Malls like Elements and IFC offer cultural promotions for shoppers
Exhibitions in the city's shopping complexes are becoming more extravagant and educational, writes Charley Lanyon
Summer is a boom time for shopping malls. Children are on holiday, and overheated shoppers crowd into the vast indoor spaces to cool off in the air conditioning and browse. As soon as the Christmas decorations come down, planning starts for big summer promotions and new ways to get consumers into the properties.
This year, West Kowloon mega mall Elements wanted to do something on an unprecedented scale. Betty Leong Sin-ling, head of investment property for the MTR Corporation, picked up the gauntlet. She set out to create a space where children and adults could learn, play, interact and, of course, shop.
"Summer is a major time for malls. It is a time for families, a time for kids as well as parents," Leong says. "A mall is a third space. It is a community centre."
Leong's ambition for Elements reflects a change in thinking at Hong Kong's malls. The display, a massive fantasy land inspired by luxury brand Papinee's Animalia line, comprises three interactive areas representing different parts of the world. Children (and fun-loving adults) receive a passport full of activities, and are encouraged to visit each station.
The children collect passport stamps from the oversized animal statues they encounter. At each stop, the child learns facts about the animal and the place it represents. When their passport is full, they can redeem it for Papinee prizes.
The approach underscores the roles malls now play beyond their purely commercial function. They are increasingly striving to put on exhibitions that are interactive, and educational or culturally significant, rather than just glorified window displays. The phenomenon is global, but it is of special significance in Hong Kong, where malls play such a large part in public life.