After presenting the first group projects in the previous week and, hence, ending the first phase of Hong Kong, week 5 marked a fresh start. We changed the location from AVA Kai Tak campus to Kennedy Town on Hong Kong Island. The students were guests at HART Haus, a modern-day art house, where they took part in a one-week improv workshop resulting in a public experimental performance on Friday night.
The workshop was facilitated by guest artists Andreas Siagian from Indonesia and Simon Dietersdorfer from Austria. Due to Chinese National Day, the protests and for safety reasons, the program did not take place on October 1st. But within four days, the students had the chance to experiment, pursue and develop ideas and learn through the process of exploration and trial. The module was designed for the students to let go of practical habits and offering them the possibility to step out of their comfort zone while immersing in a discipline other than the one they’re used to. After collecting ideas for the public performance at the end of the week, the students formed smaller, interest-based groups. Soon after, they started working and experimenting.
One group set up a sound island and jammed together: They layered sounds of a clarinet, a drum machine and spoken words such as poems and recordings from Hong Kong everyday life. Others experimented with tape and dance performance and some built an installation to project live drawings and writings onto various surfaces in the gallery space. Another group created a corner to discuss and reflect on the ongoing political situation in the city. They invited guests onto a sofa to engage in a conversation or to jot down their thoughts on sticky notes. Outside on the terrace, a duo tried a hand at the construction of bamboo structures. Lastly, one group dedicated themselves to supply the bar for the evening. But the bar was not just a bar—they'd created a Hong Kong market scene and touched on the topic of plastic use and waste.