Cover The Legend of Lanling (Photo: courtesy of Leung Mo and Hong Kong Dance Company)
The Legend of Lanling (Photo: courtesy of Leung Mo and Hong Kong Dance Company)
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The arts scene is in full bloom with a wide variety of music, dance, film and art shows: an opera on the Star Ferry, a martial arts dance performance, ‘The Sound of Music’ and more.
If you’re missing the buzz caused by art month in March, fret not. April is full of arts and film festivals that will keep your calendar busy. Didn’t receive an invite to the Hong Kong Film Awards this Sunday? Make up for it with the 10-day European Union Film Festival which will offer blockbusters and art films from places like France, Sweden and the Czech Republic, some of which have been recognised at major global awards such as the Cannes Film Festival. In terms of live performances, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta is bringing an award-winning musician to Hong Kong, while the Hong Kong Dance Company has a new show which blends contemporary dance and martial arts.
As for visual arts, Blindspot gallery spotlights a Chinese paper-cut artist; and Hauser and Wirth introduces Glen Ligon, an American artist renowned in the western world but lesser known in Asia whose text paintings incorporate literature from figures such as Gertrude Stein and James Baldwin.
You might also like: 8 events you can’t miss in Hong Kong this April, from Creamfields to the Rugby Sevens
1. European Union Film Festival Hong Kong
Above A film still from Lessons of Tolerance (Image: courtesy of European Union Film Festival Hong Kong)
A film still from Lessons of Tolerance (Image: courtesy of European Union Film Festival Hong Kong)
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When: from April 11 to 21
Where: various locations
What: Co-organised by Broadway Cinematheque and the European Union in Hong Kong and Macau, this annual film festival spotlights blockbusters and art films that cover a wide variety of genres including comedy, horror, action and drama. This year’s highlights include Club Zero (2023), a dark comedy thriller which follows how a boarding school teacher uses extreme methods to run her “conscious eating” class; La Chimera (2023) about a group of ancient gravediggers; and Lessons of Tolerance (2023), in which a small-town schoolteacher enrols her homophobic family in a government programme that promotes European integration.
2. The Legend of Lanling
Above The Legend of Lanling (Photo: courtesy of Leung Mo and Hong Kong Dance Company)
The Legend of Lanling (Photo: courtesy of Leung Mo and Hong Kong Dance Company)
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When: from April 12 to 14
Where: Auditorium, Kwai Tsing Theatre, 12 Hing Ning Road, Kwai Chung
What: Hong Kong Dance Company’s artistic director Yang Yun-tao collaborates with martial arts practitioner Hing Chao on a new piece which blends contemporary Chinese dance with martial arts: The Legend of Lanling. Lanling was a legendary general from the Northern Qi dynasty (550 to 577), who was remembered for his many victories against invaders. The most celebrated one involved him wearing a mask to trick his enemies when his army was outnumbered. In this production, Yang and Chao explore the historical figure’s intelligence, bravery and determination to win by weaving together a multi-disciplinary and multi-sensory dance piece that features martial arts, fight scenes, powerful drumming and scent.
3. Sayaka Shoji Plays Shostakovich
Above Sayaka Shoji (Photo: courtesy of Laura Stevens)
Sayaka Shoji (Photo: courtesy of Laura Stevens)
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When: April 13
Where: Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall
What: The Hong Kong Sinfonietta will open the 2024 season with a violin performance by Sayaka Shoji, who, in 1999, was the youngest and first Japanese violinist to win the Paganini Competition in Genoa, aged 16. Since then, she has forged a reputation in the classical musical industry for her stamina and virtuosity, and has also branched out to creating experimental projects that combine the visual art and musical worlds. She will be playing Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No 1, known for its dark, brooding and intense quality. The concert also comes with the orchestra's performance of Elgar and new compositions by Hong Kong-born musician Alice Yeung.
In case you missed: Violinist Hilary Hahn on ‘feeling like Taylor Swift’ ahead of her Hong Kong concert and why you can’t ‘plan to win’ a Grammy
4. La Bohème Centenary Experience on the Harbour by the Peninsula Hong Kong
Above The Star Ferry where La Bohème will take place (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula, Hong Kong)
The Star Ferry where La Bohème will take place (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula, Hong Kong)
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When: April 27 and 28
Where: The Peninsula, Tsim Sha Tsui
What: To mark the centenary of Giacomo Puccini’s death, a selection of songs from the Italian composer’s renowned opera La Bohème will be performed during afternoon tea on the renovated heritage Star Ferry. La Bohéme tells the story of the love between a poet and a seamstress, and the harsh realities of living in Paris’s Latin Quarter two centuries ago. Performed by local arts group Opera Lab, this production is a organised by the Peninsula Hong Kong and its partner, the Italian cultural institution Dante Alighieri Society.
5. Glenn Ligon
Above A piece by Glen Ligon (Photo: courtesy of the artist and Hauser and Wirth)
A piece by Glen Ligon (Photo: courtesy of the artist and Hauser and Wirth)
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When: Until June 1
Where: Hauser and Wirth, G/F, 8 Queen’s Road Central, Central.
What: Renowned in the western world, but less known in Asia, American artist Glen Ligon will be opening a self-titled exhibition, his first in greater China, at Hauser and Wirth, Hong Kong, coinciding with Art Basel. In his work, Ligon explores American history, society and literature, and posits thought-provoking questions about race and identity. The artist is best known for his text paintings which incorporate literature from significant cultural and literary figures such as Gertrude Stein, James Baldwin and Richard Pryor. The new exhibition will showcase some new works, including black coal dust paintings and “static” paintings, which are a continuation of his Stranger series. This series first began in 1997 and incorporates texts by author Baldwin to depict varying states of over- and under-representation of the Black experience.
6. Butterfly Dreams
Above A piece by Xiyadie (1999) (Photo: courtesy of the artist and Blindspot Gallery)
A piece by Xiyadie (1999) (Photo: courtesy of the artist and Blindspot Gallery)
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When: Until May 11
Where: Blindspot Gallery, 15/F, Po Chai Industrial Building, 28 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang
What: Self-taught traditional Chinese paper-cut artist Xiyadie just opened his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong at Blindspot gallery, titled Butterfly Dreams. The themes and content Xiyadie’s works are centred around his experience coming out as a queer person in rural China, in addition to the struggles of migrant workers in big cities. Featuring over 30 works, including never exhibited works from the 1980s, the show will be the largest exhibition of his work in Asia. Xiyadie is pseudonym meaning “Siberian Butterfly”, symbolic of its resilience and beauty, and reflecting the artist’s persistence in his pursuit for freedom. Notably, the artist is also participating in the main exhibition of the 60th Venice Biennale, Foreigners Everywhere curated by Adriano Pedrosa, opening at the end of this month.
7. The Sound of Music
Above Natalie Duncan as Maria in The Sound of Music (Photo: courtesy of Harmony Studio SG)
Natalie Duncan as Maria in The Sound of Music (Photo: courtesy of Harmony Studio SG)
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When: from April 16 to June 9
Where: Xiqu Centre, 88 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui
What: The ever-popular Sound of Music makes its way to Hong Kong shores this month. The show, by American composer Richard Rodgers and American lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, debuted on Broadway in 1959 before its movie adaptation starring Julie Andrews was released in 1965; iconic songs like Edelweiss, The Hills Are Alive and Do-Re-Mi remain timeless. This production is part of an international tour put on by a Broadway Asia team led by three-time Tony-Award-winning director Jack O’Brien.
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