Source: Media Outreach
BODW City Programme empowers citywide design and creative clusters this November and December with over 100 design-driven happenings.
< >The fifth edition of CityProg, with three distinct platforms as its core, will partner up with over 100 creative partners to spark more than 100 design-driven happenings in November and December 2022. Thirteen (13) ‘Anchor Site Festivals’, four (4) ‘Design EduVation’ programmes and over fifty (50+) ‘Satellite Events & Offers’ will take place in key design and creative clusters in Hong Kong including Sham Shui Po, Tsuen Wan, To Kwa Wan, Sai Kung, Central and Aberdeen.
In addition, the concurrent programme of CityProg, ‘HKDC 20th Anniversary Special Initiative: Design !n Action’ will return. Bringing together local creative and design talent and companies, the initiative will lead primary, secondary and tertiary students to explore the latest trends and huge impact of creative industries on global economy and sustainable community development. The participating students will also explore the world of career possibilities on the journey.
Prof. Eric Yim, Chairman of Hong Kong Design Centre, explains, ‘To facilitate the development of Hong Kong into a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between Chinese and the rest of the world, CityProg plays a role as an important driver of sustainable development in the creative ecosystem, uncovering local design culture and mobilising underused resources including talents, spaces, regional characteristics and innovative ideas. Promoting creative resources and ideas sharing across different sectors will enhance the standard of creativity and design, boost creative confidence and inject dynamism in the city, developing a pluralistic cultural environment.‘
HKDC has been dedicated to weaving together creative and design partners across various sectors, local communities, education institutions, government organisations, consulates and business networks, and mobilising creative resources step by step. Through cultural research, seed-funding, nurturing talents, co-creation with the community, event management and promotion, CityProg advocates a pilot development of bottom-up creative clusters.
Sam Lam, Chief Curator of BODW City Programme (Director of Business Development and Projects) of Hong Kong Design Centre, shares, ‘We actively identify new opportunities to build or strengthen regional cultural characteristics, landscapes, venues and clusters. For example, we deepen the relationship among residents, districts and businesses through revitalising public spaces and objects with design, including unused spaces, playgrounds, old electronic parts, fashion, spatial design and more. Design is a catalyst for development of design and creative clusters, facilitating urban renewal and community innovation. This year, with Sham Shui Po as a key design and creative cluster, CityProg joins hands with the creative partners, residents and local businesses to reimagine the use of space, creating more liveable and human-centred living environment with resources in the city and creative inspirations. We hope to inspire the public to redefine design: Design is not only a business, but also part of our live. Everyone in the city, regardless of their age, profession or background, can become a changemaker, together designing a sustainable community.‘
BODW City Programme 2022: 10 Design x Sustainable Community Projects
Key creative cluster: Sham Shui Po (3-4 December 2022)
Other creative clusters: Tsuen Wan, To Kwa Wan, Sai Kung, Central and Aberdeen (26-27 November 2022)
Sensory Symphony – openground (Sham Shui Po)
‘Sham Shui Po Material Map’ 3.0 will be produced – undoubtedly materials are always the starting point and inspiration for designers. Continuing the past two years’ experimentations with Sham Shui Po’s most commonly found materials, the Material Map now expands to cover a larger network of local shops. Observations of a city are mostly recorded using visual elements. Yet, the experience of the present moment is also composed of sensations. Designers and the public will design musical instruments using electronic parts and materials found in Sham Shui Po, turning the everyday sensory into beautiful symphonies. The project will explore new possibilities for materials and boost the district’s micro economy.
Cheongsam Rhapsody. A Story of Sham Shui Po Fashion – FashionClinic by T and Wontonmeen (Sham Shui Po)
One day, a scrap dealer sent over a stack of leather storage boxes and wooden suitcases, which were filled with piles of Cheongsam and old things from the 1920s to the 1960s. The collection’s tailoring, buttons and fabrics record a lady’s life stories. Led by designers, the public will dive into the past and reflect on the value of ‘sustainable design’ through appreciation of Cheongsam and fabric design. The project will also explore the role of ‘sustainable design’ for recycling, encouraging everyone to embrace the heritage in today’s modern world.
Gaming Out – Milk Design and Kennifstudio (Sham Shui Po)
When faced with the impossible challenge of creating space, how can we break the cookie-cutter mould to reshape a community? Under the theme of ‘play’, designers will lead the public to come up with new ‘street game’ ideas and ‘human-centred’ public space innovative solutions with design thinking. Through reimagining the use of public open spaces and everyday objects, the project will encourage the public to embrace innovative ideas, and ultimately solve various problems related to space, enhancing wellbeing in the neighbourhood through play.
Play Out of the Box – Anewtoys (Sham Shui Po)
Our toys accompany us through the trials and tribulations of growing up, until the day comes when they are left behind and forgotten. While some toys manage to find new homes, most end up in landfills that only add to the growing environmental issue. Through upcycling and resource sharing, designers and the public will extend the life of unwanted toys with creativity. Allowing children from grassroot families to enjoy their own toys, the project aims to connect with the community with design. It will also encourage more sustainable patterns of consumption, and promote circular economy and sustainability among the next generation.
The Beautiful Pages – project G_IJ_ (Sham Shui Po)
Beautiful picture books can always warm our heart and heal our soul. Learning about the creative ideas of a series of community picture books created by designers, the participating students and the public will develop a sense of empathy and be equipped with human-centred problem-solving skills. They will also improve interpersonal interactions and appreciate the community through a design and cultural perspective.
Walkable Workable Fashion – Walk DVRC (Sham Shui Po and Central)
To redesign the infrastructure of a high-density city like Hong Kong – ever-changing between the old and the new and woven with a compact transportation network – is no easy task. But with just some reverse thinking, including seeing urban and fashion design proposals in a new light, even tradition can be broken. By exploring innovative and new materials to redesign the daily uniform of white-collar workers and promoting walking as a sustainable mode of transport, the project leaves behind a positive impact on urban mobility and can even reduce our carbon footprint.
InNovAction Tsuen Wan – HKFYG Tsuen Wan Youth S.P.O.T. (Tsuen Wan)
Sports is beneficial to our physical and mental health, and it can even empower our community. From the designer’s point of view, the premise of sports – from the venue to the equipment, the outfits and even the visual branding of large sporting games – is filled with endless ingenuity of design. With the placemaking experience and creative resource network acquired from its previous participation in CityProg, HKFYG Tsuen Wan Youth S.P.O.T. collaborates with designers and leads a group of youngsters to equip the participating public with sports design knowledge and promote a healthy lifestyle in a creative way.
Tour Around Sai Kung – Mode of Design Alliance and Bottoms Up Communication Limited (Sai Kung)
Here’s the ultimate guide to Sai Kung, ‘the back garden of Hong Kong’. Mode of Design Alliance lines up designers and creative talent with local shops, and invites architects to host guided tours around the old and new cultures of Sai Kung. Participants will uncover the most creative local travel experience in the neighbourhood – discover a bunch of products made from local materials including soil and sand, seaweed, shellfish and locally-grown plants, and try out the delicious ‘ugly food’ feast!
Reimagine the South – The Warehouse Teenage Club (Aberdeen)
The Southern District is rooted as a fishing community. With the placemaking experience and creative resource network acquired from its previous participation in CityProg, The Warehouse will lead the youth and the public to explore the Southern District from a design perspective through houseboat experience, city observation, community design and other activities. Participants will come up with innovative ways to upgrade the cultural and leisure facilities around the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter, allowing the public and tourists to learn more about the district’s history and culture.
CREATION TO EMERGE – Making on Loft (To Kwa Wan)
To Kwa Wan, an old urban district, has cultivated a vibrant cultural and creative ecosystem over the years. With the cultural and creative resource network acquired from its previous participation in CityProg, Making on Loft will continue to take a bottom-up approach to empower and connect with the creative units in this potential ‘design and creative maker cluster’. The project will also invite the youth to design zines documenting the district’s creative and cultural landscape, instill new purpose into old objects, and design everyday necessities with wood for different local shops. A series of creative works will be showcased at a bazaar cum exhibition.
Learn more about BODW City Programme 2022 at:< >Official Website: www.bodwcityprog.com< >Facebook: www.facebook.com/bodwcityprogramme< >Instagram: www.instagram.com/bodw.cityprog
Hashtag: #HongKongDesignCentre #HKDC #BODWCityProgramme2022
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