A quick digest of the coolest weekend happenings in Hong Kong.
Friday, May 17
The seventh edition of the Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong returns to Wan Chai this weekend, with more than 115 local and international galleries showcasing a collection of new and affordable (priced between HK$1,000 and HK$100,000) contemporary artworks to decorate your home with. Hong Kong galleries pitching their stands at the fair include Bamboo Scenes, the Blue Lotus Gallery, Kubrick ArtPick, and the Karin Weber Gallery.
12pm to 10pm (Friday), 11am to 7pm (Saturday and Sunday) until Sunday, May 19 at, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai. HK$300 (opening night), HK$200 (#ArtHappy Friday), HK$165 (public days) Free (children under 16).
Jazz+ : VSing x Patrick Lui Quartet
As part of the Fringe Club’s “Jazz-Go-Central, Jazz-Go-Fringe,” Jazz+ is a series of crossover performances between jazz and other genres that will be happening every month through May. The finale of this series will be presented by the Patrick Lui Quartet and the six-member a capella group VSing, who have rearranged Chinese and Western pop songs into swing and bossa nova ballads. Guests must arrive 30 minutes before showtime, and there are 40 seats plus standing spaces. Seats are first come, first served.
8pm to 10pm at, The Hong Kong Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central. HK$180 (On the day) HK$150 (Advance, and Fringe members) HK$120 (Students and seniors).
Richard Bowen: Meet the Future
Richard Bowen is a former cinematographer who has spent the last 20 years working with his wife Jenny on setting up a children’s charity called OneSky, which focuses on the early years of vulnerable children in Asia. OneSky is about to open a new center in Sham Shui Po this summer, which will provide early learning facilities and a community drop-in center for families in the area. To celebrate the opening, they’ll be hosting an exhibition displaying some of Bowen’s photos of children across Asia. The photos not only capture the vulnerability of disadvantaged children, but also the hope that they bring for the future.
10am to 7pm until Tuesday, May 21 at, Rotunda, 1 Exchange Square, Central. Free.
The National Theatre of Great Britain will be presenting the Hong Kong premiere of its Tony Award-winning production War Horse. The film first premiered in London’s West End, where a young Kit Harrington got his first big break years before he became Jon Snow. Steven Spielberg later adapted the story into a 2011 film that starred Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Based on the beloved 1982 novel by British author Michael Morpurgo, the play follows the experiences of Joey, a horse that’s sold to the British army to fight in World War I and is shipped from England to France. Meanwhile, Joey’s owner, Albert, who is too young to enlist, embarks on a treacherous mission to bring him home. Key to the success of the play is the use of life-sized puppets by the Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa — who made the 23 puppets that appear in the show — Tony Sedgewick’s “horse choreography,” and the three puppeteers who convincingly bring Joey to life.
The play is two hours and 45 minutes long, with an intermission.
1pm, 2pm, 6pm and 7:45pm until Sunday, June 2 at, Lyric Theatre, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Wan Chai. HK$1,245 (War Horse West End Package) HK$395 to HK$1,045 (standard) HK$1,320 to HK$3,488 (family package for two adults and two children under 18), HK$795 (wheelchair) HK$395 (restricted view).
To celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia & Transphobia, Hong Kong’s LGBTI alliances will be coming together to provide an evening of entertainment. There will be a keynote speech from the Equal Opportunities Commission chairperson, and performances by the Mystery Belly Dance Studio, drag collective DragJam, local band Hi-5, and LGBT choir The Harmonics.
6pm to 9pm at, Chater Garden, Chater Road, Central. Free.
Begin your weekend with some feel-good tunes courtesy of folk-pop singer Jason Mraz. Mraz has performed to sold out venues across the globe, and is known for penning soulful earworms like I’m Yours, and I Won’t Give Up. The tour comes months after the release of his sixth studio album Know.
8pm to 10pm at, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Hong Kong Wan Chai, Hong Kong Hong Kong. HK$588 to HK$1,088 (standard) HK$888 to HK$1,088 (wheelchair).
Punchline Comedy Club presents: Andy Parsons
British stand-up comedian Andy Parsons — known for appearances on the comedy panel show Mock the Week and the comedy sketch show Smith and Jones — will be performing a set at Eaton Club.
9pm at, Eaton Club, 5/F, Champion Tower, 3 Garden Road, Central. HK$588.
Saturday, May 18
MakerHive — a co-working space for Hong Kong’s growing community of crafters and artists — will be hosting this free event, where you can meet local artisans who are making everything from toys to ceramics. You can also pick their brains for helpful tips if you’re an aspiring crafter yourself.
11am to 5pm at, MakerHive Hong Kong, Cheung Hing Industrial Building, 10F, 12P Smithfield Road, Kennedy Town. Free.
The Arrival is a graphic novel by Shaun Tan about migration and food, and the role food plays in bringing together migrants and hosts. This event will feature guests speakers John Tam, Kaze Afritude, and Cristina Cayat, and is moderated by Daisy Tam. Food will be prepared by Table of Two Cities, a community project by a small group of writers, creatives, and professionals that raise awareness and give refugees a space to tell their own stories over food.
6pm to 7:30pm at, MakerBay, PMQ, Unit H-508, Block B, Hollywood Side, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central. Free.
World Whisky Day 2019 at D.WORK
To celebrate World Whisky Day, food and drinks company Malt Masters will be hosting this all-you-can-drink whisky event featuring more than 40 whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, Japan, Taiwan, America, Sweden, India, Canada, and Switzerland. There will be masterclasses, food, entertainment, a charity prize draw, and a live band.
5pm to 10pm at, D.WORK Co-Working Space, 21/F, Remex Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong. HK$380 (per person) HK$320 (discounted ticket for group of four people).
Celebrate World Whisky Day @ Tiffany’s New York Bar
Meanwhile, over at the InterContinental’s prohibition-style bar, Tiffany’s New York Bar, they’ll be serving up some 40-plus whiskies as well, and entrants get a Glencairn glass and a welcome whisky cocktail.
4pm to 9pm at, Tiffany’s New York Bar and Garden Lounge, InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, 70 Mody Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui East. HK$150.
Danish Summer Bazaar 2019 — Let’s Hygge
The Danish Seaman’s Church will be hosting a summer bazaar at the Mariner’s Club. There will be Danish hotdogs, Carlsberg beer, wine, Danish candy, Beoplay products from B&O, watches from Skagen, clothing from Costamani, assorted suitcases, and more.
10am to 4pm at, Dansk Sømandskirke Hong Kong, Mariner’s Club, 2 Container Port Road, Kwai Chung. Free.
Sunday, May 19
Free Yoga for Domestic Helpers by Yentl and Donna
As part of helper appreciation month, yoga instructors Yentl Lo and Donna Suen will be partnering with domestic worker charity Enrich HK to teach a free outdoor yoga session for domestic workers. Maximum capacity is 50 people, and remember to bring yoga mats and water.
9am to 10:30am at, Tamar Park, Admiralty. Free.
Lamma Island Hike Cleanup with HK Ploggers & HelperChoice
Plogging is a Swedish sport that involves jogging and picking up litter, and Hong Kong Ploggers will be joining forces with domestic worker charity HelperChoice to host this beach clean-up on Lamma Island. The day will begin with a hike to Shek Pai Wan Beach, and then end with a party. Remember to bring sunblock. Reusable bags will be provided, but feel free to bring your own.
8:20am to 3pm at, Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island. Free.
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 artist often credited with being the man who shaped the development of performance art in Asia and introducing contemporary art to Singapore. One of Lee’s most notable works is The Journey of a Yellow Man, a series of installations and performances that evolved from a critique of Orientalism into 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.
The exhibition “Van Gogh Alive” has traveled to many corners of the globe, from Anchorage t0 Alaska to Singapore, and it’s now in Hong Kong. Running until July, this immersive exhibition will display more than 3,000 artworks on LED screens, floors, ceilings, 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 Starry Night, depicting the view from his 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).
Picturing Bauhaus: Erich Consemüller’s Photography of the World’s most famous Design School
This exhibition, by Germany’s Klassik Stiftung Weimar, will display photos by Bauhaus artist Erich Consemüller to celebrate 100 years of Bauhaus. The exhibition will provide insight into the world of the influential design school’s teachers, students, and output. Consemüller documented the early years of the institution in about 300 photos taken in 1926 and 1927, here on loan from a private Berlin collection.
10am to 8:30pm (Monday to Friday) 10am to 6pm (Saturday) until Friday, May 31 at, Goethe-Institut Hongkong, 14/F Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. Free.
BrainXEyes: Claudia Chanhoi Exhibition
Claudia Chanhoi is a Hong Kong-based illustrator who creates colorful cartoons to show her personal experiences as a heterosexual woman in today’s modern dating world, and her views on female sexuality. The result is a set of distinctive, quirky, and sometimes suggestive images. Hurry up, because there are just a few more days left to see this exhibition.
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.
Caméra-stylo As Such｜a solo exhibition by Anson Mak
This solo exhibition by moving image and sound artist Anson Mak presents two sets of works called One Place, Two Systems, Ten Years, and Never Cross A River Twice. One Place, Two Systems, Ten Years is a lens0based media installation that explores the everyday lives of people who live in Kwun Ton and how it has changed through the years, while Never Cross A River Twice is a single channel film that explores the notion of disappearance and memory. This exhibition will also feature outdoor screenings and talks by the artist.
12pm to 7pm until Thursday, May 30 at, Videotage, Unit 13, Cattle Depot Artist Village, 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, Kowloon. Free.
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