The CollectorHow to become an artist in Hong Kong, city short on space to work and big on making money from art?
The quartet behind Party Hard Studio’s ‘Again and again’ exhibition describe how the pressure to make saleable art early in a career constrains creativity
Don’t be fooled by the name. The foursome behind the Party Hard Studio are asking perfectly sober questions about how to become an artist in Hong Kong.
Dave Chow Yui-wang, Kaya Ng Kai-yan, Apple Wong Hiu-fung and Hazel Wong Mei-yin are friends who recently graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University. They are determined to stick it out as artists, unlike most of their fellow students, who have settled for more dependable careers in teaching, design or marketing.
They are not doing too badly. Their second joint exhibition, called “Again and again”, is on until the end of the month at Common Room, an artist-run cafe, bookshop and gallery in funky Sham Shui Po, a working class district in Kowloon. And they had a lucky break last year when they secured a sought-after studio in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, where they joined a dozen or so other emerging artists in enjoying a workspace in the Foo Tak Building at a heavily discounted rent and enjoy the benefit of being part of a lively, stimulating community.
“Most of us live with our family in a small flat. Where do people find room to work? We are lucky there are four of us to split the rent, but we couldn’t find anything affordable until now. Studios in Fo Tan (an industrial town in the city’s New Territories) have become expensive. Cheaper, public options often come with too many criteria,” Apple Wong says.