Weekend Warrior: April 26-28

‘Cleavage Savage,’ one of the illustrations on display at Claudia Chanhoi’s exhibition at Chez Trente, opening on Friday. Photo: Chez Trente/Claudia Chanhoi
‘Cleavage Savage,’ one of the illustrations on display at Claudia Chanhoi’s exhibition at Chez Trente, opening on Friday. Photo: Chez Trente/Claudia Chanhoi

A quick digest of the coolest weekend happenings in Hong Kong.


Friday, April 26

The 852 – The Hottest Blues Band in HK

The 852, a blues band based in Hong Kong, will be performing a selection of big band and blues tunes to get the weekend started.

9pm to 2:30am at, BB Jazz Lounge, 2/F Ho Lee Commercial Building, 38-44 D’Aguilar St, Lan Kwai Fong, Central. Free.

Punk’s Not Dead

Alternatively, if you like your weekends to be a bit louder, live house The Wanch will be featuring a night of punk music with the help of local bands Two Finger Salute, Bloodcult, and Last Guv’nors.

9:30pm to 12am at, The Wanch, 54 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai. Free.

Carbon Brews Beer Launch Party

Local craft beer makers Carbon Brews will be having a leather coaster workshop to celebrate the launch of some new beers. The ticket price includes a one hour coaster workshop, a glass of Carbon Brews beer, and a 330ml Carbon Brews teku glass. New beers on tap include a Fruit Punch Berliner Weisse called Sour Punch, a double IPA called Taking Names, a session IPA called G.L.O.B., and a dubbel called Dubbel Edged.

7pm to 12am at, The Garage Bar, Level L, The Cordis, Mong Kok. HK$250.

Bestbev’s 6th Anniversary Party

Online craft beer shop Bestbev will be celebrating its sixth birthday with a night of free-flow craft beers and pizzas. There’ll be a lucky draw with prizes throughout the night, the proceeds of which will go to charity.

6pm to 9pm at, WeWork Sheung Wan, 7/F, 40-44 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan. HK$280.

BrainXEyes: Claudia Chanhoi Exhibition I Opening Party

Claudia Chanhoi is a Hong Kong-based illustrator who creates colorful cartoons to show her personal experiences as a heterosexual woman living in today’s modern dating world, and her views on female sexuality. The result is a set of distinctive and quirky images that feature some very suggestive images. There will be an opening party on Friday that will begin at 7pm until late.

5pm to 12am on Tuesday to Thursday; 5pm to 3am on Friday to Saturday; 3pm to 12am on Sunday, until Wednesday, May 22 at, Chez Trente, 6 Chung Wo Lane, Soho, Central. Free.

Queer Visibility and Printed Matter

Online literary journal Cha and Queer Reads Library present to you this panel discussion on queer visibility and queer narratives in writing. Queer Reads Library is a mobile collection of books and zines centered around queer narratives and themes, and was set up on response to the decision to remove 10 LGBTQ children’s books from Hong Kong’s public libraries in June 2018.

7:30pm to 9pm at, Swing A Cat, Rear Shop, G/F, 241 To Kwa Wan Road, Kowloon. Free.

Golden Scene Selection April edition

Golden Scene Selection is a monthly event organized by the Hong Kong Arts Centre and Golden Scene Company that showcases a selection of films from around the world. On Friday and Sunday they’ll be showing Still Human, a dramedy about the relationship between a middle-aged disabled man and his young caretaker which won three awards at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best New Performer for Crisel Consunji who plays the domestic worker Evelyn. On Saturday, they’ll be showing the Chinese film An Elephant Sitting Still about four people each caught in their own downward spiral and whose lives intersect after they become obsessed with Manzhouli, a northern Chinese city on the border of Russia, where legend has it that there’s an elephant that simply sits still and ignores the rest of the world.

8pm (Friday) and 2:15pm (Saturday and Sunday) until Sunday, April 28 at, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, Wan Chai. HK$75 (Still Human) HK$130 (An Elephant Sitting Still).

 

Saturday, April 27

World Literature Today—The City Issue: Hong Kong

Cha, a Hong Kong-based online literary journal that publishes poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, book reviews, plus photography and art from and about Asia. To celebrate the publication of their spring 2019 issue, they’ll be hosting a talk where some of the contributors will read passages from and discuss their pieces. The City Issue features a poetry and essays on food and languages, as well as a list of recommended readings about Hong Kong.

5pm to 6:30pm at, Bleak House Books, Unit 2705, 9 Pat Tat Street, Well Tech Centre, San Po Kong. Free.

Dr. Faustus

If you missed the Hong Kong Theatre Company’s debut production of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus in November, fear not — it’s back by popular demand this weekend. This Elizabethan tragedy is about a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 24 years of magical powers to use on Earth. The production will incorporate original music, live musical performance, audience participation, puppetry, and physical theater.

2:30pm and 7:30pm until Sunday, April 28 at, McAulay Studio, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai. HK$320 (Adult) HK$250 (Concessions).

Candle Workshop with Moonzen Brewery

Moonzen Brewery will be hosting a two hour candle-making workshop for anyone in Hong Kong who has always wanted to chill out in the bath tub surrounded by the soothing smells of hoppy IPAs. The fee includes a Moonzen glass with a candle, and free-flow Moonzen beer on tap. Limited seats available to email ida.fung@moonzen.hk with your name and contact number to reserve your place.

2pm to 4pm at, Moonzen Brewery, 2A New East Sun Building, 18 Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong. HK$380.

Meet We The People

Not-for-profit organization We The People will be hosting this free open-day event for people to learn about the state of citizenship in the world. There will be an exhibition featuring stories about 15 activists who died for their cause, a What The Fact?! where visitors will be quizzed on what the “fact” is happening to freedom across the world. There will be a 3pm screening of the 2017 documentary Black Code about how governments control and manipulate the Internet in order to censor and monitor their citizens, from how exiled Tibetan monks navigate China’s surveillance-apparatus, to Syrian citizens being tortured for social media posts. Food and drink will be provided at the event.

2pm to 6pm at, Campfire, 8/F, Remex Centre, 41 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang. Free.

Vinyl Record Sale

Culture Club Gallery will be hosting its regular pop-up vintage record sale, with Vintage Vinyl HK’s Nick spinning some decks with some vintage hits.

3pm to 7pm at, Culture Club Gallery, 15 Elgin Street, Soho, Central. Free.

Watercolor and Foiling Workshop (painting)

Kalo Make Art studio is more known for its calligraphy courses, but they also offer other kinds of arts and crafts classes too, like this one where you can make your own watercolor flowers and foil cards. This three-hour English-language workshop will teach you to mix watercolors and create cards with that added personal touch.

2:30pm to 5:30pm at, Kalo Make Art, Room 201, Ivy House, 18-20 Wyndham Street, Central. HK$950 or HK$1,600 for two people.

Crochet Smiley Jellyfish Workshop

This beginner-level class will teach you how to make your own crochet jellyfish that you can hang in your room or give away as a gift. The fee includes one ball of Lion Brand’s Vanna’s Choice yarn and a crochet hook to be used during class.

2pm to 5pm at, Yarn in the Works, 20 Tai Ping Shan Street, Shop B, Sheung Wan. HK$430.

Jazz Marathon 2019

There will be a two-day jazz concert featuring performances from more than 60 bands and artists performing everything from big band to fusion jazz, and there will also be jazz workshops too. Click here to see some of the people performing this weekend.

5:30pm until Sunday, April 28 at, Queen Elizabeth Stadium, 18 Oi Kwan Rd, Morrison Hill, Wan Chai. HK$180 to HK$600.

IRIS: Your Escape 2019 – Hong Kong Fitness & Wellness Festival

Yoga, a silent disco, a marketplace, and a playground are all features of this upcoming wellness festival being held on Central Harbourfront. This is the eighth installment of IRIS, which hosts fitness and yoga classes taught by some all-star instructors and teachers from around the region.

10:30am to 9pm at, Central Harbourfront Event Space, 9 Lung Wo Road Central, Central. HK$380 (regular weekend pass) HK$280 (regular day pass) HK$450 (onsite weekend pass) HK$300 (onsite day pass) Free (children under 12).

 

Sunday, April 28

Avengers: Endgame Exhibition in Causeway Bay

Avengers fans, assemble. If you’re excited about the newest Avengers film and want a chance to pose for a photo with Captain America, the Hulk, and Thanos, then Lee Garden’s where it’s at.

All day until Monday, May 13 at, Lee Gardens, Causeway Bay. Free.

Form Colour Action

This exhibition will for the first time display drawings, paintings and notes by artist Lee Wen dating from 1978 to 2014. Lee is a Singaporean performance artists oft-credited as the man who shaped the development of performance art in Asia, and introducing contemporary art to Singapore. One of Lee’s most notable works includes The Journey of a Yellow Man, a series of installation and performances that evolved from a critique of Orientalism to a mediation on freedom, climate change, humility, and religious practices. This exhibition is in memory of Lee, who died last month.

10am to 6pm until Saturday, June 29 at, Asia Art Archive, 11/F Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan. Free.

Steps Through Time: Old Photo Exhibition

Pottinger Hong Kong will be celebrating its fifth year with this exhibition of more than 30 rare prints of old Hong Kong. The main hotel entrance is located at 21 Stanley Street.

6am to 11:30pm until Sunday, May 5 at, Hotel Lobby, The Pottinger Hong Kong, 74 Queen’s Road Central, Central. Free.

Vvzela Kook: Fragrant Little Haven

Also taking place at Eaton HK is the opening reception for this exhibition by new media artist Vvzela Kook. During her research, Kook found that Hong Kong, a city that used to be one of villages and vegetation, is now a concrete jungle where at least 180 streets are, ironically enough, named after plants or trees in a reminder of its greener past.

8pm to 11pm until Sunday, May 5 at, Tomorrow Maybe, 4/F Eaton HK, 380 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Free.

Van Gogh Alive

The traveling exhibition “Van Gogh Alive” has travelled to many corners of the globe, from Anchorage, Alaska to Singapore, and it’s now in Hong Kong. Running here until July, this immersive exhibition will display more than 3,000 artworks on LED screens, floors, ceiling and walls, set to a classical music score that will take visitors on a journey through Arles, where he painted his famous bedroom; Saint-Rémy where he entered the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum and painted his famous The Starry Night scene depicting the view outside his sanitarium room window at night; and to Auvers-sur-Oise where he painted Wheatfield With Crows and many other works until his death in 1890.

10am to 9pm (Mon-Thurs) and 10am to 10pm (Fri-Sun and public holidays) until Sunday, July 7 at, 1/F, FTLife Tower, 18 Sheung Yuet Road, Kowloon Bay. Free (children under the age of 4), HK$190 (children aged 4-15, full-time students and concessions) HK$230 (aged 15 years and over) HK$550 (family tickets for two adults and one child).

A Story of Light: Hon Chi-fun

Hong Kong artist Hon Chi-fun wowed the art world with his distinctive traditional Eastern style blended with contemporary Western techniques. Born in 1922, Hon was a postal inspector by trade and a self-taught artist who rose to prominence with art works. He passed away in February at the age of 96, and this exhibition at the Asia Society features 30 pieces of work by Hon that examine his fascination with light as a material and subject with his use of various media and cultural influences.

10am to 8pm until Sunday, June 9 at, Asia Society, 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty. Free.

PLAY to Proliferate: Sign City

As Coconuts HK discovered last year, as the government ramps up efforts to take down many of the city’s iconic neon signs, some groups have been working to save some of these signs from the landfill. One such group is Streetsign HK, an NGO which works to draw attention to the disappearing legacy of the city’s unique signboards, including neon signs and other types of overhanging signs.

The main installation features rescued pieces of Chinese characters from actual abandoned signboards, combine with lighting and a series of mirror walls and floor to recreate and “proliferate” an infinity signboards effect, similar to the old street photos of Hong Kong when signboards filled up the sky on the street.

The exhibition would also encourage visitors to “play” or interact and create part of the exhibit by selecting their preferred authentic Hong Kong style signboard, represented as graphic combination on transparencies and to project them into the signboard installation area by the overhead projector.

10am to 8pm until Sunday, May 5 at, Oil Street Art Space, 12 Oil Street, Fortress Hill. Free.



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