Transformative Hong Kong Officially Opens in Venice Italy
Collateral Event of 18th International Architecture Exhibition –
La Biennale di Venezia

Exploring the Critical Territorial, Architectural & Urban Space Issues Facing Hong Kong's Future

The Collateral event of 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is jointly organised by Hong Kong Arts Development

Council (HKADC) and The Hong Kong Institute of Architects Biennale Foundation (HKIABF), with The Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) as the Partner and Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as the Lead Sponsor. Titled "Transformative Hong Kong" and co-curated by Ar. Sarah Lee, Prof. Hendrik Tieben and Ar. Yutaka Yano, the Hong Kong exhibition is now open to the public for free from 20 May to 26 November 2023 in Venice, Italy.

The Hong Kong Exhibition's opening took place in the courtyard where a large canopy-shaped bamboo installation titled "Moving Bamboo" is the centrestage. The Guests of Honour Mr Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, JP, Chairman of HKADC, as well as Mr Henry Tsoi, Deputy Representative of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels, Ms. Winsome Chow, Chief Executive of HKADC, Ms. Natalie Mossin, Region I Vice-president of International Union of Architects, Ar. Benny Chan, President of the HKIA, Ar. Julia Lau, JP, Chairperson of the HKIABF, Ar. Allen Poon, Vice-Chairperson of the HKIABF, Ar. Anthony Cheung, co-chairman of the organising committee for the Hong Kong Exhibition and the curatorial team officiated at the ribbon-cutting ceremony altogether.

In response to "The Laboratory of the Future", the overall title defined by Chief Curator of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Lesley Lokko, the Hong Kong curatorial team has developed the Transformative Hong Kong Exhibition which focuses on Hong Kong's future on how the city is being transformed by such mega-projects as The Northern Metropolis and the East Lantau Metropolis, and by such innovations as Modular Integrated Construction (MiC).

The Hong Kong exhibition is arranged according to three designated scales - "Territorial Transformations", "Architectural Transformations" and "Public Space Transformations", combining a total of 11 sets of exhibits to showcase initiatives with interactive mixed media representations and visual essays, snapshots of this transformative moment in our city with focused themes on Hong Kong's sustainability, climate change, technology and energy/resource management, and how the architectural collaborations and innovations have been using the city as the "laboratory" to meet the challenges faced by the future generation of Hong Kong. The Venice exhibition will return to Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2024.

For exhibition details, please visit http://2023.vbexhibitions.hk/.

(From left to right) Prof. Hendrik Tieben, Ar. Anthony Cheung, Ar. Benny Chan, Ar. Julia Lau, JP, Mr Henry Tsoi, Mr Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, JP, Ms. Winsome Chow, Ms. Natalie Mossin, Ar. Allen Poon, Ar. Sarah Lee and Ar. Yutaka Yano.

The curatorial team (from left to right) formed by Ar. Sarah Lee, Prof. Hendrik Tieben and Ar. Yutaka Yano of the Transformative Hong Kong Exhibition introduced the theme and concepts of the exhibition to the attending guests at the Hong Kong Exhibition's Opening Ceremony.