Hong Kong Arts Development Council Presents ARTS • TECH Exhibition
The first exhibition ‘Sensory Transcode’ Opens Today at Central Market
Unveiling a New Chapter of Arts and Technology

The Hong Kong Arts Development Council launches the ARTS • TECH Exhibition, comprising a trio of thematic exhibitions, at an opening ceremony held at 1/F Steam Hub, Central Market today. Officiated by Mrs Kwok Wong Wing-ki, Vicki, JP, Deputy Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, the first ARTS • TECH exhibition titled 'Sensory Transcode' will be open for public from 12 noon tomorrow (30 July) till 13 August.

The ARTS • TECH Exhibition showcases original works by 12 accomplished Hong Kong artists and arts groups from July to October this year. The three thematic exhibitions embrace works that span interactive art installations, virtual and sound arts, aiming to bring arts tech closer to the community and introduce immersive arts experiences to the people of Hong Kong in real and virtual spaces.

Dr Wilfred Wong, Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, said, “Integration of arts and technology will be the new development trend for the arts in Hong Kong. To foster development in this new area, we envisage our forthcoming role as unique and impactful by leveraging our strengths and capacity to bring together the arts, academic, commercial and non-profit organisations for cross-sector collaboration and enhanced synergy.”

Mr Keith Lam shared his thoughts on curating the Sensory Transcode exhibition, “In today’s world, human and technology are inseparable. As artists we no longer see technology as mere tools or detached entities, it has become our ‘second skin’. Participating artists explore the possibilities of different new media to break down the confines of traditional sensory, from coding, machine installation and dynamic arts, algorithm to sound rearrangement. The pervasiveness of technology enables artists to code sensations, allows interchanging of different means of perception – making ‘what is seen to be heard’ and ‘what is heard to be seen’.”   

Participating artists and artists groups of 'Sensory Transcode' included Carla Chan, Alain Chiu, Dimension Plus, Fung Wing-lam and Seth Hon, Chaklam Ng and Jackie Lou, N A T P and Tung Wing-hong. As curator and artist, Keith Lam will present a cross-disciplinary online performance with hirsk, winner of the Golden Melody Award for Best Album Producer in Instrumental Performance. Taking centre-stage will be Keith’s hyper-reality robotic installation, which will be engaging in an audio-visual game with hirsk where the media of light and sound are interchanged, transforming images into music, music into images, transcoding the senses of the audience.

Apart from the exhibition, Keith Lam together with participating artists and guests will host a series of artists talk, workshops and seminars (see Appendix 1) to allow the public to learn more about the merging world of arts and technology. For registration and details, please visit https://www.arts-tech.hk/.

With the support of Urban Renewal Authority, the three thematic exhibitions of ARTS • TECH will be held in three exceptional and historical sites at Central Market, 7 Mallory Street and 618 Shanghai Street. A total of 24 outreach programmes including workshops, seminars and artists talk will be open for public participation.

(From Left) Dr Frankie Yeung, Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Mrs Kwok Wong Wing-ki, Vicki, JP, Deputy Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism and Mr Andy Hei, Chairman of Arts Promotion Committee, Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

(From Left) Dr Frankie Yeung, Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Mrs Kwok Wong Wing-ki, Vicki, JP, Deputy Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism and Mr Andy Hei, Chairman of Arts Promotion Committee, Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

(From Left) Mr Keith Lam, Curator of Sensory Transcode, Dr Frankie Yeung, Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Mrs Kwok Wong Wing-ki, Vicki, JP, Deputy Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Andy Hei, Chairman of Arts Promotion Committee, Hong Kong Arts Development Council and Ms Vvzela Kook, Artist-curator of Empty Space.

(From Left) General Manager (Property & Land) of Urban Renewal Authority, Mr Keith Lam, Curator of Sensory Transcode, Dr Frankie Yeung, Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Mrs Kwok Wong Wing-ki, Vicki, JP, Deputy Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Andy Hei, Chairman of Arts Promotion Committee, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Ms Vvzela Kook, Artist-curator of Empty Space, Mr Eric Lee, Director of Corporate Communications of Chinachem Group and Ms Angie Chung, Deputy General Manager of Central Market, Chinachem Group.

Group Photo of Keith Lam (Centre), curator of the thematic exhibition Sensory Transcode (the first ARTS·TECH Exhibition presented by Hong Kong Arts Development Council), and the participating artists.

Group Photo of the attending guests, curators and artists at the opening ceremony of the ARTS·TECH Exhibition.

Details of the Three Thematic Exhibitions:

'Sensory Transcode'

Curator:	Keith Lam
Artists / Arts Groups:	Carla Chan, Alain Chiu, Dimension Plus, Fung Wing-lam and Seth Hon, Chaklam Ng and Jackie Lou, N A T P and Tung Wing-hong
Date:	30 July - 13 August 2022
Venue:	1/F Event Space, Central Market
Time:	12:00 – 20:00

'Cells that Fire Together Wire Together'

Curator:	GayBird
Artists:	GayBird, Kachi Chan, Ip Yuk-yiu and Hugo Yeung
Date:	27 August - 18 September 2022
Venue:	3/F, 7 Mallory Street (M7), Wan Chai
Time:	12:00 – 20:00

'Empty Space'

Artist-curator:	Vvzela Kook
Date:	2 - 24 October 2022
Venue:	G/F, 618 Shanghai Street
Time:	12:00 – 20:00

For details of the exhibitions and outreach programmes, please visit ARTS‧TECH Exhibition official website https://www.arts-tech.hk/. All exhibitions and outreach programmes are free of charge.

Information of ARTS • TECH Exhibition is available on the official website: https://arts-tech.hk/
For news update of ARTS • TECH Exhibition, please follow:
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About ARTS ‧ TECH Exhibition
Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) organises its first ARTS‧TECH Exhibition to introduce novel interactive arts experiences to the public by connecting arts, technology and community in real and virtual spaces. The project invites curators Mr Keith Lam, Mr Leung Kei-cheuk (GayBird) and Ms Vvzela Kook to curate three different thematic arts tech exhibitions respectively at Central Market, 7 Mallory Street and 618 Shanghai Street to bring arts closer to the community, and allow the public to discover the endless possibilities of trans-media and trans-disciplinary in the world of Arts Tech.

Supporting Organisation: Urban Renewal Authority
Venue Sponsor of 'Sensory Transcode' : Chinachem Group

About Hong Kong Arts Development Council
Established in 1995, Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) is a statutory body set up by the Government to support the broad development of the arts in Hong Kong. Its major roles include grant allocation, policy and planning, advocacy, promotion and development, and special projects. The mission of HKADC is to support and promote the development of 10 major art forms in literary arts, performing arts, visual arts as well as film and media arts in Hong Kong. Aiming to foster a thriving arts environment and enhancing the quality of life of the public, HKADC is also committed to facilitating community-wide participation in the arts and arts education, encouraging arts criticism, raising the standard of arts administration and contributing on policy research.

About Urban Renewal Authority
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) was established in May 2001 under the Urban Renewal Authority Ordinance as the statutory body to undertake, encourage, promote and facilitate urban renewal of Hong Kong, with a view to addressing the problem of urban decay and improving the living conditions of residents in old districts.  The URA follows the guidelines set out in the Government’s Urban Renewal Strategy in the implementation of its urban renewal initiatives under a “people first, district-based, public participatory” approach. The URA adopts a comprehensive and holistic approach by ways of its two core businesses, i.e. redevelopment and rehabilitation, as well as preservation, revitalisation and retrofitting, for creating a sustainable and quality living for the people of Hong Kong.