[News from Institutions]HKDI Gallery Proudly Presents its 2024 Flagship Design Exhibitions
“Ma Yansong: Landscapes in Motion” and “ITALY: A New Collective Landscape”

Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) and its affiliate HKDI Gallery is delighted to present its flagship design exhibitions for 2024. Dual exhibitions “Ma Yansong: Landscapes in Motion” and “ITALY: A New Collective Landscape” are curated to foster multi-disciplinary design appreciation among the public. Both exhibitions will run from 19 January 2024 at the HKDI gallery.

The opening ceremony of the exhibitions was held on 18 January. The officiating guest and Secretary for Education of the HKSAR Government, Dr CHOI Yuk-lin, JP, said, "The staging of these two flagship exhibitions at HKDI Gallery, one in collaboration with the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning and the other in partnership with the ADI Design Museum in Italy, is a testament to Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange".

Mr Tony TAI Chark-tong, JP, chairman of the Vocational Training Council (VTC), said “The VTC is committed to providing high-quality education that incubates talent to support the sustainable development of Hong Kong. As a cradle of creativity, our member institution - Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) - offers a nurturing environment and provides multi-faceted learning opportunities for students to explore and realise their full potential in design. With a dedication to foster knowledge exchange and inspire innovation, we are eager to collaborate with world-class design museums to bring new insights and stimulate thoughts for the benefit of students, staff and the public.”

Dr ONG Lay-lian, Principal of HKDI said, “We are thrilled to present ‘Ma Yansong: Landscapes in Motion’ and ‘ITALY: A New Collective Landscape’ as two of HKDI Gallery's 2024 flagship exhibitions, aiming to provide multidimensional perspectives on design's potential in addressing global challenges, spearheading transformation, and reflecting the dynamic cultural landscape. With a diverse range of design objects, we hope these exhibitions deliver thoughtful and cutting-edge design inspiration not only to the Hong Kong public, but also its industry and academic communities, exposing the city to a new way of thinking about everyday objects which have often been overlooked in our day-to-day lives.”

“Ma Yansong: Landscapes in Motion”

Adapted from the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning’s large-scale solo exhibition that ran in 2023, “Ma Yansong: Landscapes in Motion” has been exclusively curated for the HKDI Gallery by its founder, and principal partner of MAD Architects (MAD) - an architectural collective, MA Yansong. After graduating from Yale University in 2002, MA has participated in various international exhibitions and is now set to debut his first-ever large-scale solo exhibition in Hong Kong, solidifying his status as one of China’s most influential architects. The exhibition presents MAD’s most significant urban architectural projects in history led by MA Yansong, in addition to the artist’s thought-provoking design concepts and imaginative vision. This exhibition offers a glimpse into the future of urban civilization – proffering a harmonious coexistence of urban landscapes, historical sites, and natural environments.

The first floor of the exhibition focuses on the major projects of MA Yansong and the MAD team, including a series of large-scale models and the brand new interactive installation which is exclusively designed for HKDI. The neon art installation on the same floor “Landscape in Motion” trace MA’s original hand-drawn design concept sketches of the projects highlighted in the exhibition, including UNIC Harbin Opera House, Shenzhen Bay Culture Park, Quzhou Sports Park, and the FENIX Museum of Migration, the piece fills the exhibition hall. Bridging the past and future, MA employs the aesthetics of Hong Kong’s neon heritage to represent a modern way of thinking about architecture, one that sees the building as not only a static structure but as an organic and vivid art form, evoking thoughts about the relationship between architecture, art and nature.

Before audiences are greeted by this impressive installation, they are first invited to delve into the pieces it references. Attendees can explore the breadth of MAD’s projects across the globe, beginning at the closest – the soon to be finished Shenzhen Bay Culture Park. Located in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen, the park aims to create “a buffer and breathing zone” for people in the busy metropolis. With the key concept of “ancient future”, MAD’s design places a surreal scene of land art into a real urban space. Viewers can explore the parts “monumental stones” of white granite that curve in a natural form, injecting the organic into the constructed. 

As well as spotlighting architecture entirely crafted by MAD, the exhibition also displays impressive renovations undertaken by the collective. For example, MAD’s renovation of FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam, Netherlands, connects the city’s history with the present, updating the original warehouse space by opening up the central façade and roof to form a user-friendly exhibition space while preserving its iconic green steel windows and concrete interior. Once again, the collective invites nature into the space with the addition of two staircases that mimic nature’s most reoccurring construct: the spiral. 

Ultimately, the exhibition highlights MAD’s mission to create spaces that serve as a conduit to explore cultural life. MA prompts audiences to probe the inner self while observing the dynamic, diverse, and fluid cultural landscape of contemporary society. 

“I am delighted to bring this exhibition to the HKDI,” said Mr MA Yansong. “This exhibition features MAD Architect’s most representative urban architectural projects over the past two decades. I believe all human-made objects, from tools to art, are externalizations of the human spirit, the exhibition brings to the fore impressive and dynamic installations that reflect attitudes towards the external world, both its past and future. This exhibition is an essential viewing that unfolds the human aspect of pioneering scientific architectural technologies.”

“ITALY: A New Collective Landscape”
Fresh off its successful debut at Milan’s ADI Design Museum last year, the touring exhibition is soon to be displayed at the HKDI Gallery. A response to the enduring “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” – a group exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) displayed in New York in 1972, “ITALY: A New Collective Landscape” platforms 100 Italian designers all under 35 who attempt to grapple with the challenges of the current global moment, and at the same time explore the pluralistic possibilities of design.

The configuration of the exhibition highlights congruences with respect to three design virtues – systemic, relational and regenerative - operating under the assumption this landscape could be reconfigured in a myriad of new readings and associations. The exhibition features a wide variety of design objects, from furniture, apps, clothing, prints, and more.

Systemic Design examines the network of interconnections a project establishes in order to achieve its objectives. This includes relationships for acquiring necessary resources, generating outcomes and outputs, and fostering inclusive, sustainable and circular processes. Particular attention is paid to interactions within the supply chain and how resources are utilised, with the goal of promoting development models that create positive system-wide impacts.

Relational Design can be understood as both a social practice and a tool to cultivate community and interconnection among human and non-human actors. With this in mind, the exhibition design features distinct zones catering to interaction (Play), research (Read) and entertainment (Watch). Rather than solely focusing on individual enjoyment of content, the areas are intended to realise the collective experience by actively involving the public. This transforms the space into an inclusive and dynamic whole that moves beyond conventional exhibitions. Through its emphasis on connection and participation across sectors, the design aims to establish the exhibition as an overall landscape welcoming all.

Finally, Regenerative Design builds upon Systemic Design and Relational Design to envision how the built environment and production processes can have a proactively beneficial impact. It advances proposals that harmoniously integrate societal needs with environmental integrity. 

All exhibitions and events are open to the public and completely free of charge to attend. During the exhibition period, public engagement programmes, including guest-led guided tours and experiential workshops led by local architectural designers Simon CHAN and Dennis CHEUNG, and artist Margaret CHU, will be held to foster the public’s awareness and imagination of design. More details of the exhibitions and public engagement programmes are soon to be announced. 

About Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI)
Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) is a member of VTC Group. HKDI was established in 2007 with the mission to be a leading provider of design education and lifelong learning, including architecture, interior and product design, communication design, digital media, and fashion and image design. With a view to providing professional designers for the creative industries, it promotes the “think and do” approach and encourages interdisciplinary synergy in its broad range of design programmes that cultivates students’ cultural sensitivities and sense of sustainability. HKDI maintains a strong network with industry and provides its students with essential practical experience. Overseas exchanges are actively arranged for students to broaden their international perspective.

Website: www.hkdi.edu.hk

About HKDI Gallery 
Affiliated to HKDI, HKDI Gallery dedicates to present the exposition of cutting edge international exhibitions and contemporary issues on design. In addition, HKDI Gallery aims to support HKDI as one of the centres of design education in the region and promote design culture in Hong Kong. HKDI Gallery engages with parties at home and abroad. Recent top-notch exhibitions include large-scale arts and technology exhibition Hylozoism, Look: The Graphic Language of Henry Steiner, Waste Age: What Can Design Do? by the Design Museum, London, exhibition for Zaha Hadid Architects, the retrospective for the Pritzker Prize-winning Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, the solo exhibition for the renowned Japanese designer Dai Fujiwara, the solo exhibition for the Oscar-winning artist Tim Yip, etc.

Website: www.hkdi.edu.hk/hkdi_gallery

About Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning 
Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning (MOCAUP) is the iconic cultural project led by the Shenzhen Municipality. Sitting at the center of Futian District, Shenzhen, MOCAUP plays an important role in the communication, inheritance, and development of contemporary art and urban culture of Shenzhen. Undertaking the mission of participating in the contemporary cultural and art development with a global vision and enabling art engagement in the city via a diverse, cross-disciplinary approach, MOCAUP adopts the innovative model of “Art +” to create an open, globalized platform for contemporary cultural and art exchanges and to explore infinite possibilities of art together with the public. 

About MAD Architects
The MAD Architects (MAD) was founded in 2004 by Chinese architect Ma Yansong and is jointly led by Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, and Yosuke Hayano. It is committed to integrating Eastern thought into architectural practice, juxtaposing humans with nature, and interlacing history with the continuum of the future, aiming to create spiritual spaces with cultural value and a sense of the future. 

MAD's projects encompass urban planning, urban complexes, municipal buildings, museums, theaters, concert halls, and housing, as well as art and design. Their projects are located in China, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States. They have offices in Beijing, Los Angeles, and Rome, with nearly 200 employees worldwide. 

While practicing architecture, MAD documents and discusses its reflections on architecture, culture, and arts through a plethora of publications, exhibitions, academic discussions, and lectures. Their publications include: "Mad Dinner", "Shanshui City", "Ma Yansong: From (Global) Modernity to (Local) Tradition", "MAD X", "MAD Rhapsody", and "Tunnel of Light", among others. 

Website: www.i-mad.com/

About ADI Design Museum
ADI Design Museum is one of the largest design museums in Europe, featuring 5,000 square meters of exhibition space dedicated to the prestigious Compasso d'Oro winning pieces. The museum serves as an informative and research-based platform, sharing the story of design with the general public while also acting as a reference point for the entire design community. It offers temporary exhibitions, spaces for business meetings, design conferences, and public events.

The Compasso d'Oro collection showcases more than 2,300 products and projects, including 350 award winners and numerous honourable mentions. These remarkable pieces are featured in the museum's permanent exhibition, which offers to visitors a chronological exploration of every edition of the award from 1954 to the present. The museum's overall narrative is constructed through a variety of complementary materials. The presence of the actual objects is fundamental and essential, with original specimens displayed according to the date of the award. However, the ADI Design Museum exposes together with the object, original drawings, sketches, and studies by designers that shed light on the conception and initial development of projects.

The collection is thoughtfully displayed along the museum's perimeter walls, seamlessly integrating with both current and upcoming temporary exhibitions. The permanent exhibition is designed to be adaptable, enabling the incorporation of new documentary materials in a well-planned and respectful manner that takes into account future discoveries and acquisitions.

The museum also presents in-depth temporary exhibitions that captivate visitors from the moment they enter. These exhibitions unveil prototypes, technical studies, and the secrets behind the objects, companies, and designers that have contributed to the history of design.

Website: www.adidesignmuseum.org/

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