Olympian City 2｜Hong Kong Arts Centre Presents ‘RE: Tai Kok Tsui’ Public and Community Art Project Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui Exhibition　Articulating Community Identity Through Local Colour

Description

Organised by the Hong Kong Arts Centre and funded by the Urban Renewal Fund, the ‘RE: Tai Kok Tsui’ Public and Community Art Project is committed to facilitating community revitalisation, activating local culture, and exploring humanistic possibilities through art intervention in the context of urban renewal. The new programme, Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui launched on 20 June 2025 and runs until 8 August 2025 at the 'RE: Tai Kok Tsui' Pavilion, located in the Open Piazza, Olympian City 2, Tai Kok Tsui. The exhibition showcases a series of ceramic works created using locally collected community waste to develop ceramic glazes. Through the exhibition and a range of outreach activities, the programme presents the urban textures, everyday colours, and collective memories unique to Tai Kok Tsui. The programme extracts creative inspiration from everyday waste in the community, transforming materials such as coffee grounds, paper ash, and metal waste into new artistic possibilities. These glazes are applied to objects such as ceramic tableware, wall tiles, and small-scale furniture. Through the transformation of materials and artistic creation, the programme showcases the unique lifestyle and cultural characteristics of Tai Kok Tsui. It also aims to inspire the public to rediscover the neighbourhood and reflect on their relationship and sense of belonging within the community as it undergoes continual transformation.

Responding to Urban Textures, Reconstructing a Sense of Place

As one of Hong Kong’s long-established industrial communities, Tai Kok Tsui was once known for its metalworking industry, and to this day remains home to various hardware stores and traditional craft cultures. Local landmarks such as Hung Shing Temple and the Kowloon Funeral Parlour remain enduring features of the district, standing amid the ongoing transformation of its urban landscape and everyday life. In recent years, the arrival of residential properties and coffee shops has contributed to a unique cityscape where old and new, diverse cultures coexist. Set against this community backdrop, the ‘Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui programme begins with overlooked and easily neglected traces of daily life — such as coffee grounds, paper ash, tea, and metal waste — and local stories. Through the making and creative application of ceramic glazes, the project transforms these ‘materials of no use’ into colours and objects embedded with local meaning. The programme not only reconstructs the perceptual relationship between people and place but also explores new pathways of dialogue between community and creativity — with art as the medium. Throughout the project, the process has been shaped by the active participation and support of various community organisations and local residents, including 10 Fook Wai, Cold Brew Factory, Fortune Library 'Jie Yeah', GOODIN' OUT, The Church of Christ in China Kei Tsun Primary School, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Jockey Club Tai Kok Tsui Integrated Services Centre, Wan Land Café, Hung Shing Temple, Fuk Tsun Street and a number of neighbourhood shops such as Hong MingTV. Service Co and Kam Shing Metal Works, and also Art Lane 24 as workshop supporting organisation. 

Exhibition Highlights and Community Co-creation｜From Glaze Craft to Everyday Participation

The Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui exhibition features ceramic works made with recycled materials collected from the local community. The works are crafted by the artist team of Hong Kong Glaze Research Lab, drawing inspiration from the everyday life and cultural atmosphere of the Tai Kok Tsui neighbourhood. Recycled materials were used in the development of ceramic glazes, resulting in artworks that combine both functionality and narrative. Highlighted works include a small bench made with a combination of various glazes, along with three sculptural pieces, each developed using a single type of recycled material — specifically coffee rounds, temple paper ash, and metal waste from a key duplication shop — symbolising craftsmanship, faith, and transformation in the context of everyday urban life.    

The artist team - Hong Kong Glaze Research Lab of the Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui programme stated, ‘Through ‘Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui,’ we seek to reconnect and revitalise the community by utilising ceramics. By collecting discarded materials from both traditional and new industries in the district, we develop custom glazes that are showcased through pottery, reflecting the distinctive colours and textures unique to Tai Kok Tsui, and telling local stories through craftsmanship. When materials such as coffee grounds, paper ash, and metal waste—which are typically regarded as waste—are transformed into tangible, functional objects and glazes, it becomes more than an act of artistic creation; it serves as a meaningful way to re-establish our connection with the community.’

Prof. Raymond Fung, JP, Board of Governors and Chairman of the Arts Programme Committee of the Hong Kong Arts Centre stated, Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui embodies a core belief we have long advocated — that art is not only about presentation, but also about participation, intervention, and dialogue. Through glaze, a medium rich in both materiality and cultural meaning, we witness how the community becomes both the starting point and a partner in the creative process. This marks an important reference point for the relationship between art and the city.’

Ms Erica Chui, Chief Executive & Secretary to the Board of Urban Renewal Fund stated, ‘This programme demonstrates an alternative possibility for cultural conservation and community regeneration. We particularly appreciate how the project collaborator, Hong Kong Glaze Research Lab, has innovatively transformed discarded materials into creative resources, and responded to local history and the textures of everyday life through art. This embodies the theme of our funding scheme: ‘Co-Creating Community Space and Socio-Cultural Sustainability: New-Old Fusion; People-Place Connection.’ 

Featured Works from Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui Exhibition

‘Coffee Grounds · Filter’

Inspired by the form of a coffee dripper, this work reflects the flowing nature of the coffee brewing process — a gesture that echoes the fluid journey of glaze development.

The piece comprises eight ceramic components, symbolising the eight community units that contributed coffee grounds to the project. From small contributions comes collective strength — a reflection of the power of community.

The glaze, formulated using coffee grounds, yields a bright orange-red tone after firing — evocative of roasted coffee beans, whose outer shells reveal a subtle reddish sheen.

From a single seedling to flowering and fruiting, through harvesting, roasting, and brewing — and ultimately to coffee grounds waste — the material is reimagined as glaze, bringing vivid colour to the ceramic surface.

Beginning and ending, ending and beginning — interconnected in a continuous cycle of life.

‘Paper Ash · Wish’

At Hung Shing Temple, incense coils are suspended overhead, with smoke curling throughout the year. The spiral form of incense is not only visually elegant, but also functionally extends the burning time, allowing worshippers sufficient time to offer their wishes to the deities — a design that reflects thoughtfulness and goodwill.

Inspired by a traditional practice, the work draws from the temple’s 'Incense Tower' to create a rounded ceramic form that gently radiates warmth. It represents a collective act of prayer in the Tai Kok Tsui community — turning waste materials into art that enriches daily life.

The finished form resembles a vase, echoing the fresh flowers often seen in temples. Paper offerings and blossoms, once burned or withered, return to ash and soil — yet remembrance endures. It lingers on the ceramic surface, becoming a soft, distinctive shade of light green.

‘Hardware · Key’

The making of each key involves multiple steps — including cutting, shaving, polishing, and grinding — before it gradually takes shape. This process closely mirrors that of ceramic-making. Although metal and clay are fundamentally different materials, both require time and craftsmanship to transform from raw matter into a finished product.

This work uses brass powder — a byproduct of key-making — as a material for glaze development. Once cold and metallic, the substance, after firing, unexpectedly reveals a rich green tone inspired by nature, resembling moss or the depths of the sea. It conveys a sense of renewed vitality.

The mottled marks on the ceramic surface reflect the care and manual effort that go into carving, echoing the quiet artistry of key-making. It is a form of craftsmanship often overlooked — yet deserving of closer attention.

‘Porcelain Commons · Seat’

Placing a bench in a public space transforms it into a piece of shared furniture. As residents use it regularly, the interaction between people and object creates a sense of closeness. Beyond its basic function, it becomes a warm and welcoming gathering point.

The use of ceramic tiles — typically seen as a construction material — on everyday furniture is a rare expression within Hong Kong’s ceramic industry. It expands creative possibilities and challenges the boundaries of craftsmanship.

The glaze materials are derived from coffee grounds and joss paper ash — types of community waste that are often discarded without a second thought. Here, they return in a new form to the same place, reclaiming their presence and meaning.

During the exhibition period, exhibition guided tour will be held, the artist will introduce how these forgotten waste materials give the artworks their unique colours and textures that reflect Tai Kok Tsui. Participants will also be taken on a journey through Tai Kok Tsui to learn about the origins of the glazes and explore how craftsmanship connects people to the land.

Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui Exhibition

Date: 20 June 2025 – 8 August 2025 

Time: 10:00-21:00

Location: ‘RE: Tai Kok Tsui’ Pavilion, Open Piazza, Olympian City 2, Tai Kok Tsui 

Good Glaze, Tai Kok Tsui | Exhibition Guided Tour

Date: 29 June 2025 

Time: 14:00- 15:30/ 16:00-17:30

Location: ‘RE: Tai Kok Tsui’ Pavilion, Open Piazza, Olympian City 2, Tai Kok Tsui