Architecture Is Art Festival 2009 / Part 1

Architecture is Art Festival

Artistic Director: Mathias Woo
Hong Kong Cultural Centre
1 / 9 – 18 / 10 / 2009

Presenter: Zuni Icosahedron

Programme commemorating the
20th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Zuni Icosahedron is the Venue Partner of
the Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Co-organisers:
School of Architecture, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Institute for Contemporary Culture
People Mountain People Sea
Design and Cultural Studies Workshop
City Pictorial

Message from Artistic director

Architecture is Art Festival is an art festival with architecture as the central topic.

We live amongst architecture, but our understanding of architecture always remains in the economic dimension. The essence of architecture is not economy, but art. Architecture is everywhere, in every aspect of our world of the senses: sounds, colours, smells, lights and the air. Architecture has always been considered as art in Chinese and Western traditions; and has created various aesthetic systems for spaces. Both the Chinese Siheyuan or quadrangles and the Western gothic churches use architectural spaces to draw relationships between men, heaven and earth. However, with the globalisation of capitalism in the last decades, under the environment of our economy being dominated by the market, architecture all over the world has become more integrated, serving for economic benefits only, and focusing solely on monetary returns.

Architecture should only be art, and nothing else, just as cinema should only be art. Economic benefits should have evolved out of artistic effects; but now the nature of architecture is distorted by the market. If the true nature of architecture is lost, and architecture is no longer art, then architecture is no longer architecture. What we are left with is luxury apartments and properties for sale and speculation.

What is the meaning of architecture for the human race, without the art of architecture? What is the meaning of architecture when architecture does not evolve out of art?

Architecture is Art Festival will re-examine architecture from an artistic point of view, manifesting various artistic possibilities of architecture with different art forms.

VIEW TRAILER

ARTISTS AND PARTICIPANTS
ARTISTIC IRECTOR /IRECTOR / DESIGNER	Mathias Woo Executive Director of Zuni Icosahedron

ADVISORS	Kan Tai Keung Designer, Dean of Cheung Kong School of Art & Design, Shantou University	Ho Puay Peng Director & Professor, School of Architecture; Director, Centre for Chinese Architecture and Heritage, CUHK
	Han Jian (Beijing) Professor & Vice Dean of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University	Desmond Hui Director, Centre for Culture and Development; Professor of Cultural and Religious Studies Department, CUHK

CREATIVE ADVISOR, THE FORBIDDEN CITY	Chiu Kwong-chiu Author, “The Grand Forbidden City-The Imperial Axis”; Person in charge of Design and Cultural Studies (Hong Kong) Workshop

CURATOR, RETHINKING THE CULTURAL WATERFRONT	Chang Ping-hung Associate Professor, School of Architecture, CUHK

SPECIAL GUEST ARTISTS	Anthony Wong Singer, Composer and Producer; Founding Member of People Mountain People Sea	Kam Kwok Leung Media Veteran; Scriptwriter; Artist

KUNQU OPERA ARTISTS	Zhang Hong (Nanjing) National Class One Playwright of the PRC	Shi Xiaomei (Nanjing) National Class One Performer of the PRC
	Li Hongliang (Nanjing) National Class One Performer of the PRC

VISUAL ARTISTS ANDCREATION	Stanley Wong (alias anothermountainman) Creative Director & Founder, 84000 Communications	Karena Lam Artist
	Tobias Gremmler (Munich) Art Director and Designer, ‘Digital Media’ in Germany www.syncon-d.com	Li Chi Tak Designer, Comic Artist
	Lai Tat-tat Wing Comic Artist

GUEST SPEAKERS	Cheng Jianjun (Guangzhou) Professor, Department of Architecture, South China University of Technology	Wang Weijen Associate Professor, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong
	Ray Chen (Taipei) Founder & Design Director of Ray Chen International Ltd.	Liu JiaKun (ChengDu) Person in charge, Jiakun Architects
	Zhu Xiaodi (BeiJing) Dean & Chief Architect, Beijing Institute of Architectural Design	Zhang Lei (Nanjing) Person in charge, Atelier Zhanglei Architecture Design Institute; Professor, School of Architecture, Nanjing University
	Wang Shu (Hangzhou) Dean & Department of Architecture, China Academy of Art	Jiang Jun (Beijing) Chief Editor, Urban China; expert of urban problems and individual artist and curator
	Li Wen (Guangzhou) Deputy Editor-In-Chief, City Pictorial; passion in promoting creative culture in China	Chen Xujun (Guangzhou) Expert of Ecotourism; Writer; Chief Representative of Green Globe 21 in China
	Zhang Xiaozhou (Beijing) Music Critic; Performance Curator; Sport Critic

CREATIVE WRITING	Pia Ho Founding Member, Zuni Icosahedron; Creative Director, Hong Kong Commercial Radio

Music / Sound Creation & Live Performance	Yu Yat-yiu@ PMPS Composer; Founding Member, People Mountain People Sea	Steve Hui(Nerve) Composer; Member, experimental electronic music group VSOP
	VSOP Formed by Kim Lam and Steve Hui (Nerve)	Jason Choi@ PMPS Composer; Founding Member of People Mountain People Sea
	Edgar Hung Composer; Founder, the multimedia group der Fluss	Lam Tsan Tong Music Manager, Wuji Ensemble
	Cheng Yuk Lecturer, The Junior Music Programme, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts	Chau Chin Tung Principal Percussion, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta
	Gaybird@ PMPS The kingpin of individual group “Multiplex”	Xu Cheng (Shanghai) Independent Sound Artist
	Dajuin Yao (Taipei) Sound Artist; Music Producer; Curator; Radio Host; Art Historian	Zen Lu (Shenzhen) Experimental Musician; Sound Artist; Founder, We Play! Records and Neo Sound group
	Sin:Ned Music Critic; Electronic Music and Sound Artist	A lok Founder, the alternative experimental music brand Lona Records
	Pun Tak Shu Multimedia artist in sound/music, video, graphic and theatre	Joao Vasco Paiva Sound/ Music artist
	Aenon Jia-en LOO Sound Artist in electronic music live performance	KWC Member, the electronic music live band No One Pulse and the Laptop trio iii
	Gayamyan Formed by Ma Lap-yin, Chung Chak-ming and Cedric Chan

ARTIST / PERFORMER	Cedric Chan Resident Artist, Zuni Icosahedron; Member, the local band of Gayamyan	David Yeung Founding Member & Resident Artist, Zuni Icosahedron
	Dick Wong Choreographer; Creative Performer	Carson Chung Creative Performer
	Tanya Chan Legislative Counselor; Creative Performer	Carmen Wu Resident Artist, Zuni Icosahedron
	Shirley Yip Creative Performer	Albert Tsang Creative Performer