ANNOUNCING THE HKWALLS ONLINE STORE & 2019 RECAP

HKWALLS 2019

As we approach the end of a decade, we thought it would be appropriate to recap on what made 2019 such a special year for HKwalls. Simply put, 2019 was a wild year for HKwalls and our annual street art festival was a remarkable success. Taking place in Wan Chai this time round, the 2019 festival was our most ambitious effort yet and included more artists, larger walls and even more free events for the public to enjoy. HKwalls 2019 featured 49 artists, representing more than 15 countries, creating 40 public works of art on many different surfaces including walls, shutters, buses, trucks and trams.

即將進入新一年代，是時候回顧一下2019年HKwalls 的活動。對於HKwalls 來說，2019 年是難忘的一年。我們一年一度的街頭藝術節非常成功，今年的藝術節在灣仔舉行，是我們迄今為止最雄心勃勃的活動，當中包括邀請更多的藝術家，繪畫更大的外牆和舉辦更多的免費活動供公眾參與。我們邀請了來自超過15個國家的49位藝術家，在牆壁、拉閘、巴士、貨車和電車等許多不同平面上創作了共40幅公共藝術品。

THE CLUBHOUSE

A big highlight of this year’s festival was undoubtedly the festival headquarters, The Clubhouse. Located within a historic Tong Lau built in the 1920s, The Clubhouse became a major landmark in the Wan Chai district during the festival and Hong Kong Arts Month. Previously unused for over two years, HKwalls transformed the neglected building into a beautiful multi-floor creative space which was used to host many of the festival’s special events including the HKwalls annual pop-up exhibition, workshops, live gigs, a digital art battle and talks. A new addition to our festival this year and something we would definitely like to continue in the future was The Clubhouse exhibition, a separate gallery floor that served as an art fair featuring the works of esteemed artists and galleries around the world.

今年街頭藝術節的一大亮點無疑是藝術節的總部The Clubhouse。 The Clubhouse 坐落於一棟建於1920年代的唐樓內，在街頭藝術節和香港藝術月期間更成為灣仔區的主要地標。 這棟歷史悠久的唐樓被丟空了兩年以上，我們將這座被忽視的建築物改造成一個多層創意空間，用作舉辦藝術節活動，包括HKwalls展覽、工作坊、現場音樂演出，數碼插畫藝術比賽以及講座。 今年我們的藝術節更增加了一個新元素——The Clubhouse 藝術展，將獨立的一層改造成展場，匯集了世界各地知名藝術家和畫廊的作品，我們希望在未來的藝術節繼續保留這個元素。

HKWALLS AiR

Only four short months after the festival, we successfully launched the inaugural HKwalls Hong Kong Artist-in-Residence programme (Hong Kong Air), a multidisciplinary initiative designed to provide quality studio space for talented emerging artists. The four artists chosen for the residency were Hong Kong artists Go Hung, Espen Cook, Amy Maria Tong and Japanese artist Daisuke Tajima. The artists used this opportunity to hone their craft, experimenting and improving upon their individual technique and style, also learning from each other at the same time. Hosted at The Nate in Tsim Sha Tsui, the residency lasted a month and culminated in a free public exhibition presented in collaboration with HKARTS, Karen Chan + Frederic Bussiere, The Collective and District15 Platforms. During this time, The Nate became a popular artistic hub located right in the heart of Kowloon.

距離街頭藝術節僅短短四個月，我們成功啟動了首屆HKwalls香港駐場藝術家計劃（Hong Kong AiR），此計劃旨在為才華橫溢的年輕藝術家提供優質的工作室空間。 入選的四位藝術家分別是香港藝術家Go Hung 、Espen Cook 、Amy Maria Tong 和日本藝術家Daisuke Tajima 。四位藝術家利用這個機會來磨練自己的手藝，嘗試和改進他們的個人技術和風格，同時也互相學習。 他們駐留在尖沙咀的The Nate一個月，並與HKARTS 、Karen Chan + Frederic Bussiere 、The Collective 和Platform15 Platform 合作舉辦了免費的公共展覽。 在此期間，位於九龍區中心的The Nate 成為受歡迎的藝術空間。