Hong Kong Palace Museum | Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Art in the Garden – Hong Kong Palace Museum Art Plaza Project

Description

The Hong Kong Palace Museum's (the Museum) first outdoor public art exhibition, 'Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Art in the Garden – Hong Kong Palace Museum Art Plaza Project' (the 'Art in the Garden' exhibition), officially opens today. The exhibition is part of the 'Hong Kong Jockey Club Series', organised by the Hong Kong Palace Museum and solely sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It will be open to the public free of charge from 8 November 2025 to 2 November 2026 at the Museum's plaza.

As the Museum's first outdoor public art exhibition, 'Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Art in the Garden – Hong Kong Palace Museum Art Plaza Project' aims to extend the exhibition content and space beyond the galleries, infusing art into the public realm to enrich the visitor experience. Centred on the art of traditional Chinese gardens, the exhibition features sculptures and multimedia installations by six cross-disciplinary Hong Kong artists and architects, presenting a contemporary take on the poetic and Zen-inspired landscape of mountains and forests.

The opening ceremony was held at the Museum today, with guests including Mrs Rita Wong, Chief Executive Officer of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority; Ms Phyllis Yip, Head of Charities (Culture, Sports and Community Engagement) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Dr Louis Ng, Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum; and guest curator Ms Eliza Chang.

Dr Louis Ng, Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum, said, 'The Art in the Garden exhibition is an innovative initiative that furthers the Museum's mission to promote the appreciation of Chinese art and culture among the public. We are especially grateful to the Hong Kong artists and architects who participated in the exhibition for creating an artistic garden for everyone to enjoy. We would also like to thank The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for its support, allowing the public to experience the vitality and allure of traditional Chinese culture through these tangible, sensory and immersive landscapes.'

Ms Phyllis Yip, Head of Charities (Culture, Sports and Community Engagement) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, 'The Club donated HK$3.5 billion to support the construction of the Hong Kong Palace Museum, enabling the public and tourists to appreciate the artistic treasures of Chinese history and culture, and to disseminate traditional Chinese values. This donation also supports the Museum in talent cultivation, outreach education activities, and the organisation of large-scale exhibitions under the Hong Kong Jockey Club Series, including this exhibition.'

Six Hong Kong artists and architects engage in a contemporary dialogue with traditional garden art

Curated by the Museum's guest curator Ms Eliza Chang, the exhibition brings together six established and emerging Hong Kong artists and architects, including the internationally renowned Hong Kong architect Mr Rocco Yim, who designed the Museum's building; sculptor Mr Ho Siu-kee; bamboo artist Mr Lam Tung-pang; media artist Miss Cho Sai-wing; visual artist Mr Tung Wing-hong; and soft sculptor Ms Cheng Shuk-yee. Drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese gardens and artefacts in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing, the participating artists and architects offer unique cultural perspectives and imaginations, presenting a fresh interpretation of traditional garden culture in the contemporary urban context.

They skillfully utilise materials such as bamboo, metal and fabric, incorporating light and motion structures to transform classic garden elements like pavilions, stacked rocks, flowing water, forest paths and plants into poetic contemporary art expressions. Some of the installations even incorporate interactive elements, inviting viewers to walk, rest and touch, fostering a sense of symbiosis between art and the environment.

The six public art installations are as follows:

·         Dancing Bamboo Forest by Rocco Yim uses local bamboo as a medium, weaving an abstract and immersive forest landscape that pays homage to the extraordinary resilience and plasticity of bamboo;

·         Mountain Range by Ho Siu-kee is made of twisted and welded iron branches that transform the rigid material into dynamic and powerful lines, emulating the brushwork and aesthetic of Chinese landscape paintings;

&middamp;nbsp;       Arrow by Lam Tung-pang takes inspiration from bamboo arrows, capturing the tension and struggle between beauty and destruction, tradition and modernity;

·         Memory of the Land by Cho Sai-wing borrows motifs from jade artefacts in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing, transforming the traditional jade pendants passed down through generations into a portal through which viewers are invited to journey from the past to the future;

·         Hidden Flower Screen by Tung Wing-hong blends modern industrial structures and display forms, initiating a dialogue with floral motifs found in the rare treasures of the Palace Museum in Beijing;

·         Ink Garden by Cheng Shuk-yee takes its cue from a set of eight literati paintings featuring trees from the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing. Using fabric as the primary medium, it imitates ink wash colours and textures, reinterpreting the true form of ancient trees through the transformation from two-dimensional to three-dimensional works.

To complement the exhibition, the Museum will organise a range of educational activities, including artist talks and workshops, to deepen visitors' understanding of the creative process behind the exhibited works and the art of traditional Chinese gardens.

The 'Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Art in the Garden – Hong Kong Palace Museum Art Plaza Project' will be open to the public free of charge from 8 November 2025 to 2 November 2026 at the Museum's plaza. No reservation is required. Members of the public are welcome to visit the Museum's plaza during opening hours.

Online ticketing for West Kowloon Cultural District

Hong Kong Palace Museum website: www.hkpm.org.hk

West Kowloon Cultural District website: https://www.westk.hk