‘They feel they are part of that’: community engagement the aim of art initiative in Hong Kong that brings together a project’s developer and neighbours
- A non-profit initiative brings together a Hong Kong community, a developer and an artist to design and paint a mural on hoardings around a construction site
- Art in Place Hong Kong invites Spark City Mong Kok project’s neighbours to submit ideas for, and later to paint, the mural around the site of the development
In Hong Kong, property developers are often criticised for ignoring the needs of the local community. A non-profit initiative is hoping to use art to bridge the gap between them.
In March, Art In Place (AIP) invited Hong Kong artists and developers to submit ideas to integrate property developments with people. After several months of discussion, artist Joanne Chan was paired with Fairland Holdings for AIP’s inaugural project – at a new office and retail building called Spark City Mong Kok.
Over the summer, members of the public, including children, were invited to submit ideas for a large mural to be painted on the hoardings surrounding the construction site.
They wrote and drew on postcards, and with Chan’s coordination and artistic advice, came up with a final, brightly coloured and vibrant design that they helped to paint themselves.
“We had a collection box, some postcards and coloured pencils for visitors to draw whatever sparks joy for them in the neighbourhood,” says Fay Li Yuen-fei, principal at a property recruitment firm, who is one of the founders of the project.
The mural was dismantled in the final stages of construction, but from December 7 it will be exhibited together with the community’s postcards at the newly completed building.
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Art In Place is backed by a grant from global non-profit organisation Urban Land Institute. Its large, cross-disciplinary network of professionals in property and other industries share a mission to shape future environments in ways that can transform communities for the better.
“A lot of the time, the developers just think about what they’re going to do, and the neighbourhood has no idea what’s happening. But for us in our project, we’re always thinking about community engagement and sustainable placemaking,” says Wendy Tsai Ya-wen, an architect at Hong Kong-based Oval Partnership and another of AIP’s founders.
“When the building opens, the neighbourhood already feels an affinity because they painted there. They already feel like it’s a credible space and they feel they are part of that,” she says.
Tatum Lau An-yu, Tsai’s colleague and another core member of AIP, says: “We are friends outside this initiative and we like to go gallery hopping together or go to different exhibition openings.
“We were always intrigued [by the question of] how to expose local artists to more people.”
Another purpose of the project is to enhance people’s understanding that Hong Kong is full of artistic talent, rather than just a marketplace for art.
“Hong Kong is a social hub for art fairs, auctions, galleries and exhibitions with international artists; but at the same time, at the other end of the spectrum, Hong Kong has this abundance of local talent that not everyone is aware of,” says Tsai.
The criteria are strict for AIP’s involvement with a development, given the growing interest of developers in using art to market property projects.
There were four reasons Spark City Mong Kok was chosen, they say.
The developer was willing to work with the community and the building was intended to create a lifestyle hub for the community. The developer was also willing to work with an emerging local artist and gave both the artist and the team creative freedom. The timing of construction also fitted in with the grant requirements from ULI.
“With ULI, we wanted to integrate art with real estate, but the biggest chunk we wanted to integrate was the community. We always knew whatever we do, it’s not just about creation, it’s always co-creation,” says Lau.
Another AIP team member, Antoine Nguy, says he was drawn to the project because he couldn’t see anything like it in Hong Kong.
“I was born and raised in France, where culture is quite important in everyday life. I couldn’t find the same energy in Hong Kong, and I think that’s what drew me to this initiative,” says the vice-president of a private-equity real estate investment group.
Of AIP’s inaugural project, Tsai adds: “We don’t want to just dictate and paint something, then have the community understand. We want to know what the community wants.
“The artist Joanne Chan integrated the elements from the postcards and gave participants from the community instructions on how to paint on the mural.”
Lau says Fairland likes the mural and will be using it in the development’s show flat. “We want the landlords to take care of the neighbourhood and have a meaningful footprint with whatever they do. Art is just a form of dialogue,” Lau adds.
Artist Joanne Chan and the Art in Place team will be present at the “Art In Place Opening Exhibition”, 6.30pm to 8.30pm, December 7, at Spark City Mong Kok, 25 Tong Mi Road, Tai Kok Tsui.
