FIRST, THERE WAS Oil Street in North Point. Then, the Cattle Depot at To Kwa Wan. Now, Hong Kong's latest unofficial art community is emerging in and around an industrial complex that formerly housed the likes of roasted pork stores and woodwork shops.
'I was the first to arrive here,' says Chester Chu, a painter and architect who once worked in Sir Norman Foster's local Hong Kong office. He's since been joined at the Wah Luen Industrial Centre in Fo Tan by about 60 other young, independent artists - many of whom are quickly making names for themselves.
Most are graduates of the fine arts department at the nearby Chinese University (CU) in Sha Tin, and are attracted by the huge spaces and the cheap rents - particularly important, given the paucity of government support and funding.
Chu's studio is an 800sqft loft with a four-metre-high ceiling, and a view of the green Fo Tan mountainside. 'The advantages of having a studio in Fo Tan are the rent and the art community here,' he says. 'The direction of my work has been greatly affected by other artists within the building.'
The first artists began moving into the cheaper, unused spaces within Blocks A and B of the centre back in 2001. Since then, the numbers have grown and artists have spread into neighbouring complexes: the Goldfield Industrial Centre and the Yue Cheung Centre.
'I pay $800 a month for my share of the total rent, which is shared among six people,' says Lee Kit, a 2001 graduate of the CU fine arts department. His painted canvases of vernacular patterns for household use were selected for the highly acclaimed 2003 Hong Kong Art Biennial. 'My studio is close to the woodshops and industrial supply stores, as well as being close to Sha Tin, which is important for me,' he says.