Hong Kong Pavilion
Arsenale, Campo della Tana, Castello 2126
30122 Venezia Italia
(Opposite the main
entrance of Arsenale)
http://www.venicebiennale.hk
Hong Kong arts Development Council
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Ms Wendy Tso
te: (852) 28201031
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1. Frogtopia-Hongkornucopia, Hong Kong, 2011, Live art and body installation, Dimensions variable
Hong Kong Pavilion
Frogtopia．Hongkornucopia
Hong Kong at the 54th Venice Biennale
Introductory Text
Frogtopia o Hongkornucopia
Reading Frog King Kwok
Benny Chia
BIOGRAPHIES OF CURATORS AND ARTIST
Frogtopia - Hongkornucopia
ARTIST - Kwok Mang-ho (a.k.a. Frog King)
A multimedia artist who was born in China, grew up in Hong Kong, and experienced "Art Life" in New York for 15 years, Kwok has produced numerous performances, sculptures, paintings and installations at more than 3,000 arts events around the world since 1967. He received the Urban Council Fine Arts Awards for Sculpture and Mixed Media in 1975 and 1998, respectively, as well as the Yomoma Arts Group Award for The Best Community Arts Service from City Hall New York in 1987, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Emeritus Fellowship in 1998, and the Documentaries of Chinese Performance Art from the Macao Museum of Art in 2005. His works are in local and overseas museum and private collections.
He created a number of ongoing projects, including, "9 Million Works" ,"One Second Performance", "Frog Fun Lum" and "Yum Dimension" to experience "Life is Frog, Art is Frog".
CHIEF CURATOR - Benny Chia
Born in Singapore and educated in Hong Kong, Paris and Leuven, Chia has been working in the arts in Hong Kong since 1978. He is the Founding Director of the City Festival, Hong Kong Festival Fringe and Fringe Club - a disused icehouse that has been turned into a vibrant arts space. In addition, he has produced 33 stage productions, site-specific works, and art exhibitions, and toured with them in 20 cities. Both the former and current Hong Kong governments have honoured him for his contributions to the community. This is the first time he has curated a show at the Venice Biennale.
CURATOR - Tsang Tak-ping
Born in Hong Kong in 1959, Tsang Tak-ping is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He also creates public art, installations, performances, photographs and publications, and he is an art critic. Tsang has exhibited widely in Asia, Europe and North America, including the Venice Biennale in Italy and the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea. He has played various roles in Hong Kong's participation in the Venice Biennale, such as a member of the study group (2001), curator of the Para/Site Collective (2003), and member of its Steering Group at the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (2009).
Tsang is a co-founder of the Para/Site Art Space, Mindful Design Lab (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) and Choi Yuen Village Livelihood Place; and he has published "The Idiotsyncratic Hong Kong Lifestyle of a Professor Book Series".
CURATOR - Wong Shun-kit
Born in Shanghai, Wong graduated from the Shanghai Academy of Performing Arts with a major in Stage Design. He is a painter, installation artist, set designer and curator who has been living, working and creating in Hong Kong for nearly 25 years. He is currently the Deputy Director of Shanghai Himalayas Art Museum. Also, he was Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council's Visual Arts Committee and Deputy Commissioner of the Hong Kong's participation in the 49th and 50th Venice Biennale. Wong was honoured with an Artist of the Year Award in 1997, and he has been the recipient of an International Fellowship in the Visual Arts, a Fellowship of the Asian Cultural Council, and other accolades. His works have been showcased in the Hong Kong Museum of Art's Hong Kong Artist Series - Wong Shun-kit, the Hong Kong-Berlin Arts Festival, the Shanghai Biennial, and elsewhere. He curated the "Open Classroom" project at the 2nd Guangzhou Triennial.
