Kung Music Workshop in Hong Kong is hosting the Multimedia Talk series from 7 February to 7 March 2014. The talks will feature local composer Kung Chi-shing in conversation with other creatives in the local music, visual arts and dance scenes.
Kung Chi-shing performing at Kubrick Friday Live, March 2009, Hong Kong. Image from flickr.com.
The Multimedia Talk series, conceived and hosted by local composer, performer and music activist Kung Chi-shing and his Kung Music Workshop, aims to explore the complex world of multimedia performance art.
The talks, held only in Cantonese, see presentations from a variety of Hong Kong’s performers, artists and arts practitioners. These first two talks are an introduction to the unique features of a multimedia performance and its development over the decades. Kung Chi-shing will be using his own works as well as those of international multimedia performing artists – such as Robert Wilson, Laurie Anderson, Pina Bausch, Meredith Monk, Robert Lepage and Heiner Goebbels – as examples to illustrate his points.
Other local artists have also been invited to share their insights in conversation fora with Kung, explaining their multimedia works from the perspectives of music, visual arts and dance. The artists included are GayBird, Kingsley Ng and Mui Cheuk-yin.
Kingsley Ng, ‘musical wheel’, 2008, new media installation. Image courtesy the artist.
Multimedia art in Hong Kong – widening perspectives
Multimedia performances were common in the West as early as the 1970s. Theatre productions often involved a creative conglomeration of artistic media. While these performances embraced the experimental spirit of the artists and opened up new creative options, they also led the audience into a much wider vision of the arts through the simultaneous presentation of the disciplines involved.
However, in Hong Kong, multimedia performances have yet to attain a similar reception because the local audience’s familiarity with the form is still minimal. This series of talks aims to enable local audiences to better appreciate multimedia performances.
GayBird, “CouCou on Mars”, June 2013, premiere in Hong Kong. Image courtesy the artist.
Who are the speakers?
Kung Chi-shing
Kung Chi-shing was born and raised in Hong Kong. He is a composer, performer and music activist. He studied classical music and composition in the United States with Allen Trubitt and George Crumb. He is known particularly for his work in the music and performance group The Box, which he founded with Peter Stuart in 1987.
In his compositions and performances, Kung focuses on experimentation with different formats, including pop, classical and improvisational music, and theatre art. Since 1996 he has created, composed and staged five full-length music theatre pieces, including Destiny Travels Limited, The Floating Bridge, City Insides a Broken Sky I & II as well as M Garden.
GayBird, ‘Observatory Plant’, 2013, multimedia installation for “CouCou on Mars”. Concept: GayBird, Joseph Chan. Design and engineering: Joseph Chan. Image courtesy the artist.
GayBird
GayBird was born and educated in Hong Kong. He graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with an MA in Music Composition and Electro-acoustic Music and from Hong Kong City University with an MPhil in Creative Media. Since 1996, he has been working in the Hong Kong music industry as music director, composer and producer for over 100 music productions, new media performances, concerts and TV commercials.
His works have been nominated and awarded in the Asian Composer League Music Competition, CASH Golden Sail Music Award, Hong Kong Film Award, Taiwan Golden House Film Award, Chinese Music Media Awards, Hong Kong Design Award and TVB Music Award, among others. GayBird will be talking on 21 February 2014.
Kingsley Ng, ‘record: light from +22° 16’ 14” +114° 08’ 48”’, 2008, multimedia installation (environment, new media and sound). Image courtesy the artist.
Kingsley Ng
Kingsley Ng is an interdisciplinary artist and designer, with a focus on conceptual, site-specific and community-engaging projects. Ng’s works have been featured in notable exhibitions and international venues, including the Guangzhou Triennial (China), Land Art Biennial (Mongolia), Echigo Tsumari Art Triennial (Japan), IRCAM – Centre Pompidou (France), Fabrica Centre (Italy), Vienna Kunsthalle (Austria), Lille Europe Pavilion at Shanghai Expo (China), InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre (Canada) and the Hong Kong Museum of Art.
Ng is also the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the Asia Cultural Council Grant 2013, Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Awards 2009 and Hong Kong Young Design Talent 2008. He was also artist-in-residence at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2010. He is currently a lecturer at the Master of Visual Art Programme in the Hong Kong Baptist University. Kinglsey Ng will be talking on 28 February 2014.
Mui Cheuk-yin
Mui Cheuk-yin received training in Chinese classical and ethnic dance in Hong Kong. She joined the Hong Kong Dance Company from 1981 to 1990 as the principle dancer. In 1985, she won the Hong Kong Young Choreographer Competition and received a scholarship to study modern dance in New York. Upon returning to Hong Kong, Mui created the works Awakenings in a Dream, Cursive Script and the Diary Series. She is currently the Associate Choreographer of Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC). Mui Cheuk-yin will be talking on 7 March 2014.
C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia
Related topics: Artist talks, new media art, performance, sound art, Hong Kong artists, events in Hong Kong
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