HK Shenzen Biennale of Design + Urbanism

Hong Kong is really doing a decent job of setting up arts, design and music events recently. Within the past half-year, there was the Detour Art Exhibit at the former Married Police Headquarters and Sculpture Sunday in Repulse Bay. There was also Rock Raiser and Clockenflap at Cyberport and now there’s a fantastic exhibit in West Kowloon for the Hong Kong Shenzen Biennale of Design and Urbanism.

It’s a bit of a trek to get out to West Kowloon but last Saturday post-punk band The Yours and this German experimental band called A Roller Control were playing live at dusk so I figured it was a great excuse to trek out there and check out what was going on. In addition, it was a stunning afternoon and gave me a good reason to dust off my SLR and get some pics.

We arrived at West the West Kowloon Promenade just in time for that beautiful golden light which you only get in the afternoon. The installation artworks were spread out along a massive barren field. In the background was the Hong Kong city skyline, Elements Mall and the newest Kowloon skyscraper the ICC. There was something sci-fi about the winter light and the desolation of the scattered artworks framed by the towering steel structures in the distance.

There were some really interesting exhibits like the big round maze of grass and potted vegetables. There were also some very cool furniture exhibits like a field of wooden design benches and this really cool computer- generated piece of seating called The Urban Adapter.

As I approached the waterfront, I could hear the sound of helicopters taking off and landing near the promenade. There were people jogging, biking and meandering along the walkway taking in the beauty of the sunset over the Hong Kong skyline. It was really a cool place to spend a weekend afternoon. As dusk fell, the sky, which was spotted with cotton-like clouds turned from orange to pink to purple then darkened into twilight.

The bands were slotted to play right in front of the stunning skyline. I only have one word for that- WOW! How often do you get to make as much noise as you want, dance on a spacious dance floor and watch live bands with iconic Hong Kong in the backdrop! It was amazing! I really hope the government allows more music and art happenings to take place here in West Kowloon before the whole thing gets ruined and turned into blocks of generic skyscrapers.

First up was a one-man acoustic rocker who tried playing upbeat songs but kept apologizing because most of his works were slow and moody. He had a beautiful voice. Then came The Yours. They are a punk duo with a tall lanky hipster singer that reminded me a lot of a Chinese version of Iggy Pop. They definitely had star quality but I think the cold air chilled their performance a bit. Then some crazy operatic and discordant Chinese band came on with some older dude with long hair going mental on his violin. The headliner was the German/Chinese band ‘A Roller Control’ who rocked the stage with their experimental yet melodic New Wave sounds. They got the audience up and dancing and played an apropos song about architecture and another ‘love song’ called ‘Fickin’ (which mean ahem- “making love”)

It was a really amazing day of visual entertainment and I recommend anyone interested in art, design, environmental sustainability or photography to go out there and check it out. There are events going on every weekend until Feb 27th. Check the link below for more info.

http://hkszbiennale.org/en/page/1

The West Kowloon promenade can be reached by taking the train to Elements Mall then going out the exit of the ice skating rink and walking towards the water. Alternately- just takes a cab. It’s just near the exit of the Western Tunnel. You can actually see the place from IFC on the Central side in case you’re confused about where it is.

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS FROM THE BIENNALE OF URBANISM

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