Hong Kong’s textile past celebrated in immersive exhibition

Public invited to ‘build textile village’ at arts-based workshops in historic former cotton mills

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A souvenir-making kit at a “Chat Go! Let’s Build a Textile Village” workshop.

Kylie Knott

Published: 9:15am, 10 Jun 2018Updated: 9:15am, 10 Jun 2018

In an age of technology, finance and tourism, it’s easy to forget the role textiles played in shaping modern Hong Kong. In the 1950s, the city was among Asia’s biggest textile exporters and, by the 60s and 70s, most of the working population was employed in the garment industry. But the landscape shifted when rising rents and labour costs combined to send factories scurrying across the border to cheaper China.

Hong Kong’s textile industry has all but disappeared – but the non-profit Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (Chat) is determined that it won’t be forgotten. When it opens next spring at The Mills – the former site of Nan Fung Textiles’ cotton-spinning mills in Tsuen Wan – the centre will house exhibition, studio and co-working spaces that celebrate the legacy of the industry.

A tie-dyeing workshop at the Chat Go event.

This summer, Chat is hosting “Chat Go! Let’s Build a Textile Village”, its first programme of talks, events and workshops, during which the public will be invited to help transform the centre into a “textile village”.

“This is not a passive experience,” says Chat co-director Chin Chin Teoh. “It’s a chance for the public to immerse themselves in the workshops and connect with the Tsuen Wan community.”