Media

“Conforming to Vicinity – A Cross-Strait Four-Region Artistic Exchange Project 2014”
opens at the University Museum and Art Gallery

14 Nov 2014

(From left to right): Curator (Macao) Mr. Noah Ng Fong-chao, Curator (Mainland) Ms. Gou Xian-xu, Chief Curator Mr. Feng Bo-yi, Founder and Managing Director of Galerie du Monde Mr. Fred Scholle, Director of University Museum and Art Gallery Dr. Florian Knothe, Director of Pingtung Art Museum Mr. Hsiao Ching Shan, Curator (Hong Kong) Ms. Sarah Ng Sau-wah, Curator (Taiwan) Ms. Hsu Woan-jen

“Conforming to Vicinity – A Cross-Strait Four-Region Artistic Exchange Project 2014” showcases the latest artworks by thirteen artists from Hong Kong, Mainland, Macao and Taiwan. The exhibition will be held from November 15, 2014 to February 1, 2015 at the University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), the University of Hong Kong.

An opening ceremony of the exhibition was held at UMAG today (November 14). Officiating guests include Director of Macao Museum of Art Mr. Chan Hou-seng; Director of Pingtung Art Museum Mr. Hsiao Ching-shan; Chief Curator of the exhibition Mr. Feng Bo-yi; Founder and Managing Director of Galerie du Monde Mr. Fred Scholle and UMAG Director Dr. Florian Knothe.

To tie in with the exhibition, an academic symposium entitled “Conforming and Confronting: Arts Around the Cross-Strait Four-Regions”, will be held tomorrow (November 15, Saturday) for specialists, art historians and artists from the four regions to share their expertise and inside knowledge of contemporary art with all participants.

The “Conforming to Vicinity” project is curated by the chief curator, Feng Bo-yi, and the curators of the four regions, Sarah Ng Sau-wah (Hong Kong), Noah Ng Fong-chao (Macao), Hsu Woan-jen (Taiwan) and Gou Xian-xu (Mainland) and is participated by thirteen artists. The exhibits feature a wide range of art medium with twelve sets of installation/video arts, paintings and photographs by artists from the cross-strait four-regions: Otto Li Tin-lun, Keith Lam and Hung Keungfrom Hong Kong; Carol Kwok, Bonnie Leong, Kitty Leung and Eric Fok from Macao; Lee Ken-tsai, Kuo Hui-chan and Zhao Liu from Taiwan; and Ma Yong-feng, Zhang Wen-chao and Chen Wei from the mainland.

This year's creative display shows artworks that change and develop from exhibition places to places by conforming to and confronting each local environment. It is a new kind of exhibition to understand and display the exchange relationship among the cross-strait four regions. In other words, in addition to artistic exchange, the artworks will not only showcase the artists’ understanding and recognition of the four regions but display the artists’ adjustments and conflicts of different current social structures, cultural habitats and their comprehension of the local circumstances. This traveling exhibition began in Macao in March and moved to Pingtung in Taiwan in May and Shenzhen in Mainland China in July, before concluding in Hong Kong, while the exhibits in Hong Kong will be displayed as the most “complete” form.Please refer to the document “Captions” for the photos taken from the previous touring locations. 

In order to educate the public and to enforce their understanding and knowledge of contemporary art, the project also includes a series of "Creating Art with Artists" workshops that run from 11 November to the end of the exhibition in early 2015.

“Conforming and Confronting: Arts Around the Cross-Strait Four-Regions” academic symposium

Date: November 15, 2014 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30am to 4pm (Registration starts at 9:15pm) 
(A guided tour of the exhibits will be held immediately after the symposium)
Venue: 1/F, Fung Ping Shan Building, UMAG, HKU
Language: Conducted in English& Mandarin simultaneously
Cost: Free Admission. All are welcome. 
Enquiries: Please call 2241 5500 or email to museum@hku.hk for general enquiries. For details of the symposium, please click here.

Details of the exhibition

Period: November 15, 2014 (Saturday) – February 1, 2015 (Sunday)
Opening Hours:

• 09:30 – 18:00 (Monday to Saturday)
• 13:00 – 18:00 (Sunday)

Closed on University and Public Holidays

Venue:  University Museum and Art Gallery, the University of Hong Kong

Tel/Email: (852) 2241 5500 (General Enquiry) / museum@hku.hk
Fees: Free Admission
Website: www.umag.hku.hk/en/

Media enquiries:
UMAG Communication Officer Miss Elena Cheung, Tel: (852) 2241 5512, Email: elenac@hku.hk    

Other activities:
Workshops
To coincide with “Conforming to Vicinity: A Cross Strait-Four-Region Artistic Exchange Project 2014”, a range of workshops will be held during the exhibition period. Please click here  for details.

Guided Tour for schools

The exhibition will involve dedicated education and outreach activities. Our museum welcomes all school groups as well as tertiary institutions to request guided tours led by trained docents during our touring hours (Monday-Saturday, 09:30 – 17:00). Guided tours are available in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. To request an appointment, please contact Miss Elena Cheung on 2241 5512 or elenac@hku.hk for booking and further information.

About University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong

The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG) of the University of Hong Kong was founded in 1953 as the Fung Ping Shan Museum. Originally established as the Fung Ping Shan Library of Chinese language publications in 1932 in honour of its benefactor, the building became a museum dedicated to collecting Chinese art when the University's libraries consolidated. For more information on UMAG, please click here.