CHAT celebrates 5th anniversary with Spring Programme 2024 Factory of Tomorrow

Factory of Tomorrow
16 March – 14 July 2024
Opening Hours: 11:00am–7:00pm (Closed on Tuesdays)
CHAT, 2/F, The Mills, 45 Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong

From Hong Kong’s urban development to global climate change, 19 artists interpret the past, present and future through unique lenses and textile

CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile) proudly announces its Spring Programme 2024, Factory of Tomorrow, as it gets ready for its 5th anniversary. The group exhibition, curated by CHAT’s curatorial team, will open to the public from 16 March to 14 July 2024 and feature CHAT’s contemporary art collection as well as newly commissioned works.

Marking 5 incredible years since the textile heritage museum opened in 2019, Factory of Tomorrow ambitions to articulate the unique artistic character and vision of CHAT, which is housed in a prime example of Hong Kong’s industrial heritage – a former cotton spinning factory. CHAT has also lined up an exciting series of events to provide visitors of all ages with a rich and engaging cultural experience.

Envisioning the future through heritage

Since its establishment, CHAT has always striven to breathe life into heritage. Factory of Tomorrow is in the genealogy of CHAT’s curatorial journey over the last 5 years. Through heritage, it endeavours to critically examine the past and evoke imagination for the future.

The exhibition brings together contemporary art creations by 19 artists of Asian backgrounds. Roughly divided into two parts, Factory of Tomorrow first reflects on the role textile played in Hong Kong’s industrial past before shifting the focus to the present and the future. Ranging from textile works and sculptures to immersive installations and videos, the artworks reflect the artists’ perspectives on textile technology and materials, diversity, climate change and our future. While shedding light on various problems, CHAT does not intend to glorify the past or foster pessimistic outlooks; but rather, it calls on visitors, artists and designers to collectively learn and build a better path forward.

In addition, CHAT is thrilled to welcome several new elements as it embarks on the next chapter. The D. H. Chen Foundation Gallery will feature the new special display Misfitted: Unspoken Stories of Tailoring, curated by Bruce Li and introducing local textiles tailor-made for different purposes. A new interactive experience, Illumin-Loom, will invite visitors to operate a virtual loom and create their own illuminated textile patterns. The CHAT Lounge will also reopen with big curtains designed based on artworks by local students, the interactive art piece DEMOS, and the display Artefacts of Labour contextualising art through heritage, textile and CHAT’s collection.

Opening performance, art photo booth and more exciting celebrations

As in previous seasons, CHAT’s offerings in spring 2024 extend beyond the exhibition space. Complementing the thematic show are a range of captivating performances as well as artist and curator-led tours, workshops and talks. On 15 March, the audience can participate in the opening performance by Frog King Kwok, a pioneering performance artist from Hong Kong, at The Hall at The Mills using musical instruments made from recycled materials. On 15–17 March, visitors can take pictures embellished with the artist’s designs for free at a special photo booth by presenting their CHAT entry tickets. To celebrate CHAT’s 5th anniversary, we will be launching the Birthday Bash giveaway campaign, during which the 5th, 55th, 555th, and 5555th visitors of CHAT will each receive a surprise gift.

Special events in Hong Kong Arts Month

This year, CHAT will once again make an appearance in Hong Kong Arts Month, starting with Hong Kong’s first showcase of Norico Sunayama’s live performance, which questions our desire and sense of ethics by letting the audience venture under her enormous red dress, at Art Central on 27–31 March and a talk on 29 March. During the Art Basel week, CHAT will run a booth to engage with visitors at the HKCEC on 28–30 March. Performance artist Ei Arakawa-Nash will also perform with his collaborators in Hong Kong for the first time in The D. H. Chen Foundation Gallery of CHAT on 30 March.

Takahashi Mizuki, Executive Director and Chief Curator of CHAT, says, ‘I am delighted that CHAT will soon mark its 5th anniversary. As Hong Kong’s unique textile heritage museum, CHAT is a “factory of tomorrow” which will continue to incubate new ideas and talent, bridging the past, present, and future for the community. Through our various spring programmes with distinctive artists with Asian connections, you will see that CHAT is entering a new phase and constantly evolving.’

Participating artists in CHAT’s Spring Programme 2024 include Ei Arakawa-Nash (Los Angeles), Movana Chen (Hong Kong and Lisbon), Kimberly Chong (Hong Kong), Maggie Chu (Hong Kong), Fyerool Darma (Singapore), Ade Darmawan (Jakarta), Ho Rui An (Singapore), Hou I-Ting (Taiwan), Iwasaki Takahiro (Hiroshima), Jung Yeondoo (Seoul), Kato Izumi (Tokyo), Yuki Kihara (Sāmoa), Kobayashi Yuki (Tokyo), Frog King Kwok (Hong Kong), Park Jeehee (Seoul), Shao Chun (Hangzhou), Scarlett Yang (London), Yee I-Lann (Kota Kinabalu), and Yin Xiuzhen and Song Dong (Beijing)*.

*Yin Xiuzhen and Song Dong’s video work will be shown in a screening programme.