After Centre A

Many many thanks to the Centre A Gallery for giving us the opportunity to create and present 
越界/粵界 (transgression/cantosphere) and for facilitating significant dialogue around linguistic diversity and the endangerment of languages. Check out these links below for more information on the amazing work of our panelists from last week:

• Zoe Wai-Man Lam [Award winning, UBC PhD candidate, Department of Linguisitics]
• Sarah Wai Yee Ling [Author and First Nations language revitalization advocate]
• Ah To [Renowned illustrator of “The Great Canton and Hong Kong Proverbs”]

Panelists: Zoe Lam (Left) and Sarah Ling (Right)

Via teleconference: Ah To (Left) and Po (Right)

Also last week, Kristin Cheung + Natalie Tin Yin Gan spoke about the beginnings of HKX: three friends, a suburban hot tub, and an injured bird. They also talked about Centre A, arts stuff, culture stuff, plus more.

Many thanks to Vancouver Co-op Radio CFRO and Kristin!

Closing Exhibition + PANEL DISCUSSION

越界/粵界 (transgression/cantosphere) closes this Saturday (March 28th).

If you haven't gotten a chance to see our exhibition at the Centre A Gallery yet, please check it out -- especially if you care about culture, history, multiculturalism, language, the local issues of gentrification in Chinatown, and/or the global pressures on Cantonese-speaking populations.

The gallery is open TUESDAY TO SATURDAY [11am to 6pm]

As well, at 4pm this Saturday (March 28th), Centre A will be hosting a fantastic panel discussion. More details can be found below.

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Linguistic Diversity & The City: 
The Case of Endangered and Critically Endangered Languages in Vancouver

According to a preliminary analysis of the Cantonese language’s vitality and endangerment status in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Vancouver's Chinatown, it is apparent that both state and community support for the language are in decline and that Cantonese is steadily losing realms of use. To say that the language is under threat of very real endangerment is, according to the UNESCO framework employed in the analysis, not an exaggeration. And the time for action may be now.

As community support deteriorates, the People’s Republic of China has evidenced hostility towards the language, leaving its mid-long term fate in places like Hong Kong and Guangzhou increasingly uncertain. Meanwhile, regardless of pretensions to pluralism, as the demographics of Vancouver's Chinatown shift, the language is losing its place on the street-scape.

Simultaneously, revitalisation efforts are having varying effects on critically endangered local languages including hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, the language of the Musqueam people. Is it time, as a community that we assess our approach to linguistic and cultural diversity in the urban landscape and perhaps adopt a manner that borrows from approaches to biological diversity? What sorts of consequences would such an approach have on urban and cultural planning and the arts? 

Do arts communities, municipal authorities and others concerned with cultural development have agency in defining sites of cultural flourishing? If so to what degree can they influence language?

Does language even matter?

What can be done at civic, state and grass-roots levels to empower linguistic diversity? 

Is culture at the mercy of "inevitable market forces"?

Join us at Centre A gallery on March 28th at 4pm for a discussion on these matters:

• Award winning, UBC PhD candidate, Zoe Lam will present the findings of her analysis.
• Author and First Nations language revitalization advocate Sarah Ling, will share her experience with hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ naming efforts at UBC
• And Ah To the renowned illustrator of “The Great Canton and Hong Kong Proverbs” will join us from Hong Kong via skype for a current view of the status of Cantonese language resilience and grass-roots language defense efforts in that city.

"The Midnight After" Screening @ Centre A

In connection to 越界/粵界 (transgression/cantosphere), Centre A will be holding a screening of Fruit Chan's 2014 film, The Midnight After. The event will be hosted by Howie Tsui. 
Conversation to follow.

Thursday, March 12, 8pm
229 E Georgia Street
This event is free and open to the public!

FILM SUMMARY:
A night like any other in the streets of Hong Kong: in the midst of the tangle of night-owls, cars and vendors, a group of passengers climb aboard a minibus that is to take them from Mongkok to Tai Po. The group is as diverse as the city: there's a young man on drugs, an arguing couple, a woman with prayer beads and a girl who has just fallen in love, and behind the wheel sits the chatty driver. As the bus emerges from a tunnel, everything is suddenly quite still: the streets and buildings are all empty and there's not a soul to be seen; it's as if everyone has suddenly been swallowed by the earth. Only the millions of neon lights continue to blink, as if nothing has happened. The eclectic group of passengers seek refuge in a deserted café and discuss what they should do. Then they make a horrific discovery. (IMDB)

Official trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLeNlP50O9k

Centre A - FUSE - Club PuSh

We're touched by the overwhelming support and well-wishes for our upcoming work in the next few weeks! Also, thank you to everyone who came out to our gallery opening at Centre A this past Thursday! We're incredibly grateful to Centre A (Tyler, NatT, and Alex) for their trust and guidance, for our collaborators (Howie and Zoe) for bringing their talents, and for the opportunity to engage in this important conversation in Chinatown. The exhibit runs until March 28th. 

Here are some links to interviews, followed by more information about the shows:

• Fairchild TV - Joyce Rosario and Milton Lim talking about the PuSh Festival [Starts at 7:59]
• Schema Magazine - Conor and Milton discussing eatingthegame and the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
• Schema Magazine - Milton speaking about his art practice and Hong Kong Exile
• Tickets Tonight - Interview with Milton on Facebook
• Omni TV - Interview with Zoe Lam regarding 越界/粵界 (transgression/cantosphere) at the Centre A Gallery

Lang(Lang)guage will be presented at the Vancouver Art Gallery for FUSE on January 30th
Tickets/information about eatingthegame/Lang(Lang)guage at Club PuSh on February 5th
Information about 越界/粵界 (transgression/cantosphere), our installation at the Centre A Gallery, ongoing until March 28th

越界/粵界 (transgression/cantosphere) Installation at Centre A

越界/粵界 (transgression/cantosphere)
Hong Kong Exile
in collaboration with Zoe Lam and Howie Tsui

January 22 - March 28, 2015
Opening reception: Thursday, January 22 | 7-10pm

More information here.

The Culture of Economics in Vancouver – A Curatorial Statement on eatingthegame

Below is an excerpt from a thoughtful and generous writeup by Tim Carlson about eatingthegame at Club PuSh. Many many thanks to Tim, Theatre Conspiracy, and the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival for supporting, and commissioning, and presenting us. Also a huge thank you to Art for Impact for prompting and presenting the first iteration of ETG back in 2013!

In just the past year HKX has delivered an impressive range and depth of work, often with a keen comic sense and tech savvy innovation vibrant zest. I think Vancouver has been ready for a HKX for some time. Their work speaks to global issues, while addressing the local consequences; they speak to us on familiar territory while ready to pull the rug out from under our feet and our assumptions. Read more.

- Tim Carlson, Artistic Producer of Theatre Conspiracy

February 5th @ Club PuSh

The 2015 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival lineup was just announced and it looks like January/February will be yet another chance to see tons of very exciting international artists. This time in particular, we're really stoked to be sharing our own work with the full-length premiere of eatingthegame at Club PuSh, featuring our dear artist-entrepreneur friend, Conor Wylie.

Please visit this page for more information/tickets for eatingthegame/Lang(Lang)guage.

We are very excited to announce that through generous BCAC Early Career Development support, HKX is working, learning, and collaborating with well-established arts organizations over the next year. Be sure to check them out!

• Remy is the Artist-in-Residence for the Turning Point Ensemble
• Natalie is the Associate Producer Intern for Boca del Lupo
• Milton is the Artist-in Residence for Theatre Conspiracy

We acknowledge the financial assistance of the Province of British Columbia.

Solidarity

We would like to officially express Hong Kong Exile's proud and firm support of the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong. 

We are deeply moved and inspired by your courage and resilience. 

HK, be safe and strong.  

加油.

From Vancouver, Canada in solidarity,

Natalie Tin Yin Gan, Remy Siu, and Milton Lim

View fullsize

Gateway

The first non-English international theatre festival in Canada, the Gateway Pacific Theatre Festival 加藝太平洋話劇節 very successfully wrapped up this past week. It was a super rad showcase of three contemporary Chinese plays from Hong Kong with English subtitles. 

• DETENTION 打轉教室
• THE ISLE 小島芸香
• THE FIRE OF DESIRE 赤室解禁

Beyond the performances, we were fortunate to be involved in the professional development side of things. Selected as one of ten participants across Canada for the festival's Gateway Masterclass Series 加藝太平洋戲劇節- 大師班系列, Natalie explored contemporary Cantonese text and physical theatre with Tang Shu-wing, Bonni Chan, and Sean Curran. Milton examined character development in the Playwriting Workshop with Janice Poon.

Artistic Director, Jovanni Sy, and the team at Gateway have been making headlines with their big 15-year strategic plan: Gateway 2028. 

"Gateway 2028 plans to introduce inclusive and culturally diverse programming, divided into three phases, each spanning five years."

You can find the specifics here on the Alliance for Arts and Culture website.

We're certain that the Gateway is going to play an increasingly important role in bringing  innovative and vital work to Richmond as well as further diversifying the arts communities in the Lower Mainland. 

We're really pumped!

Closing Lang(Lang)guage

A big thank you and congratulations to the absolutely fantastic team at Cinevolution Media Arts. We were very happy to premiere Lang(Lang)guage at the 2014 Your Kontinent Festival and we look forward to getting the chance to work together again!

@YK2014

Just a couple of updates! On Wednesday, Remy represented HKX in PechaKucha Night (Richmond edition). On Thursday, we opened up Lang(Lang)guage as part of the Art in Containers Exhibition for the Your Kontinent Festival [Cinevolution Media Arts].

We're very excited to be showing our latest piece in Richmond. Many thanks to our friend Paul Paroczai for his work with the piano sampler patch and for being in town to help us run the installation!

Finally, we also had a fantastic article written about us by Ian Young at the South China Morning Post; you can check it out here.

Magnetic North, Canada's National Theatre Festival

Last week, I attended the 2014 Magnetic North Theatre Festival and it was absolutely amazing. Thank you to the staff and the organizers for producing such a massive event and to my fellow Compass Points members for being a stellar ensemble.

Shout outs to Zuppa Theatre Co. for letting me run the laser light show and to bluemouth inc. for the marathon-level dance moves. If you don't already know these two companies, I'd highly recommend checking them out!

- Milton

Upcoming in July

LANG(LANG)GUAGE @ YOUR KONTINENT FESTIVAL 2014

Screenshots from the Footage [NINEEIGHT]

We just received the footage from our performance in Toronto; we'll be making a trailer soon.

Thank you to CanAsian Dance + Jeremy Mimnagh for shooting and editing!

Back from TO!

We're home from Toronto! Many thanks to Michelle Lui and Alex Tam for being such stellar friends and collaborators to work and travel with!

We are incredibly thankful to have been supported by CanAsian Dance, Dancemakers, New Works, and our amazing mentor: Lee Su-Feh. We met many great people in TO and look forward to working together again sometime!

Massive thank yous to the fantastic people that made it all so special:
Denise H. Fujiwara, Joyce Rosario, Michael Trent, Adina Herling Davids, Farheen Beg, Arun Srinivasan, and Gillian Lewis!

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The Globe and Mail reviews Hong Kong Exile's NINEEIGHT, choreographed by Natalie TY Gan.

"The fresh and exuberant category is represented by NINEEIGHT by Vancouver choreographer Natalie Tin Yin Gan, performed with gusto by Michelle Lui, Milton Lim and Alex Tam. The title refers to a style of absurdist comedy prolific in 1990s Hong Kong cinema.

Gan uses lightning fast projections to give a flash card history of Hong Kong. The dancers, meanwhile, are larking about, having fun as they make up physical games. There is a dark side, however, manifested in Remy Siu’s cacophonous score. Implicit in the piece is Hong Kong’s split personality, the free and easy former British colony now under mainland China control."

Read the full Globe and Mail article here.

Toronto Bound!

Last week, HKX did a preview showing of our latest work: NINEEIGHT at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre as part of Dance Allsorts!

A few hours ago, we touched down in Toronto to premiere NINEEIGHT at Dancemakers Centre for Creation as part of CanAsian Dance's Kickstart Festival! We're very excited to meet with the rest of the casts and choreographers.

5 Upcoming Festivals

We've been at work, mentally prepping for some upcoming productions. HKX is proud to be taking part in:

Sonic Boom・Dance Allsorts・CanAsian Dance・Sound of Dragon・Your Kontinent

We'll update with more information closer to the dates!

Dem yum yums (if you're curious): Szechuan CHONGQING Restaurant, Naruto Sushi

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

Natalie and Milton have been busy as Young Ambassadors for the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

They're running The Quiet Volume by Ant Hampton and Tim Etchells every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Vancouver Public Library. Be sure to check out this fantastic write-up about the piece by Peter Dickinson, and of course, come and see the show. 

Photo credit: Joyce Rosario

welcome home

 HKX has recently returned from month-long research and travel in Asia. We had the honour of meeting some incredible companies including:

Hong Kong

• DanceArt @ Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre
• Passover Dance

Singapore

• Spell #7
• T.H.E. Dance Company & T.H.E. Second Dance Company @ Goodman Arts Centre
• Artists All Around
• Arts Fission @ Cairnhill Arts Centre
• Word Forward @ Aliwal Arts Centre
• Frontier Danceland @ Goodman Arts Centre

Taipei

• MARQ Films
• Chimerik
• Tainaner Ensemble