For Immediate Release
(Hong Kong, 4 December 2018) The Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust are pleased to announce details of the new No Limits project. The Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust actively enrich the cultural life of the city by providing platforms for outstanding international and local artists across all genres of the performing arts to showcase their talents. Aiming to explore and promote inclusiveness and understanding via the arts, the Festival and the Trust will co-present No Limits in 2019.
Comprising a series of seven dance, theatre, music and other arts programmes by local and international artists of different abilities, as well as the Jockey Club No Limits Education and Community Programme, No Limits will run from 15 to 31 March 2019. Programme and ticketing information will be detailed in the No Limits Programme and Booking Guide, available at major performance venues and on the No Limits website, www.nolimits.hk. Tickets will be available for purchase at all URBTIX outlets and through URBTIX Internet Ticketing Service starting from 8 December 2018.
“We are delighted to co-present No Limits with the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and to promote inclusiveness through a series of intriguing performances and education and community activities. I believe No Limits will show that artistic achievement and creativity are not defined by physical conditions. We are most grateful to the Trust for proposing this project to us, and providing such wonderful support and partnership. We sincerely appreciate also the support of the Arts for the Disabled Association Hong Kong as a Strategic Supporting Partner,” says Ms Tisa Ho, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
“The Club believes that the arts have no boundary and that the creation of art as well as the appreciation of it is our inalienable right,” says Ms Rhoda Chan, Head of Charities (Grant Making – Arts and Culture) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club. This programme is aimed at providing a platform for outstanding local and international artists of different abilities to showcase their talents, while audience members can appreciate the arts barrier-free with no limits. It also encourages understanding, respect and appreciation for people with different abilities and promotes social inclusion. Having designated ‘Arts, Culture and Heritage’ as a strategic focus area, the Trust will continue its commitment to supporting the building of a culturally vibrant Hong Kong, enriching citizens’ lives and promoting social inclusion through the arts,”
“We are glad to be invited by the Hong Kong Arts Festival and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to be the Strategic Supporting Partner of No Limits, providing arts accessibility services and related consultation. The Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong (ADAHK) believes that all people, with or without disabilities, should have equal opportunity to have access to, and participate in, the arts. We hope No Limits will help in building a more inclusive society,” says Ida Lam, Chairperson of ADAHK, the Strategic Supporting Partner of No Limits.
No Limits Programme Details
No Limits features masterworks by celebrated artists and showcases emerging artists working across multiple genres.
1. Jérôme Bel – Gala
After his performance of The Show Must Go On in Hong Kong in 2002, French choreographer Jérôme Bel is back to the city with his latest performance, Gala. As the project opening of No Limits, Gala invites Hong Kong residents of all ages and from all walks of life to join professional dancers, actors and amateurs onstage. Gala offers a different approach to dance, which never calls on us to pass judgement. With its “fail again, fail better” emphasis, Gala goes from one theatre to the next, like “a mirror taking a stroll by the side of a road”, showing us something about the making of those we are watching as well as the ways in which we watch.
2. Neworld Theatre – King Arthur’s Night
Refined, brutal, crude and tender, King Arthur’s Night invites audiences to reject the idea that some experiences are inherently marginal, and instead witness those stories front-and-centre onstage. The production includes a fully integrated professional cast with actors from British Columbia’s Down Syndrome Research Foundation, a live band and the Hong Kong Children’s Choir.
3. Shannon Yee – Reassembled, Slightly Askew
Blending art and science in a unique and dynamic way, Reassembled, Slightly Askew is an immersive, audio-based artwork which transports audiences inside the head of artist Shannon Yee as she descends into a coma from a rare brain infection. Lying on a hospital bed with headphones and a blindfold, the audience follows Shannon’s journey through critical illness, to re-emergence into the world and finally to rehabilitation with an acquired brain injury.
4. Hanjin & Harris – Little Soldiers
Though Hanjin Tan has had a hearing impairment since birth, it did not stop him from pursuing his music career and blossoming into the musical genius that he is today. In a concert that encapsulates the theme of No Limits, Tan will share the stage with special guests Harris Ho, the visually impaired jazz musician Jezrael Lucero and local artists from The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf and The Hong Kong Blind Union. Tan will also premiere two new works as well as brand-new arrangements of his hit songs.
5. Kuro Tanino and Caspar Pichner – Mother
Mother is part of the non-verbal M-projekt collaboration by Kuro Tanino and Caspar Pichner. Four little nomads will guide audiences to wander, explore and discover in a pitch dark room, allowing them to decide whether to take part or simply watch the events that follow.
6. Ding Yijie Violin Recital
Praised for her amazing ability to strike a chord with audiences, violinist Ding Yijie has won numerous prizes at nationwide competitions in China. Since picking up the violin at age 6, visual impairment and the lack of braille scores have not hindered this teenage sensation. Rather, Ding memorises numerous scores by heart, bearing testimony to her passion and talent for music and captivating audiences with her musical flair and guile. Ding will be accompanied by South Korean pianist Maria Jee at her first recital.
7. Itzhak
Itzhak Perlman’s violin playing transcends mere performance to evoke the celebrations and struggles of real life. Alison Chernick’s enchanting documentary looks beyond the sublime musician to see the polio survivor whose parents emigrated from Poland to Israel and the young man who struggled to be taken seriously as a music student when schools saw only his disability.
Bookings and Other Information
The No Limits Programme & Booking Guide is now available at all URBTIX outlets. Counter Bookings start on 8 December 2018. Patrons can book their tickets at URBTIX (online at www.urbtix.hk, by phone at (852) 2111 5999 or at URBTIX outlets). Tickets to the performances held at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts will also be available at HK Ticketing outlets. Concessionary tickets are available for full-time students, people with disabilities and their minders, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients.
Arts Accessibility Services
Arts can be enjoyed with different senses and by different means. No Limits provides arts accessibility services and facilities for persons with different abilities to enjoy arts. The arts accessibility services provided in selected No Limits programmes include audio description in Cantonese, accessible captions, Hong Kong sign language interpretation, theatrical interpretation, easy-to-read booklets and relaxed performances. For more information, please refer to the No Limits website or No Limits Programme & Booking Guide.
Jockey Club No Limits Education and Community Programme
The Jockey Club No Limits Education and Community Programme curated by the Hong Kong Arts Festival team promotes understanding and inclusiveness and enriches every corner of the community with arts experiences.
Music Demonstration Tour
Different talented artists are invited to lead Hong Kong youth to the arts world, exploring how music expresses feelings and emotions. The themes of ability, difference and inclusiveness will be discussed and reflected in the tours, delivering the messages of equality and respect.
Artists-in-Residence Programme
Seasoned performers from UK-based Candoco Dance Company are invited to share, exchange and explore the possibilities of contemporary dance with Hong Kong dancers from a range of abilities and backgrounds.
Train-the-Trainer Workshop
Performing arts professionals from abroad are invited to share their inclusive teaching experiences in contemporary dance and theatre. Artists, arts facilitators, school teachers and practitioners are encouraged to join and explore inclusive teaching methods from various perspectives, and to promote inclusive local arts education.
Roundtable Discussion (by invitation only)
The roundtable discussion brings together performing arts professionals from Hong Kong and abroad to share their experiences in producing relaxed performances.
About the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF)
Launched in 1973, the Hong Kong Arts Festival is a major international arts festival committed to enriching the cultural life of the city. In February and March every year, the Festival presents leading local and international artists in all genres of the performing arts, placing equal importance on great traditions and contemporary creations. The Festival also commissions and produces work in theatre, music, chamber opera and contemporary dance by Hong Kong’s own creative talents and emerging artists, some of which have had successful subsequent runs in Hong Kong and overseas. In addition, each year the Festival also presents over 300 “PLUS” and educational activities that offer diverse arts experiences to the general public and students.
HKAF is a non-profit organisation. Over 80% of its FY2018/19 income comes from sponsorships and donations, matching grants related to fundraising income, as well as box office revenues. The remaining 20% comes from government subvention.
For more information about the Hong Kong Arts Festival, please visit: www.hk.artsfestival.org.
Media Enquiries
Ms Katy Cheng (Marketing Director)
Direct Line: (852) 2824 3555, Email: katy.cheng@hkaf.org
Ms Silvia Choy (Marketing Coordinator)
Direct Line: (852) 2828 4973, Email: silvia.choy@hkaf.org
