A contemporary art space with attitude and ambition
Oi!, operated by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's arts promotion office, will hold its first exhibition on the eve of the city's first Art Basel show in two weeks' time.
A new government art space housed in a grade two historic building vows to not only break boundaries but also transform art appreciation into an attitude.
The office's chief curator Lesley Lau Fung-ha said that unlike the existing museums that focus on exhibition and collection, Oi! will be dedicated to contemporary art and to engaging the community and stakeholders. "Art should be part of life. We want to embrace art as a life attitude. This is our vision," he said.
It took one year and cost HK$18.9 million to renovate the 1,970 square metre North Point site originally home to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. The renovation changed little of the Edwardian Arts and Crafts style of the house, built in 1908. Main features such as its red bricks, original window and door frames and tiles were preserved.
The yacht club moved to Kellet Island in Causeway Bay when land reclamation took the waterfront. The old premises were then used as a garage and government staff quarters until 1998. The antiquities office used it as a storehouse until 2007.
The site is located right next to the former Oil Street Artist Village. The adjacent Government Supplies Department building, now demolished, was the cradle for the city's first organically developed art space, where artists rented the site short-term.