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A quick digest of the coolest weekend happenings in Hong Kong.
Friday, July 19
If you’re a book worm and looking something new to read, the 30th annual Hong Kong Book Fair will be open. The theme of this year’s fair is “Sci-Fi and Mystery,” and will feature local genre writers like Eddy Lee Wai-choi, Ni Kuang, and Huang Yi. It will also feature the Finnish EU Prize for Literature winner Selja Ahava, the French science fiction author Bernard Werber, the Japan Booksellers’ Award winner Kanae Minato, and Swedish author Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin to participate in seminars on foreign literature and creative writing. There will be discounted books (especially on the last day), stationery, arts and crafts materials, and multimedia products, as well as an art gallery featuring traditional paintings and calligraphy.
10am to 12am (Friday and Saturday) 10am to 10pm (Sunday and Monday) 9am to 5pm (Tuesday) until Tuesday, July 23. Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. HK$25 (adults) HK$10 (children) HK$10 (adults, morning admission, available for sale at fairground only each day).
Madsaki is one of Japan’s most influential artists, and his exhibition If I Had a Dream features paintings and installations that combine inspiration from Andy Warhol with iconic scenes from Hong Kong cinematic classics like Kung Fu Hustle and In The Mood For Love.
11am to 7pm until Saturday August 17 at Perrotin Hong Kong 17/F, 50 Connaught Road Central. Free.
This three-day “holistic wellness festival” will feature activities such as meditation, fitness activities, arts and other workshops that will allow you to embrace your “inner beings, let go of concerns, and be an authentic soul.” Each day will have a theme. Day one is called “mind breaker” and will involve “celebrating with uplifting music so to move and warm up our bodies” (or as we most people call it, “dancing”); day two is called “super human”, and will be physical fitness focused with some undisclosed physical fitness activities; and the third and final day — “super natural” — will center on allowing individuals to “reflect, refresh and rejuvenate your mind” through meditation, panel sharing and community activities.
5pm to 9pm (Friday), 12pm to 9pm (Saturday and Sunday) until Sunday, July 21 at Central Harbourfront Event Space, 9 Lung Wo Road, Central. Free.
Pop Up Co-Art Exhibition at The Nate By District15 Platforms
District15 Platforms, the Hong Kong Arts Collective, HKWALLS and The Collective will transform a four-floor retail podium at THE NATE into a pop-up “co-art exhibition.” The event will showcase a number of artists, including Go Hung, Espen Cook, Amy Maria Tong, and Daisuke Tajima from HKWALLS; Akiko Sakai, Karen Chan, and Frédéric Bussièr from The Collective; and Jonathan Jay Lee, Shann Larsson, Peter Ross, Marc Allante, Barlo, Simple Bao, Camille Levert, Michelle Kuen Suet Fung, and others from The Hong Kong Arts Collective.
1pm to 7pm until Sunday, July 21 at THE NATE, 176 Nathan Road, HK Tsim Sha Tsui. Free.
Saturday, July 20
Hooked Pres. Cosmic Pirates vol. 1 Hooked
It’s the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing this year, so what better way to celebrate that than with a night of space-inspired disco music. Piloting the spaceship (some say “manning the deck”) are DJs Casey Anderson, Dan-Neo, Guido Balboa, and special guest Fei Pao.
9pm to 4am at Terrible Baby, 4/F Eaton HK, 380 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Free.
Love indie music and craft beer? How about both of those things under one roof? Underground music venue This Town Needs will be hosting 11 indie artists and bands from Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and 14 breweries will be serving up some craft beers, too. Music will be provided by Paellas, Jade Eyes, Twisterella, Mukzi, Mutant Monster and others. Beers will be provided by Heroes Beer Co, Carbon Brews, Taihu Brewing, Devilcraft Tokyo Brewery and others.
1pm to 10pm at This Town Needs, 1/F, Ocean One, 6 Shung Chun Street, Yau Tong. HK$480 (single session pass) HK$930 (Saturday or Sunday pass) HK$1,780 (weekend pass).
Love, Bonito is a popular Singaporean clothing store known for well-made, well-fitted chic clothing. They’ll have casual wear, work wear, maternity clothing, and bridesmaids clothing on display at the launch event. Designs range from HK$220 to HK$550 per item, and the first 30 people to visit will receive a $388 gift card. The next 31-60 will receive a $288 gift card, and the next 61-100 will get a $188 gift card.
10am to 10pm until October 31 at H Queen’s Hong Kong, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central. Free.
Take a break from the ongoing furor over the extradition bill and have a laugh at a night of improve comedy. If you’re a fan of Whose Line is It Anyway, you’ll love this show, which involves people acting out unscripted scenes based on suggestions made by the audience. Seating is limited, and drinks will be available for purchase at the venue.
9pm to 11pm at Steam Cafe and Studio, 4/F Si Toi Commercial Building, Queen Street, Sheung Wan. HK$130 (advance) HK$150 (at the door).
Little Creatures Brewing: Our 3rd Birthday Party
Kennedy Town restaurant and Australian craft beer joint Little Creatures Brewing will be celebrating its third birthday this weekend. The ticket price includes a pint of Little Creatures birthday brew and a crispy drumstick, That offer is only on for those who are there between 10am to 4pm, though. From 4pm to 6pm, guests will get a free pint, and at 6pm, guests will get a free snack (until supplies run out, though). Tickets can be purchased at the door or reserved through +852 2833 5611.
10am to 6pm at Little Creatures Brewing, Shop 1, G/F, New Fortune House, 2-5A New Praya, Kennedy Town. HK$99.
SummerFest is a two month-long free festival taking place at Central Harbourfront with more than 30 large-scale activities suitable for families. There will also be a “Smartizen Park” showcasing how new technologies are being integrated into our daily lives. Other events include an exhibition of more than a hundred pieces of stone art paintings from artists around the world, a yoga party, and an outdoor playground for the kids.
10am to 3pm at Central Harbourfront, 9 Lung Wo Road, Central. Free.
Sunday, July 21
Yoga x Italian Food: Morning Yoga Flow & Partner Stretch
Yoga instructors Yentl and Donna will be hosting a yoga session at Italian restaurant PAPI — which we checked out in May — for those who want to start their Sunday doing something healthy instead of lying in bed nursing (and cursing) that hangover. This session will teach you a series of partner stretches, so it’d be ideal to bring a friend or significant other along, too. Attendees can also get 30 percent off their overall bill at Papi if they dine-in at the restaurant on the same day. Bring your own mat and water bottle for the yoga.
10am to 11:30am at PAPI, G/F, 8 Cleveland Street, Fashion Walk, Causeway Bay. HK$200 (per person) HK$350 (for two people).
HK International Burger Eating Competition Vol.3
Entry for this competition is closed, but you can still grab a front row seat to cheer on the contenders for Burger Joys’ king and queen of 2019. This block party will have free flow draught beer, good music, and a lot of cheering on people eating burgers at great speed. What a way to end the weekend.
2pm to 5pm at Burger Joys, De Fenwick, 42-50 Lockhart Rd, Wan Chai. Free.
Since January 22, 2019, Hong Kong-based artist Rachel Smith has been filling one matchbox per day with a “visual commentary of the past 24 hours” — imagine a sort of micro-diorama. The project began as a coping mechanism for her growing anxiety and the panic attacks she started experiencing around the start of the year. The project was only meant to last 30 days, but Smith soon passed that mark, and the result is a visual diary in novel form. You can check out some of the matchboxes here.
10am to 7pm until September 29 at H307, Veranda, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central. Free.
This VR short film directed by Alexey Marfin takes the audience into the personal spaces of five strangers living in Hong Kong. The film brings you up close and personal with a cast of colorful characters: a musician, a Filipina domestic worker, a Hong Kong-Indian astrologer, and a Chinese businessman. See the trailer here.
10:30am to 6:30pm (Mon-Sat) and 2:30pm to 6:30pm (Sun) until July 28 at Osage HK, 4/F, Union Hing Yip Factory Building, 20 Hing Yip Street, Kwun Tong. Free.
“I am glad to hear you’re doing fine”: Chung Wing Sze Wallis Solo Exhibition
The title of this exhibition is borrowed from the Swedish film A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, in which the line “I am glad to hear you’re doing fine” is repeated constantly, and represents an uncanny significance both for the one who says it, and whoever hears it. The various pieces of work consist of Chung’s reflections on her daily life, which have been described as “detached and descriptive yet emotionally disturbing at the same time.”
9am to 5pm until Wednesday, July 31 at Naked Hub, G/F 5-13 New St, Sai Ying Pun. Free.
As Tai Kwun approaches its one year anniversary, it will be displaying 101 objects related to its previous life as the Central Police Station.
11am to 8pm until Thursday, September 22 at Duplex Studio LG1/F & LG2/F, Block 01 & Site-wide, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Rd, Central. Free.
Opening reception: Christopher K. Ho’s Embassy Sites
“Speculative artist” Christopher K. Ho presents this solo exhibition, which includes sculptural, sonic, architectural, and two-dimensional work that explores the perils and potentials of transnationalism. The topic is something that resonates with Ho, who since 2016 has been returning to Hong Kong regularly after having lived and worked in the States for decades, and the exhibition draws references from the political histories, transnational desires, and infrastructures that mediate our travel, and which we consciously and unconsciously experience.
7PM to 9pm (opening reception) and 11am to 9pm until Sunday, August 18 at Tomorrow Maybe, 4/F Eaton HK, 380 Nathan Road, Jordan, Kowloon. Free.
Art gallery Chez Trente presents Kakahuette, a platform that produces limited edition art prints from photographers and sells them. The gallery will present work by 10 photographers with different styles and backgrounds, some of whom you can even meet at the opening reception on Saturday. Prints on display are also for sale, but there are only a handful, so best to head down early and have a look if you’re looking for something to liven up your bare walls.
5pm to 12am on Tuesday to Thursday; 5pm to 3am on Friday to Saturday; 3pm to 12am on Sunday, until Thursday, August 15 at Chez Trente, 6 Chung Wo Lane, Soho, Central. Free.
Takashi Murakami is a Japanese artist known for blurring the line between high and low art, and blending Japanese artistic traditions with post-war Japanese culture and society. Tai Kwun Contemporary presents this exhibition which will feature over 60 paintings and sculptures, from his large-scale post-apocalyptic works to his optimistic flower pieces to his contemplative Enso paintings, offering Buddhist visions of enlightenment. This exhibition will also showcase some of Murakami’s iconic and outlandish costume designs, which visitors will experience alongside other important video works, samples from his private art collection, and Murakami’s spectacular wall and floor art, which delivers a forceful yet complex visual impact.
10:30am to 7pm until Sunday, September 1 at Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Rd, Central. HK$75 (general, walk in) HK$60 (general, advance) HK$55 (concession, walk in) HK$45 (concession, advance).
Hollywood photographer Bob Willoughby made a name for himself capturing candid photos of stars, and Audrey Hepburn is arguably one of the most iconic Hollywood stars of all time. To mark the 90th anniversary of Hepburn’s birth, and the 10th anniversary of Willoughby’s death, F11 Foto Museum will be holding an exhibition presenting 90 of Willoughby’s photos of Hepburn. Each photo — one for each year since Audrey’s birth — features a number of behind-the-scenes shots of some of her most well known movies, to rare candid photos of Hepburn as a mother. This exhibition has been curated by F11’s founder and director Douglas So with the help of Willoughby’s son Christopher. Guided tours will also take place on Saturday (2:30pm for English, 4:30pm for Cantonese).
2pm to 7pm until Saturday, July 27 at F11 Foto Museum, 11 Yuk Sau Street, Happy Valley. HK$100 (adults), HK$50 (students and seniors aged 65 and above), free for children aged 11 and under, and disabled persons.
