Reimgaine Alternative Models of Hong Kong Museums
proposed by Clara Cheung/independent curator
The current research, "Reimgaine Alternative Models of Hong Kong Museums," attempts to
- ‘retrieve’ memories from 1990s’ HK migrants’ time capsules, and
- connect these memories with recent memories of the new HK migrants.
Background:
Hong Kong (HK) was handed over from British Government to Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Government from People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1997. But it was not until the year of 2007, a strong local movement to critically reflect upon Hongkongers’ cultural identity arouse in Hong Kong, when the one symbol of the colonial structure, Queen’s Pier, was brutally removed by the HK-CCP government. While HK-CCP government probably believed that removing the physical architecture would help the decolonization process of HK, Hongkongers realised that we had to preserve and reflect upon our memories and histories, in order to construct our distinctive cultural identity in this decolonization process. Otherwise, Hongkongers will only be entering into another colonial era, which is not under British rule, but under the rule of CCP. After two major democratic movements in 2014 and 2019 (Umbrella Movement and Anti-Extradition-Law Movement respectively), HK-CCP government tries even harder to erase memories of Hongkongers, by further erasing the physical border between HK and PRC, imposing more thorough National Eduction curriculum in schools, and having censorship in all fields (by strictly enacting the newly inserted National Security Law in HK).
Before successfully going through one decolonization process, Hongkongers are forced to enter another colonial stage. In 2021, HK has a new wave of emigration, which is the largest since the1990s, after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. Many have to flee in order to avoid political prosecution, while many also flee to protect the next generation: to preserve the Hong Kong cultural identity which is undergoing a cleansing process by the CCP colonial rule. Many Hongkongers, who recently relocated overseas, are very keen to preserve precious memories about Hong Kong, by building different archives of materials, that have become sensitive or will soon be too sensitive to be kept in Hong Kong. This act of preservation, indeed, reminds me of shopping malls built by HK migrants in Vancouver, Canada in the 1990s. When I first visited Vancouver in 2018, I was amazed how 1990s’ HK shopping mall styles can be preserved so well in Vancouver, which can hardly be found in HK anymore. I described this observation in detail in an essay titled, “Hongkongers’ Desire for a Time Capsule —- postscript of an art exchange trip to Vancouver.” In a sense, these shopping malls in Vancouver are like a museum of Hong Kong’s shopping culture in the 1990s.
Research:
However, I would like to point out that by just keeping a time capsule is not enough, to help HK go through the de-colonial process. What is equally important is to critically retrieve memories from this time capsule, to reconnect with the contemporaries, in order to develop a distinctive third space for Hongkongers. The current research would like ‘retrieve’ memories from 1990s’ HK migrants’ time capsules, and connect these memories with recent memories of the new HK migrants.
The first phrase of the research will be conducted during the residency period, which includes interviews and dialogues about the topic of “Re-imagine an alternative model of HK museum”
interviewing 2 1990s’ HK migrants (preferably artist or cultural practitioner)
interviewing 2 2021’s HK migrants (preferably artist or cultural practitioner)
conversations with all interviewees about the memories of HK they’d like to preserve, and their imagination of an alternative model of HK museum (which can be a reference for, or a critical response to, the upcoming M+ museum at West Kowloon Cultural District in HK) the interviews and conversations may possibly lead to an art-making project among the participants.
Further Development: It is hoped that this first phrase of the research, and dialogues with other researchers and curators during the residency will ignite the second phrase of the research, which hope to engage even more HK diasporas in dialogues with each other.
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Clara Cheung: Upon her graduation from Rhodes College (TN, USA) with the Bachelor Degree of Arts in Fine Art and Computer Science in 2002, Clara Cheung received Sally Becker Grinspan Award for Artistic Achievement and Apollonian Award for Art History. She then studied for the Postgraduate Diploma in Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and received a master degree of Cultural Studies at Lingnan University afterwards. She is an active member of the non-profit art group, Art Together, Project226, and the founder of C&G Artpartment. Since 2007, she curated and co-curated more than 50 art exhibitions at C&G Artpartment, which situates in a “tong-lau” building apartment in Hong Kong. These exhibitions often critically respond to local social and cultural issues, including problems in the local art ecology. She was a member of Wan Chai District Council from Jan 2020 to July 2021, attempting to contribute to the local political scene in Hong Kong with her creative problem-solving skills.
Related sites/pages
www.CandG-Artpartment.com
https://www.facebook.com/mobilecommunitymuseum/