Hong Kong’s best-kept secrets: space in an industrial building for artists to exchange ideas

Why do visual artists, dancers and theatre folk in Hong Kong seldom seem to cross paths? It’s hard to say, but a space in a Chai Wan industrial building has opened to allow them to exchange ideas.

WING, which occupies the top floor and roof of the building, and has a terrace too, was founded in early 2015 by Leslie Van Eyck, who moved to Hong Kong from Belgium six years ago. Together with a group of architects who shared her vision, the space was renovated to make it a flexible platform for gatherings, workshops, talks and small-scale performances.

The non-profit organisation aims to connect visual and performing artists with their international counterparts. So far, WING has seen a Belgian duo explore the city with performative installations; a workshop and screening of dance video with Hong Kong and Singapore representatives; a Swiss performance exploring dance through visual arts; and more.

The number of people going there - artists, dancers and people interested in performance – is growing steadily. While it appears an intimate space unsuited to a big crowd, Van Eyck says she’ll try to open up the space to a larger number of people on special occasions, such as Hong Kong Art Week.

It was during 2015’s Chai Wan Mei, held concurrently with that year’s Art Basel Hong Kong, that WING was launched, with a programme focused on storytelling. Its casual and relaxed ambience makes it a nice space to chill before and after events.