‘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

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Artist Joanne Chan instructs a young boy to paint on the mural outside the new Spark City development in Mongkok. Chan was paired with the tower’s developer through a non-profit initiative, Art in Place. Photo: Art In Place Hong Kong

Published: 5:15pm, 24 Nov 2023Updated: 10:09am, 25 Nov 2023

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.

From left: Art in Place founders Tatum Lau, Wendy Tsai, Fay Li and Antoine Nguy at the Wan Chai officer of the Oval Partnership. Photo: Jonathan Wong

“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.