Event Horizon Hong Kong

Last November, British Council Hong Kong presented Event Horizon by British artist Antony Gormley, one of the largest and prolific public art installation in Hong Kong. The work was originally conceived in the year when for the first time over half of the planet's human population were recorded as living in cities. Thirty one sculptures looking out into space were mounted at both street level and building tops across Hong Kong’s Central and Western districts, questioning how the built world relates to an inherited earth.

Event Horizon is also an education and outreach project targeted at teachers, students and the public. A series of lectures, seminars and teacher development workshops and packs will be available to over 1,000 public and special needs schools as well as private and government community youth groups and organisations.

BEYOND EVENT HORIZON
Panel Discussion: The Future of Public Artsin Hong Kong

Date: Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Time: 19.00-20.30

Venue: Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong

Language: English

Moderator: Robert Ness, Director, British Council Hong Kong

Speakers:
Benny Chia, Director, Hong Kong Fringe Club
Cassius Taylor-Smith, Curatorial Director, Event Horizon Hong Kong
Euan Upston, Director, Central Police Station Compound
Maria Wong, Managing Director, HKwalls

Co-presented with Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association (HKAAA), “Beyond Event Horizon - Panel Discussion: The Future of Public Art in Hong Kong” was held on 17 May 2016. Participants were given a unique chance to get an understanding of public art development in Hong Kong and discussed ideas for making a difference in the future.

Mr Cassius Taylor-Smith, Curatorial Director of Event Horizon Hong Kong, shared the story and the challenges that were encountered throughout the project. Mr Benny Chia, Director of Hong Kong Fringe Club, examined the censorship of public art. Mr Euan Upston, Director of Central Police Station Compound, introduced the concept, preparation, arrangement, development and opening plan of Tai Kwun – Centre for Heritage and Art, scheduled to debut in late 2016. Ms Maria Wong, Managing Director of HKwalls, shared her experience in street art and street culture implementation. She also emphasised the importance of public engagement and the relationship between street art and the public urban realm.

The vigorous discussion and response from the participants, and the lively discussion among the panellists, made the event a real success.

Watch the video for a recap of the discussion.

Part 1 - Introduction and presentation by Mr. Cassius Taylor-Smith and Mr. Benny Chia

Part 2 - Presentation by Mr. Euan Upston and Ms. Maria Wong

Part 3 - Panel discussion and Q&A

Making Space - An Artist Talk by Antony Gormley

Date: Monday 16 November 2015

Time: 18.00-20.00

Venue: Grand Hall, Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong (map)

The event was successfully held with positive responses. Click here to watch the video.

Sculpture and the Animation of Collective Space' - Panel discussion with Antony Gormley

Date: Friday, 20 November 2015

Time: 18.00 - 20.00

Venue: Asia Society Hong Kong Center, 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty

The event was successfully held with positive responses. Click here to watch the video.

Teacher Workshops: Exploring Sculpture

This series of workshops aims to make secondary and tertiary students passionate about public art, to explore the actual process of making a sculpture, and to promote awareness of the wonderful diversity of public sculptures here in Hong Kong.

Workshop 1	Friday 20 November 2015, 5.00pm-7.00pm
Workshop 2	Wednesday 25 November 2015, 5.00pm-7.00pm
Workshop 3	Wednesday 16 December 2015, 5.00pm-7.00pm
Workshop 4	Tuesday 12 January 2016, 5.00pm-7.00pm
Workshop 5	Wednesday 27 January 2016, 5.00pm-7.00pm
Workshop 6	Thursday 17 March 2016, 5.00pm-7.00pm
Workshop 7	Wednesday 27 April 2016, 5.00pm-7.00pm

Venue: Rooms 417-418, 4/F, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

Event Horizon in Hong Kong is presented by British Council Hong Kong with support from lead partner K11 Art Foundation and sponsors GAW Capital Partners, Grosvenor, Christie's, Hogan Lovells, Howard Bilton of The Sovereign Art Foundation, Central Saint Martin /Kai-Yin Lo Cross Culture Lecture, Dynamic Network Alliances, Mazarine Asia Pacific, Icicle Group and Sinclair Communications.

About Antony Gormley

Antony Gormley’s work has been widely exhibited throughout the UK and internationally with exhibitions at Forte di Belvedere, Florence (2015); Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern (2014); Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia (2012); Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (2012); The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (2011); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2010); Hayward Gallery, London (2007); Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (1993) and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark (1989). Permanent public works include the Angel of the North (Gateshead, England), Another Place (Crosby Beach, England), Inside Australia (Lake Ballard, Western Australia) and Exposure (Lelystad, The Netherlands).

Gormley was awarded the Turner Prize in 1994, the South Bank Prize for Visual Art in 1999, the Bernhard Heiliger Award for Sculpture in 2007, the Obayashi Prize in 2012 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2013. In 1997 he was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) and was made a knight in the New Year’s Honours list in 2014. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, an Honorary Doctor of the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity and Jesus Colleges, Cambridge. Gormley has been a Royal Academician since 2003.

Antony Gormley was born in London in 1950.

About K11 Art Foundation

Adrian Cheng established the K11 Art Foundation (KAF) in 2010. The K11 Art Foundation is a registered non-profit organisation that advances the development of Chinese contemporary art by providing a creative incubation platform to nurture artistic talent in Greater China and showcase the work of young emerging artists to a broader audience around the world. The K11 Art Foundation has embarked on cross-region, creative collaborations to introduce Chinese talents in Asia and globally and to showcase their full potential. Through researches, initiatives and partnerships, as well as harnessing the passion and energy of participants, the KAF makes available to the public a diverse array of programs and exhibitions to educate and raise collective appreciation of art and culture. The K11 Artist Village (artist-in-residence program) in Wuhan offers a space and platform for young artists to create and present their works.

For its first UK partnership the Foundation has collaborated with the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London to present Chinese artist Zhang Ding, with the exhibition of Enter the Dragon, opening October 2015. K11 Art Foundation is also delighted to continue its partnership with Palais de Tokyo in Paris by co-producing a second exhibition, the solo exhibition of Tianzhuo Chen. Also, in July 2015 the foundation announced a major research partnership with Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Finally, KAF in partnership with Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation will co-curate the Surrealist exhibition Media— Dalí held at Shanghai's chi K11 art museum, in dialogue with established and emerging contemporary Chinese artists to open in from 5 November 2015 to 15 February 2016.

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