The Hong Kong Sevens is back after three years. And if you’re not so much a rugby or sports lover, we’ve got plenty of plays, films and exhibitions to tickle your fancy this weekend. We update this page every Thursday so feel free to bookmark it.
Hong Kong Sevens
After a three-year break, the Hong Kong Sevens is finally back at Hong Kong Stadium along with some of the world’s greatest rugby players. And yes, after much debate and discussion, you will be allowed to eat and drink at the spectator stands. Do check out the event’s FAQs if you’re planning to go.
Nov. 4 to 6 at Hong Kong Stadium. For ticketing and more information, visit Hong Kong Sevens’s website.
“We Are Gay”
When fresh-faced and irresistibly charming swim coach Sheng (Yau Hawk-sau) walked into the life of young, ambitious lawyer Philip (Leung Chung-hang), they found in each other unlikely but steadfast partners. Now they’ve been asked to look after a flat in one of Hong Kong’s most upscale housing developments, and things seem like they couldn’t be better — until their neighbor Neil (Cheung Kam-ching), older and more successful, sidles his way into their relationship. Misunderstandings abound, and suspicions fester until a drug-related incident forces the three men to re-examine their values and contend with the temptations of love and lust, loyalty and ambition. Will they lose everything, or will they find their own paths to happiness? This play, written after extensive research into diverse perspectives within Hong Kong’s LGBT community, is part of the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
Nov. 5 to 13 at Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District. For ticketing and more information, visit the West Kowloon Cultural District’s website.
“En Voyage with Claude Monet”
The first-ever immersive experience of Claude Monet in Hong Kong, this exhibition features approximately 200 artworks of the master of Impressionism, which are brought to life through a spectacular 360 degrees sound and light show. The unique 36-minute digital art exhibition will guide the audience in both enjoying Monet’s masterpieces and experiencing his art journey. The exhibition also comes with a virtual reality (VR) tour of Monet’s house in Giverny, France.
Until Jan. 15, 2023 at Cultural Plaza, West Kowloon Cultural District (next to Xiqu Centre). For ticketing and more information, visit West Kowloon Cultural District’s website.
“Magnetic Disorder”: Film Retrospective of Lina Wertmüller
Lina Wertmüller was the first female filmmaker to be nominated for best director at the Oscars, but she was far from being part of the filmmaking establishment. After all, her films were too provocative, too crass, too politically incorrect and too outspoken. Often blending gender dynamics, sex, class and political ideologies in a volatile mix, Wertmüller’s films burst at the seams with explosive passion, wit and melancholy, refusing to be pigeonholed into genre and ideological borders.
Wertmüller was a celebrated but divisive figure who had an equal share of fervent supporters, including notoriously harsh film critic John Simon who once called Wertmüller “the most important film director since Bergman”.
To commemorate Wertmüller’s passing in 2021, Hong Kong Art Centre is showcasing a selection of her works and a documentary about her life and artistic achievements. The films will be accompanied by after-screening talks.
Until Nov. 25 at Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre. For the program schedule, ticketing and more information, visit Hong Kong Arts Centre’s website.
Hong Kong Asian Film Festival
The Hong Kong Asian Film Festival is back for its 19th season, showcasing more than 60 Asian films. Many of the films have been selected for various international film festivals, including Eric Tsang’s “Hong Kong Family” featuring Teresa Mo, and Mirror’s Edan Lui and Anson Lo; July Jung’s “Next Sohee” featuring Bae Doona, Kim Si-eun and Kim Woo-kyum, and Mahesh Narayanan’s “Declaration” featuring Kunchacko Boban, Divya Prabha, Lovleen Misra and Danish Husain.
Until Nov. 13 at various locations. For the program schedule, ticketing and more information, visit the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival’s website.
While we are embattled
Curated by Nomaduma Rosa Masilela and Thiago de Paula Souza, the exhibition brings together works by Noor Abed, Morehshin Allahyari, Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro, Sara Haq, Junghun Kim, Carolyn Lazard, Sabelo Mlangeni, Jota Mombaça, Avery Z. Nelson and Temitayo Ogunbiyi, and a newly commissioned reading room presented by Contemporary And (C&) with a selection of materials from the Asia Art Archive Library Collection. Leveraging the questions posed and actions adopted by Black women artists and feminists, as well as practices related to Black radical theory, the curators confront and imagine the possibilities to reconnect, re-narrate, and regenerate ourselves with the physical and virtual spaces we occupy. The exhibition places the work and theories of Black radical praxis in the context of Hong Kong, elaborates on their implications and parallels around the world, and examines questions of safety and retreat as generative modes of engagement, protection, and survival.
Until Nov. 20 at Para Site. For more information, visit Para Site’s website.
New Vision Arts Festival
The New Vision Arts Festival is back. This year’s highlights include “chasing waterfalls”, an AI opera focusing on the symbiosis of men and machines, and Choi Sai-ho’s “Live・Earth・Space”, which uses electronic music and video to explore our universe.
Until Nov. 20 at various locations and online. For ticketing, the program schedule and more information, visit the New Vision Arts Festival’s website.
Digital Art Fair Xperience
The inaugural Digital Art Fair is a fair with a focus on innovative art created for every demographic that wishes to appreciate, create and collect digital and NFT fine art. This October, it is bringing its Xperience show to Hong Kong with an engaging and interactive high-tech Web 3.0 art experience in a 20,000-square foot Central venue. It features works by leading Chinese contemporary artist Jacky Tsai and renowned digital pieces from international galleries.
Until Nov. 6 at G/F and 1/F, Asia Standard Tower, 59-65 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong. For ticketing and more information, visit Digital Art Fair’s website.
“ARTE M”
Hailing from South Korea, immersive media art exhibition “ARTE M”, by acclaimed digital design company d’strict, explores the theme of “eternal nature”. The Hong Kong stop is the first outside of South Korea. It is held at the 9,149-square foot K11 HACC art space in Quarry Bay and features a carefully curated collection of works from “ARTE MUSEUM”. The exhibition hall comprises four separate spaces individually designed with distinct concepts displaying a total of six multimedia artworks reinterpreting elements and spaces from nature; such as the life cycle of flowers, endlessly crashing swells, boundlessly stretching seashores, and the jungle of a tropical rainforest.
Until March 23, 2023 at K11 HACC, 2/F, K11 ATELIER King’s Road. For ticketing and more information, visit the website of “ARTE M”.
Enjoy movies under the stars at The Grounds
The Grounds is back for a second season at AIA Vitality Park at Central Harbourfront. Describing itself as “Hong Kong’s ultimate socially distanced entertainment experience”, The Grounds offers a fun-filled series of activities, including movie nights under the stars, food, kids entertainment, wellness and fitness sessions, and more. And you can enjoy these activities in your private pod.
Until Nov. 14 (for now) at the AIA Vitality Park at Central Harbourfront. For ticketing and more information, visit www.zicket.co/organisers/the-grounds.
“On the Geology Trail”
In celebration of UNESCO International Geodiversity Day on Oct. 6, this exhibition showcases a series of photos of Poland’s unique geological landforms. Visitors can enjoy the exhibition together with The University of Hong Kong’s Stephen Hui Geological Museum’s permanent collection “Hong Kong Geological History” to better appreciate the geological resources and geodiversity of Poland and Hong Kong.
Until Dec. 6 from Monday to Friday (except public holidays) at 1/F display cabinet, Stephen Hui Geological Museum, The University of Hong Kong. For more information, visit The University of Hong Kong’s website.
“Squaring the Circle”
Hangzhou-based artist Peng Jian rose to prominence with his geometric ink-on-paper interpretations of the Chinese architectural teachings of jiehua — the accurate depiction of architectural forms with the aid of a ruler. This October and November, the artist is showcasing works from his Harmony, Still Life, Phantom in the Bottle and Growing series at Ora-Ora’s Tai Kwun space.
Until Nov. 13 at Ora-Ora’s Tai Kwun space. For more information, visit Ora-Ora’s website.
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