HKTB Curates Interactive Art Installation at Affordable Art Fair Bringing Speakeasy Bar and Traditional Barbershop to the Fair Ground Instilling Local Characters to International Art Events

Continue your ride on Hong Kong’s art tide! Following the success of international art events such as Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central in March, today marks the first day of Affordable Art Fair 2024 taking place from 16 -19 May for consecutively four days. This year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) joins hands with Affordable Art Fair 2024 (See Appendix I for details) to jointly curate an interactive art installation in the form of a speakeasy bar Neon (See Appendix II for details). The bartender will create four Hong Kongstyle cocktails on the spot by incorporating the flavours of the Hong Kong style café cha chaan teng. Tucked behind a traditional barbershop in Shanghai style where you can get a trim of your hair, the bar features 12 artistic illustrations themed around Hong Kong’s streetscape, making an artistic space that offers a sensory experience that excites your visual, olfactory and savoury senses. Embark now onto the journey of Hong Kong nostalgia and explore the scene of the community that inspires its guests to visit the actual neighbourhoods!

The art installation Neon is co-created by American-Taiwanese artist Jonathan Jay Lee and former head sommelier of Michelin-starred restaurant Kiyoshi Hoshimi-Caines. The duo’s paths crossed as they followed their parents to Hong Kong and became emotionally attached to Hong Kong’s old districts. Neon is inspired by the neon sign-filled lanes in Sham Shui Po. While it takes the form of a traditional barbershop, the space opens up to a speakeasy bar as it extends its invitation to the guests.

Hong Kong-Style Barbershop Storefront

Neon resembles a traditional barbershop in Shanghai style that was commonly found in the 1970s and the 1980s at first glance. The green and white tiles tessellating the interior and the homey chairs transport guests to the good old times. Guests can enjoy a haircut and immerse themselves in the old Hong Kong aura with the visual and sensorial experience.

Illustrations with all walks of life around Hong Kong triggering visitors’ interests in exploring the community

A neon-lit speakeasy bar reveals after passing through the barbershop, decorated with 12 illustrations by Lee. The contrastive comic style recreates the Hong Kong scenery and lives of the locals. Nostalgic elements such as Hong Kong’s old buildings, noodle stalls and neon signs were included in the illustration and reconjure a sense of nostalgia towards the city’s streetscapes among viewers.

Jonathan Jay Lee, Urban Jungle - Kowloon City, 2023, film mounted in Lightbox, 135x100x3cm	Jonathan Jay Lee, Kowloon City Technicolor, 2023, film mounted in Lightbox, 135x100x3cm	Jonathan Jay Lee, Sham Shui Po, 2023, film mounted in Lightbox, 60.5 x 74.5 cm

Savour a Tipsy Hong Kong in Authentic Style

Attaching great importance on sensorial experience, Neon offers four specially made cocktails inspired by local flavours of egg tart, milk tea, jasmine tea and chrysanthemum tea. Mixologist Kiyoshi HoshimiCaines hopes to explore Hong Kong with his guests through these unique flavours. As visitors call it a day at the bar, they may note down their experiences on the postcards designed by Lee and share their in-town experience with friends outside the city.

From left to right: KOK FA SPRITZ, MILK TEA PUNCH, DAN TAA SOUR, SAICHO JASMINE TEA (non-alcoholic)

Through Neon, The HKTB hopes to offer guests a sensorially rich experience of Hong Kong’s uniqueness and inspire them to explore the community after visiting the fair and embark on in-depth CityWalk journeys. Besides, the HKTB also aims to inject local elements into international art exhibitions to enrich visitors’ intown experience.

This is the 11th year that the Affordable Art Fair has been held in Hong Kong. The exhibition will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai from 16 to 19 May with a total of 97 galleries. Visitors can enjoy a wide range of artworks by popular and emerging artists from all over the world, priced below HK$100,000 at the exhibition.

Series of art and cultural events in May

In addition to the Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2024, a variety of exciting arts and cultural programmes will be launched from May onwards. From international galleries, to performing arts, to street arts around districts, creativity is on display and the arts are in full bloom. the HKTB will continue to actively promote and support the city-wide art and cultural events through the “Arts in Hong Kong” promotional platform. The HKTB also collaborates with organisers to combine arts and culture with travel experiences through various initiatives, so as to elicit more possibilities for new travel modes and enhance the event experience of both locals and visitors.

French May Arts Festival 2024 16 March – 30 June 2024   French May Arts Festival this year presents over 100 diverse arts and cultural programmes, including photography, circus, music, dance and theatre. Extending from the Art x Harbour experience in March, the HKTB’s “Arts in Hong Kong” year-round promotional platform and French May jointly promote a selection of French art-meets-fine dining experiences of French GourMay and performing arts programmes in May and June at the Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier and on specially transformed ferries.   French May: https://www.frenchmay.com/ French GourMay: https://www.frenchgourmay.com/

The 9 th HKwalls Street Art & Mural Festival 23 March 2024 – 25 March 2025   26 street artists from 14 countries or regions have created 41 large-scale murals in outdoor spaces in Central and Western District, Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui, in the hope of inviting more citizens and visitors to appreciate the murals in the city and learn more about Hong Kong’s street art and culture while discovering a new look of the community. Among them, the murals in the Central and Western District are presented by artists from local and the Greater Bay Area, combining outstanding works from different artists from around the world, to reflect the intersection of Chinese and Western cultures in Hong Kong.   The 9 th HKwalls Street Art & Mural Festival: https://www.hkwalls.org/festivals/hkwalls-2024/

Appendix I

More on Affordable Art Fair 2024

The Affordable Art Fair brings together 97 local and international exhibitors from Asia, Europe, Australia and the Americas to showcase ‘affordable’ artworks for on-the-spot purchase, all priced below HK$100,000.

Appendix II

More on speakeasy bar Neon