Centre Street: Soeng5 Lok6 - Urban Renewal Fund

Objective	Centre Street is one of the steepest streets in Hong Kong and has always been a place gathering residents. In 1870, a large number of immigrants set up stalls at Centre Street for a living. Although these stalls were all moved into the Centre Street Market immediately after its establishment in 1985, there has always been a constant stream of cars and residents getting groceries on Centre Street. However, despite Centre Street has always been packed with people, it lacks a comfortable open space for taking rest and holding activities. After conducting community assessment, we have discussed how to leverage the community’s features, advantages and available resources to address community needs. We would like to achieve three of the following outcomes in the project “Centre Street: Soeng5 Lok6”: (1) providing a comfortable open space with shelter; (2) providing the residents with an attractive activity space; and (3) bringing art into the community to revitalise the old district and increase its attractiveness.
Activities	The main target participants of the project “Centre Street: Soeng5 Lok6” are the residents of Centre Street. Through participating in different activities, such as Storytelling Activity, Art Workshop and ICH Workshop, the residents will join hands with artists to co-create a new cityscape of the old district. 1. Revitalisation of Centre Street (i) Revitalisation of the pavilion at Yu Lok Lane Public Rest Space Design Enhancement of the pavilion at Yu Lok Lane Public Open Space As part of the efforts to revitalize the Yu Lok Lane Public Open Space, our collaborating partner Bo Lo Yeo Collective is undertaking a community engagement campaign in July and August 2023. The campaign aimed to gather residents’ opinions and feedbacks through online questionnaires and street booths, which acts as an important basis of the design enhancement. To further explore the community’s ideas on optimizing the historical culture of the area, fostering a greater sense of belonging, and promoting community interaction, the team will be conducting a series of upcoming workshops. These include Community Living Map Workshop, City Tour, and Co-Design Workshop, which will provide residents with opportunities to actively participate in the co-creation of the revitalization of public space. 2. The Art Creation of Centre Street (i) Mural Art In January to February 2023, mural artists Rebecca T Lin and Carol Mui (Creativehustlershk) conducted a series of workshops to gather community feedback for the art mural project. The workshops included artwalks, sketchbook making and book cover painting with Catholic Mission School and King’s College Old Boys’ School Association Primary School No. 2, and a tote bag workshop with public. Through these workshops, the artists collected valuable design inspiration, incorporated with elements such as shop pets, greenery, and famous shops on Centre Street. They combined these elements with their own artistic style, reflecting the spirit of co-creation with the community. Currently, the creation of the art murals has entered the design stage, with relevant government departments involved in the discussion. (ii) The Art Era of Centre Street Artistic Railing Studio of Sai organized a series of workshops with St. Anthony’s School students to gather their ideas and engage them in the design process. The workshops included art walk, collage, and ceramic bowl painting, which allowed the students to showcase their creativity and unique perspectives. The ceramic bowls will also be showcased to the public in The Festival of Centre Street exhibition. In order to collect more thoughts from different stakeholders, a model making workshop was also held to involve the public. Each group were allocated with different themes (Play, Rest, Exchange, Utility) for model making. This workshop generated a lot of interesting potential elements for the railing design, including some with innovative functions. The input from the students and the public will serve as inspiration for the design of the railing, ensuring that it reflects the community’s needs. Art Installation The community engagement activities were completed in July and August 2023. Artists Vaan Ip and Sim Chan organised “Light & Shadow at Centre Street” workshops for three target groups (teenagers, families and seniors). The participants were first taken to a guided tour with sketching around Centre Street. Their sketches were then converted to unique sets of materials by laser cut, which were used for assembling their own lamp in the second session. The elements will act as inspirations for the design of installations at Yu Lok Lane Public Open Space. 3. Social Impact Assessment The team has conducted a comprehensive analysis of the community’s features, advantages, and available resources, relying on five key aspects: historical background, environmental characteristics, resident demographics, community-based organizations, and communication channels. This analysis serves as the basis for identifying and addressing the community’s needs. To evaluate the social impact outcomes of community engagement, researchers have participated in most workshops and interviewed participants and artists. This evaluation will help identify areas for improvement and refine engagement strategies for more impactful initiatives in the future.

The main target participants of the project “Centre Street: Soeng5 Lok6” are the residents of Centre Street. Through participating in different activities, such as Storytelling Activity, Art Workshop and ICH Workshop, the residents will join hands with artists to co-create a new cityscape of the old district.

1. Revitalisation of Centre Street

(i) Revitalisation of the pavilion at Yu Lok Lane Public Rest Space

Design Enhancement of the pavilion at Yu Lok Lane Public Open Space

As part of the efforts to revitalize the Yu Lok Lane Public Open Space, our collaborating partner Bo Lo Yeo Collective is undertaking a community engagement campaign in July and August 2023. The campaign aimed to gather residents’ opinions and feedbacks through online questionnaires and street booths, which acts as an important basis of the design enhancement.

To further explore the community’s ideas on optimizing the historical culture of the area, fostering a greater sense of belonging, and promoting community interaction, the team will be conducting a series of upcoming workshops. These include Community Living Map Workshop, City Tour, and Co-Design Workshop, which will provide residents with opportunities to actively participate in the co-creation of the revitalization of public space.

2. The Art Creation of Centre Street

(i) Mural Art

In January to February 2023, mural artists Rebecca T Lin and Carol Mui (Creativehustlershk) conducted a series of workshops to gather community feedback for the art mural project. The workshops included artwalks, sketchbook making and book cover painting with Catholic Mission School and King’s College Old Boys’ School Association Primary School No. 2, and a tote bag workshop with public.

Through these workshops, the artists collected valuable design inspiration, incorporated with elements such as shop pets, greenery, and famous shops on Centre Street. They combined these elements with their own artistic style, reflecting the spirit of co-creation with the community.

Currently, the creation of the art murals has entered the design stage, with relevant government departments involved in the discussion.

(ii) The Art Era of Centre Street

Artistic Railing

Studio of Sai organized a series of workshops with St. Anthony’s School students to gather their ideas and engage them in the design process. The workshops included art walk, collage, and ceramic bowl painting, which allowed the students to showcase their creativity and unique perspectives. The ceramic bowls will also be showcased to the public in The Festival of Centre Street exhibition.

In order to collect more thoughts from different stakeholders, a model making workshop was also held to involve the public. Each group were allocated with different themes (Play, Rest, Exchange, Utility) for model making. This workshop generated a lot of interesting potential elements for the railing design, including some with innovative functions. The input from the students and the public will serve as inspiration for the design of the railing, ensuring that it reflects the community’s needs.

Art Installation

The community engagement activities were completed in July and August 2023. Artists Vaan Ip and Sim Chan organised “Light & Shadow at Centre Street” workshops for three target groups (teenagers, families and seniors). The participants were first taken to a guided tour with sketching around Centre Street. Their sketches were then converted to unique sets of materials by laser cut, which were used for assembling their own lamp in the second session. The elements will act as inspirations for the design of installations at Yu Lok Lane Public Open Space.

3. Social Impact Assessment

The team has conducted a comprehensive analysis of the community’s features, advantages, and available resources, relying on five key aspects: historical background, environmental characteristics, resident demographics, community-based organizations, and communication channels. This analysis serves as the basis for identifying and addressing the community’s needs.

To evaluate the social impact outcomes of community engagement, researchers have participated in most workshops and interviewed participants and artists. This evaluation will help identify areas for improvement and refine engagement strategies for more impactful initiatives in the future.