary art in Asia. Register Now

In Response: Selected periodicals from AAA’s collection will be displayed

Organiser:
G Yeung is a journalist and is currently the Curator of the Culture Section of House News. G was formerly with the Culture Section of the Hong Kong Economic Journal and he founded the art review organisation Artalk in 2012. G also writes for publications in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China, including HKEJ, HKET, Tai Kung Pao, The ArtNewspaper's Chinese version, and Art Investment.



Activist Perspective
Talk | Situationist International and Art

7 July, 5:30-7pm | English
Speaker: Nin Chan (Activist, Masters of Philosophy in Comparative Literature, HKU)

This talk will attempt to position the avant-garde movement Situationist International within debates about art and civil disobedience, examining the ways in which art might ‘change the world.’ Register Now

Organiser:
The Coming Society is a book/art space aiming to bring together people and perspectives to imagine the world differently. They sell second-hand books with titles in literature, arts, philosophy, social science, and history and organise talks, second-hand book ‘launches’, movie screenings, and mini concerts.

In Response: Selected materials from AAA’s collection will be showcased in conjunction with the talk

Programmes for Teachers
Talks & Tours | Teachers’ Toolkit
6 July, 10-10:30am | Cantonese
6 July, 10:30-11am | English
Speakers:
Susanna Chung, Head of Learning & Participation, Asia Art Archive
Gigi Yau, Library Assistant, Asia Art Archive

Secondary school visual arts and liberal studies teachers are invited to view AAA as an alternative classroom. Responding to the regional lack of resource material for learning about and teaching contemporary art, AAA presents accessible programmes and learning resources derived from its collection. Register Now

Programmes for Kids | Ages 4-10
Interactive Storytelling | The Sign Cleaner: Unlocking the Library’s Secrets

Kids are invited to look for whimsy in AAA's bookshelves! Parents may join to learn more about communicating with children through storytelling. Register Now

In Response: Selected children’s books from AAA’s collection will be displayed

6 July, 3-4pm | Cantonese
7 July, 10-11am | English


Storytellers:
Lotus Chan is a storyteller in public libraries who is continuously engaged in theatre.
Ryan Yan is a theatre director, writer, and teacher. He is now hosting writing and drama workshops in various secondary schools.

 



Registration
AAA Open Weekend welcomes hundreds of visitors to enjoy free programmes. Due to limited capacity, some programmes require registration; please register at registration@aaa.org.hk or 2815 1112 by 4 July. All registered participants will receive email confirmation.

Walk-ins may be accepted, subject to seat availability.

Opening Hours:
Saturday 6 July 2013, 10am-7:30pm / 9pm-10:30pm
Sunday 7 July 2013, 10am-7pm

The library and all events will be closed when Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above is hoisted or the Black Rainstorm Warning is in force.

Presented by: Asia Art Archive
Sponsored by: Parallel Contemporary Art, Prudential Corporation Asia
Supported by: Hong Kong Tramways Limited, POAD Group Limited, Telford International Company Limited
Media Partners: The House News, Milk Magazine
Design Partner: Milkxhake