HONG KONG– The global pandemic has upended everyday lives like never before. The optometric term “20/20 vision” denotes normal visual acuity measured at a distance of 20 feet. In this age of uncertainties, having such a clear vision becomes ever more important in helping us grasp opportunities and uphold hopes amidst the unprecedented crisis.
Organised by Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC), BODW CityProg (CityProg) comes to its third edition this year with the theme “20/20 Vision of Post-pandemic World”. We present more than 200 design and creative happenings to inspire you to search for your unique 20/20 vision and a spirit of designing for society.
As in previous years, CityProg spans across November and December. Its 9-day peak period from 28 November to 6 December will coincide with Business of Design Week (BODW) and other concurrent events to ignite an outburst of creativity throughout the city. Carrying on the 3 platforms distinctly curated for different types of creative partners, this year CityProg continues to connect local creativity and design initiatives with incredible local talents to bring to the public 17 one to three-day Anchor Site Festivals, 5 Design EduVation programmes targeting different age groups and more than 50 Satellite Events. They add up to more than 200 activities of various scales and unfold in 4 types of “post-pandemic 20/20 vision”: Made in Hong Kong, Wellness and Sustainability, Placemaking and Business as Force for Social Good. All of these visions aim to foster the design thinking and creative problem-solving spirit to boost the city’s resilience and agility as the post-pandemic era ushers in.
In addition, organised by Hong Kong Design Centre and initiated in 2018, 3-year creative tourism project Design District Hong Kong (#ddHK) comes to its final year with the theme “transFORM” to forge ahead into the future with creativity.
As all walks of life are planning ahead for the post-pandemic era, #ddHK is also proactively harnessing design and creativity to present a novel Chinese garden gala “Colour Fantasy” in Victoria Park, a signature urban oasis in Hong Kong. With elements such as mountains, rocks, ponds, windows, paving, bridges and streams, it “transFORMs” the park into a reinvigorating public space for the post-pandemic world where users can relax and recharge themselves.
Victoria Park was originally a typhoon shelter. More than a century ago, with the wish to drive away a plague, people living in Tai Hang performed the “fire dragon dance” and sank the “dragon head” into the typhoon shelter afterwards to symbolise its return to the heaven. In the mid-50s, Victoria Park was built on the land reclaimed from the typhoon shelter. “Colour Fantasy” presents 7 sets of design installations. All of them incorporated elements from the Tai Hang fire dragon dance ritual in the form of design. They are scattered in different corners as if the fire dragon overlays on the entire plan of the park, blessing Hong Kong during the ongoing pandemic.
As the pandemic lingers on, everyone wants to take a breather from the urban hustle and bustle and the stressful fight against the crisis. Green parks which are essential to any city are ideal buffer zones for us. With boundless creativity and imaginations, #ddHK turns Victoria Park into Hong Kong’s back garden by curating a series of sense-opening experiences to help citizens return to the great outdoors, immerse in nature and tend to their well-being. Observing social distancing rules, they will also rediscover the park’s potentials in the new normal and get inspired to reimagine future public spaces. Having explored Victoria Park, they can follow the “Colour Wan Chai” map to discover the urban palette of Wan Chai through dining, shopping and sightseeing, indulging themselves in uniquely coloured cityscapes.
For further details about CityProg & #ddHK, visit their official website and follow their social media to explore the city’s design surprises anywhere, anytime.
