Since the commencement in May 2019, the Project was implemented in two phases: i) Initial phase (May – December 2019) and ii) Implementation phase (January 2020 onwards) with highlights of activities as follows:
Phase 1 – Initial phase
Baseline study and community engagement strategies formulation and consultation
Groundwork research and community profiling study
A comprehensive community profiling study was conducted by Making On Loft Community Design & Research Studio for better understanding on the demographics characteristics, social fabrics and potential dynamics of the community in North Point to formulating stakeholder engagement strategy for the Project.
Public talk – What Makes A Place? A Public Discourse
Nearly 200 artists, creatives, architects, cultural practitioners, government officials, students and community members attended the talk at the Dr. Seaker Chan Shui Kui Hall on 16 August 2019. Inviting experts from Hong Kong, USA, Taiwan and China explored and shared topics on the role of art, design and architecture in society today in engaging the people and steering change to celebrate the uniqueness of a place with the audiences.
Experts ideation / consultation workshop – ‘Meeting of Minds’ Think Tank
17 cross-disciplinary local and international experts and professionals were invited to join force with the Hong Kong Arts Centre to review the proposition and possibilities for the Project on 17 and 18 August 2019. The intensive exchanges and expert knowledge instilled Hong Kong Arts Centre the design of three community engagement strands for the next phase.
Phase 2 – Project Implementation
Community recipes
Using ‘food’ as a connector, Hong Kong Arts Centre collected recipe ideas and stories behind from the community in preparation of different thematic recipe to tap on the resources of the Chun Yeung Street market and the local wisdom of the culturally diverse community. The first recipes in relation to Chinese New Year dinner was disseminated to the neighbourhood through interactive game and chit-chat in the mobile cart.
Phase 3 – Project Extension
Keep the project going and continue to grow
Community touring exhibitions and sustainable thinking
After the project completion, in order to extend the display period of the art installations or move them to other areas for display, Hong Kong Arts Centre continued to communicate with different community groups, from North Point community, various community groups to government departments in Hong Kong. ‘Wandering in Chun Yeung: Here and Past’ and ‘Under the Sea’ have been effectively preserved in North Point. In addition, with the agreement of participating artists, some installations which were not able to continue the exhibition will be disassembled and sent to community units and research groups. As for some remaining project materials, they were delivered to nursing homes, art schools, and artist studios, giving many of the artworks and materials a second life and promoting the concept of sustainable thinking.