Media

HKU Faculty of Arts to launch the Summer Institute in the Arts & Humanities

03 Jul 2009

 

The University of Hong Kong aims to strengthen its commitment to the Arts and Humanities through its newly-formed Summer Institute in the Arts & Humanities. The Institute is designed to reach out to the community in order to enrich the cultural life of the region and to promote critical and creative thought through innovative and dynamic programming. Launched in 2009 by the Faculty of Arts, the Summer Institute celebrates human culture in all its diversity through a series of scholarly and creative events, including conferences, seminars, workshops, forums, performances, public lectures, and academic courses. These events are designed for secondary school students, university students and the general public. The Summer Institute will run 13 July - 14 August.

For 2009 the Summer Institute has invited internationally and locally renowned writers, artists, musicians and scholars to explore the idea of cultural intersections, in particular the ‘China-West' interface that is so much a part of Hong Kong life. They will take part in public events that can be grouped into four categories:

1. Writer's Forum

The Writers' Forum consist of three main events:

July 13 (Monday), 1:15pm, Loke Yew Hall: INAUGURATION CEREMONY. The Chinese-American playwright, David Henry Hwang will speak on interculturalism, identity and the world's perception of China and Chinese men, as well as discuss his current project, a Broadway musical entitled Bruce Lee: Journey to the West, scheduled for the 2010-2011 season.

July 13 (Monday), 6:30pm, Loke Yew Hall: OPENING CELEBRATION. David Henry Hwang will take us through
readings from his works performed by members of the Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection (AFTEC) under the artistic direction of Dr Vicky Ooi, our University Artist.

18 July (Saturday), 2:30pm, Loke Yew Hall. GOING GLOBAL. This is a public Writers' Forum, moderated by Hugh Chiverton from RTHK and will involve the authors Shirley Lim, P.K. Leung, Nury Vitacchi, Louise Ho and Justin Hill. They will discuss their recent works and the global publication industry, as well as reading from their books.

To continue the ‘writerly' theme authors such as Andrew Barker, Leah Zhou, Claire Lee, Adam Radford and Vicky Holmes will read/perform and discuss their works every Monday from 20 July - 10 August, 7:30pm, HKU Library.

2. Musical Kaleidoscope

15 July (Wednesday), 7:30pm, Loke Yew Hall. JAPANESE POP STARS "FU-FU". Five Japanese girls from "Fu-Fu", founded in 2008, will sing anime theme songs with dance performance.

17 July (Friday), 7:30pm, T.T. Tsui Gallery. PEMBROKE COLLEGE CHAPEL CHOIR. The choir from Cambridge University, conducted by Dr Sam Barrett, will perform a wide range of repertoire ranging from plainchant, Renaissance Polyphony to twentieth-century masterworks and newly commissioned of choral works.

25 July (Saturday), 7:30pm, Loke Yew Hall. A ‘CROSS-RHYTHMS' concert. International and local masters of percussion/drums, including Balinese gamelan artists Alit I Gusti Adi Putra, I Made Mangkur Arsana, the Korean Samulnori group "Molgae", University Artist Dr Lung Heung-wing, Professor Gideon Alorwoyie, Dr Mano Mora, João Mascarenhas, and many more well-known musicians will play Korean, African and hybrid music.

29 July (Wednesday) at 7:30pm, University Museum of Arts Gallery. Literati Evening: QIN MUSIC. Guqin recitalists Professor Lau Chor-wah, Dr Tse Chun Yan, Mr Sou Sitai and Dr Yang Yuanzheng will play the oldest Chinese musical instrument, sharing tranquil moments of guqin with the audience.

14 August (Friday TBA) Rayson Huang Theatre. WORD WRAP CHORUS. The final event with Word Wrap Chorus and music students, directed by University Artist Dr Vicki Ooi, will end the Summer Institute.

Regular concerts Jazz concerts every Tuesday at 5:30pmin the Global Lounge, starting with Ted Lo and his trio 14 July and Guy LeClaire's trio 21 July.

Traditional Chinese and Korean music can be heard on every Wednesday at 1:15pm University Museum of Arts Gallery, in the T.T. Tsui Gallery, starting with Wang Shuang playing guzheng 15 July and the Korean Molgae group 22 July.

3. Art in Hong Kong

18 July (Saturday) at 11am, HKU Library. ‘Hong Kong's Street Art - Signage, Advertising, Architecture and Public Space', the first of four Art Talks, given in English by SCMP writer John Batten.

25 July (Saturday) at 11am, University Museum of Arts Gallery. ‘Appreciation of Artifacts' given by director Yeung Chun-tong in English.

1 August (Saturday) at 11am, University Museum of Arts Gallery. ‘Appreciation of Artifacts' given by Joan Ho Yi-hsing in Chinese.

8 August (Saturday) at 11 am, HKU Library. ‘Reaching Beyond Meaning in Cursive Script' given by artist and HKU alumnus Henry Lo Hon Yiu in English and Cantonese.

4. Symposium, 14 July (TBA):

'The European Appropriation of Chinese Nature during the Enlightenment'

This symposium, featuring scholars from Germany, France and Hong Kong, examines how Enlightenment Europe regarded Chinese nature at a time when the West did not yet consider itself superior to the East, but hoped instead to learn from Asian natural knowledge. The symposium looks at the ways in which eighteenth-century Europe appropriated, understood, and used the natural resources and knowledge offered by China. It seeks to capture that moment in time when Europe saw China not simply as an equal, but in many respects, as superior to the West. Professor Mark Elvin, Dr Nicolas Robin, Dr Andreas Christoph, Dr Alexandra Cook.

Public are welcome to attend any of these events. Admission is free but registration will be required for most of the events. 

About the Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts was founded in 1912 and is one of the oldest and largest in the University of Hong Kong. It has been the focus of academic life in the University and has continued to build on its tradition while meeting new educational and intellectual challenges.

For media enquiries, please contact: Ms Trinni Choy, Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2606 email: pychoy@hku.hk