Kick off the New Year in style by trying your hand at everything from online botanical painting classes to taking in a Brahms requiem. If retail therapy is more your thing, visit the upcoming Discovery Bay Chinese New Year Market. Read on for more events to look forward to in Hong Kong this January…
Jan 7
A Feminist’s guide to Botany: Online Botanical Painting Session
Step into the magical world of botany and try pairing your green fingers with a brush in an online water painting class dedicated to exploring the history of iconic female artists in the botanical field. The workshop will be led by the London Drawing Group, an all-female art and teaching collective that promises to deliver engaging art classes you can enjoy right in the comfort of your own home. The attendance fee, meanwhile, is on an eminently reasonable “pay what you can” basis.
Details: londondrawinggroup.com
Jing Kewen: Cloudless
Until Jan 11
Jing Kewen, a leading proponent of the Chinese avant-garde movement, is to present a selection of works he created over the course of 20 years in the first exhibition of his art to be hosted by Massimo De Carlo. The chosen pieces are said to highlight his evolution as an artist, including many deemed to be pivotal expressions of his unique vision during the period when his oeuvre was most influenced by post-modernism and globalisation.
Details: Massimo De Carlo, Central. massimodecarlo.com
Cantonese opera young talent
Until Feb 6
With the aim of breathing new life into one of the city’s few homegrown artforms, the Chinese Artist Association of Hong Kong is to stage over 100 Cantonese opera performances and related outreach activities at the Yau Ma Tei Theatre. It is hoped this will help nurture new talents via a programme intended to pass on the art of Cantonese opera to a new generation.
Details: HK$100 Up at Yau Ma Tei Theatre. hkbarwoymt.com
A taste for life: The collection and connoisseurship of Mr Low Chuck-tiew
Until Feb 24
Xubaizhai is presenting a fine selection of highly acclaimed Chinese paintings and calligraphy works from the archives of the late connoisseur of the fine arts, Low Chuck-tiew. In all, the collection is said to showcase some 40 iconic works collected over a 50-year period, which both capture the zeitgeist and reflect the rarefied taste of their former owner. The selection is also accompanied by the personal story behind the acquisition of each work, providing an illuminating journey into the heart of art connoisseurship.
Details: Free admission at Xubaizhai Gallery of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy. hk.art.museum
Brahms: The German Requiem
Jan 9
A piece that will move and comfort the grieving heart, The German Requiemis the longest work composed by Deutschland’s own Johannes Brahms. Said to be a tribute to his mother and inspired by the music of Bach, this seven-movement piece will be performed by the Hong Kong Youth Choir under the lead of Christopher Cheng.
Details: HK$180 Up at Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui. up.hkphil.org.
Discovery Bay Chinese New Year Market
Jan 12
Ring in the Chinese New Year with a little retail therapy while getting ahead with your preparations for the lunar celebration. As a special edition of the ever-vibrant and lively Discovery Bay Sunday Market, the Discovery Bay Chinese New Year Market is aiming to spoil shoppers with an array of fare from dozens of artisan vendors, all selling handmade crafts and ethically-produced items from local creators.
Details: Free admission at Discovery Bay Main Plaza. handmadehongkong.com
The Impossible Trial: A Musical
Jan 24 – 31
The Impossible Trial (previously known as The Great Pretender) assembles some of Hong Kong’s leading creators and performers in the revival of this classic fable of greed, justice and redemption, all in a contemporary context in an innovative musical theatre format. Commissioned by Freespace, and co-presented and co-produced by HKRep and Freespace, the performance is said to tell a timeless tale with considerable relevance to modern day Hong Kong.
Details: HK$180 Up at Hong Kong Cultural Centre. westkowloon.hk