Date: 10 – 11 & 17 – 18, January, 2009
Time: 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Fotanian: Fotan Artists Open Studios 2009
This year is the sixth happening of the Fotanian event. Following the event’s popularity, media coverage on the artist community has been greatly increased. We can venture to say, without the media, the Fotanian community will not have such rapid development. Visitors could have gathered a great deal of information before arriving at the door step of the studios. What make us more grateful is, most art work exhibiting in the opening studios are flashing fresh, some are even just have been completed a few hours ago! This year we have totally 49 studios and 170 artists participating the opening event. More than enough to spend your two weekends.
In today’s world economy, especially those of developed countries are driven by finance and service industries. The product of their work is not much more than a list of figures (for example, stock exchange – making money with money). The art work, however, is the crystallization of the artist’s work. Those commonsensical representations of artist are always about their life style, their occasional enormous income, or their hard effort in working on another full-time ‘real job’which supports the artistic part of their life. Of course all these are worth discussing, but when arriving at the artist studio, you can open your mind and greet the artist. Apart from being told how the art piece is made, you may even come across the concept behind the art work, reason for the creation, the artist’s background etc. in during the encounter. In this way, you are looking at a concrete piece of art work.
This year we are honored by the sponsorship of Hong Kong Art Development Council and Sino Group. We feel very grateful to their generous support to the development of local art scene, nurturing artists and art collectives. We believe that art can improve our standard of living and cultural attainment, fostering a multi-faceted and harmonious society.
With nearly 180 participating artists
‘Fotanian – Fotan Artists Open Studios 2009’ is the biggest ever
‘Fotanian – Fotan Artists Open Studios’ is a major highlight of the Hong Kong arts calendar. The event happens on 10, 11, 17 and 18 January 2009, from 2pm – 8pm in Fotan’s industrial buildings. With nearly 50 studios and 180 artists participating this year, the event celebrated by the cultural sector has grown to an unprecedented scale, with 50% more artists participating.
Sino Group’s ‘Art in Hong Kong’ is dedicated to cultivating local artists. The Group has been delighted to sponsor the programme for three consecutive years to enable more people to share the fruit of Hong Kong’s creative talent.
Ms Una Lau, Assistant General Manager, Marketing & Corporate Communications of Sino Group, said, “Sino Group keenly supports the group of Fotanian artists who are pursuing art and creativity so passionately. Through our sponsorship, we hope to encourage visitors to get behind the art scene and explore the cluster of exciting studios and creative industries in Fotan. This event will enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of contemporary art in Hong Kong.”
Exciting new art unveiled in the studios
Since 2000, the migration of industry to the Mainland has seen local creative professionals begin to take refuge in the spacious lofts of vacant industrial buildings. The Fotan artists will showcase paintings, sculptures, ceramics, mixed media, printmaking, photographic and video works. Visitors can freely explore the artists’ workplace and learn about their artworks and art-making techniques. To foster the sharing and exchange of ideas, visitors are encouraged to engage in open dialogue with the artists in an approachable and friendly atmosphere.
In Fotan, you can find a mixture of well-established artists like Lui Chun Kwong and Mok Yat Sun and emerging artists include fresh graduates. It truly reflects the diverse and exciting styles of the Hong Kong art scene. This year, there are over 18
new studios. New faces include German photographer Maxillian Holland, and American artist working on kinetic installations, Samuel Swope. Apart from many fine arts graduates from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Fotan is beginning to attract newcomers, who include stage designers from Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and graduates from Baptist University.
Due to the relatively lower rentals, more commercial galleries, such as Blue Lotus, Stage 1 and Kings Gallery (which was originally housed in Wanchai) are making their homes in Fotan. Some artists have even combined several units into spacious, multipurpose studios, such as Atelier Mags Beaud – Steven Lam’s Studio and arthome.
Exciting happenings during the open days
To further enrich visual experience, there will be live band shows in Blue Lotus Gallery (5pm on event days) and ‘Kiss on Fire’ (at random times). As part of the ‘Hong Kong On The Move Live Art Local Tour 2008/09’ organized by LCSD Community Cultural Ambassador and Asian People’s Theatre Festival Society, a group of performing artists including Project 226 (Cheung Clara, Cheng Yee Man & Chu Yiu Wai) and Frog King Kwok, etc, will stage various happenings in the streets of Fotan and the studios starting 3pm to 8pm on 18 January, 2009.
16 school tours are already fully-booked. Public tours will be organized at 2:30pm and 4:30pm on event days. Quotas are limited and on a first-come-first–served basis. For enquiry and enrollment, please contact 2132 8607.
Special exhibitions are also curated by guest curators, such as 'Lala-land’ in the Blue Lotus Gallery, ‘Love Simply’ in Hang Fat Studio and ‘Drawing Out Conversations: Hong Kong Leg’ in Studio Bibliotheque. Please refer to the appendix for details.
Tips for visitors
Studio Touring Maps are available to help visitors locate the studios in the different buildings. Newcomers can visit the info centre in the lobby of Shatin Galleria where volunteers will help visitors navigate the area. The Fotanian artists catalogue can be picked up there too.
