November 24, 2011

Next week on Wednesday 30 November 2011 the opening ceremony of the new exhibition ‘Dancing in Water: Jane Liu’s Imagery in Art’ will be held. Officiating at the ceremony which starts at 5.30 pm are Professor Mayching Kao, Dr Ng Chi-wa and Professor Cheng Pei Kai.

The artist Jane Liu was born in Macao and graduated from the Arts Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Thereafter Liu did postgraduate studies at the St Martin’s School of Art in London and at the University of Illinois. Back in Hong Kong, Liu taught at the Polytechnic University and was curator and supervisor at the Hong Kong Visual Art Center. She founded the Art Horizon Printmaking Workshop in 2000.

Her works have been on display at exhibitions in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Europe and the US and can also be found in the collections of museums, art institutes and universities as well as in the possession of private collectors.

The current exhibition displays art from Liu’s Dancing in Water Series which she has worked on in recent years. The depiction of jellyfish in the water reflects Liu’s fascination with the creature whose movements she says resemble those of a ballet dancer.

The exhibition runs from 30 December 11 till 15 January 2012 at the CityU Gallery, open daily from 10 am till 7 pm. For more information check out the CCIV website or call 3442-2477.

Written by: Audrey

November 14, 2011

On Saturday, my family and I attended the annual village Pun Choi event, this time also held to celebrate the re-election of Mr Chan Siu-kuen as member of the Tai Po District Council. Amazing how a parking lot can be transformed into an outdoor restaurant: numerous tables were laid with large metal basins of Pun Choi in the centre of the tables.

Originally a Hakka dish, Pun Choi is said to have been invented during the late Song dynasty, when locals had to serve a good meal to one of the Emperor’s generals with his army who had fled to the south. Collecting and cooking all sorts of home grown ingredients, the locals put everything together in large basins which could easily be reheated before being served.

The Pun Choi we had on Saturday (see image) contained pork, chicken, duck, prawn, dried mushroom, beancurd, pigskin, Chinese radish, fishballs, and squid. At least these are the things that I recognized. Stuck in the sides of the basin you can see the shared chopsticks to pick the food that you fancy.

It was a very lively event because while enjoying the food, activities on stage went on all through the night, including speeches, singing and a lucky draw. At such an occasion, it is possible to get a taste of Hong Kong culture at village level and experience how neighbours and friends who may not normally dine together socialize in a very informal way.

For those of you who want to know more about Pun Choi, you can check out the article in Wall Street Journal by Amy Ma: ‘Pun Choi is Purely Hong Kong’.

Written by: Audrey

November 11, 2011

The International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong 2011 kicked off yesterday. It follows on the success of the first festival held two years ago and is co-organized by the Centre for East Asian Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences of City University of Hong Kong and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

According to the website, the event has four objectives: the first is to promote poetry appreciation among secondary and university students and the general public. The second: to provide a platform for the people of Hong Kong to reach out to local and international poetry. The third: to remind people the value of poetry which still plays an important role in life in a modernised and materialised world; and fourth: to broaden the literary experience of Hong Kong readers, strengthen the components of imagination and creativity in local education and, thereby, enable Hong Kong to take one step forward in becoming an international cultural metropolis.

The programme runs till 13 November 2011, and is held at various venues, e.g. the afternoon sessions on the first day were at CUHK and CityU where poets from Russia, India, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, Ireland and the USA are gathered together for discussions on ‘Masters and Mother Tongues’ and ‘Americas: New Wor(l)ds.’  The poetry recitals at night are accompanied by music. For details, visit the IPNHK website.

Written by: Audrey

November 4, 2011

On Tuesday 8 November 2011 during the First Session of the 2011 Congregation, the Teaching Excellence Award will be presented. This year there is only one winner: Mr Kwok Kam-hung of the Chinese Civilisation Centre. An earlier announcement of this on Pulse was made on 19 April 2011.

Kwok won the award ‘for innovative student engagement.’ As can be seen in the photo here, Kwok is an expert in Chinese tea and among the topics he lectures on is the Dao of Tea. He brings out tea sets and teaches the students how to brew tea themselves. This leads them to develop an interest in a natural way, so much so that when to go out for dim sum and drink Chinese tea they realize that they have a different attitude towards tea. It is this kind of engagement, this process of taking knowledge from the classroom into other parts of their lives that is one of Kwok’s teaching aims.

More information about the Teaching Excellence Award can be found on the TEA Website with a video of an interview with Kwok Kam-hung. The Centre’s latest newsletter Nanfeng issue no. 18 also contains interviews with Kwok Kam-hung in Chinese and English. If you are interested in the 2011 Congregation at CityU, you may wish to visit this website.

Written by: Audrey