Portal into charity works

Art in commercial areas has been taking off over the past few years. As well as shopping malls, hotels are joining the community effort to support local artists.

The latest is the Langham Place Hotel in Mong Kok, which in mid-January invited 11 local young artists to use a variety of materials for an art session in the hotel's Portal - Work & Play bar.

'We had a group of young artists led by their teacher, Gukzik Lau,' says Cecilia Wong Wan-sze, the hotel's public relations director. 'Besides using canvas, some of the artists also painted on clear acetate so you can see the vision from both sides.'