“Home, Heart, Heritage was the first major art project we created at the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center,” says Cheryl Strichik, the MACC’s executive director. “The first phase of this 5-year quilting project was launched in 2018, and it quickly became the cornerstone of all of our Black History exhibitions. Naturally, we are honored that the National Endowment for the Arts is partnering with the MACC so that we can share this important exhibition with youth, college students and community members across the Southeast United States.”
The MACC’s Home, Heart, Heritage quilting project consists of a series of Black History portrait quilts that educate, elevate, and enhance the cultural community of Middle Tennessee and beyond. Each quilt was inspired by notable Americans of color who have contributed to the legacy of our country. The five collaborative quilts feature themed portraits: Tennessee Roots; Authors, Writers & Poets; Black Women Rise; Science, Medicine & Technology; and Patriotism & Valor. Guided by professional teaching artists, more than 150 participants created a portrait of their choice using reference photos, traditional methods and materials.
The MACC’s goal in touring the Home, Heart, Heritage exhibit is to strengthen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of cultural figures and traditional art forms not otherwise taught in a classroom setting. The exhibit will provide educational value and cultural impact to museums, libraries, universities, or other publicly accessible centers in both urban and rural communities.
The tour will begin at the Pryor Art Gallery at Columbia State Community College, in Columbia, Tenn., and will then move on to the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center in Clarksville, Tenn., before visiting additional sites in Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) is a jewel-box art museum and education facility housed in one of Tennessee’s most spectacular antebellum mansions. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the MACC has staged exhibitions featuring everything from the ceramic art of Pablo Picasso to the evening gowns of Princess Diana. The artwork of local artists and military veterans are also on frequent display. As an art school, the MACC offers classes to more than 900 children and adults each year. The MACC also provides free arts outreach and healing arts to underserved children, families and military veterans. For more information, visit www.monthavenarts.org or call (615) 822-0789.
Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center Cheryl Strichik (615) 293-3767 www.monthavenarts.org
HONG KONG, Nov 28, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is launching Chill 11 at Asia World-Expo (AWE) from 23 to 26 December. Sponsored by Create Hong Kong* of the HKSAR, the event brings together arts and culture, culinary delights and entertainment experiences, as well as brands and products, creating an extraordinary retail-entertainment experience for Hong Kong and Macao residents, as well as visitors from Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area peer cities to enjoy.
The HKTDC held the Chill 11 Media Day at Central Market today, offering media a first-hand experience of highlights. Sophia Chong, Deputy Executive Director, HKTDC, said: “Chill 11 is a brand-new attempt by HKTDC to engage friends in the GBA, including Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in the mainland. We have recognised that both Hong Kong residents and visitors put increased emphasis on cultural experiences, rather than just shopping and having fun. Hong Kong has a lot of unique cultural characteristics, so we have positioned Chill 11 as a festival that combines arts and culture, culinary delights, shopping and entertainment, while incorporating various elements of Hong Kong’s distinct culture. In addition to the 150 exhibitors featured, Chill 11 also offers close to 70 performances, activities and workshops, bringing a spectacular cultural and creative Christmas to the general public.
Sophia Chong, Deputy Executive Director, HKTDC said the public is increasingly interested in experiencing local culture. Chill 11 combines arts and culture, culinary delights and entertainment experience, adding different Hong Kong cultural nuances to bring a spectacular cultural and creative Christmas to the public.
“We also hope that through the Chill 11, small and medium-sized local brands, cultural and creative products can reach out to the GBA market, showcasing Hong Kong’s creative prowess and cultural influence. We believe it will further facilitate exchanges between Hong Kong and Macao, and other cities in the GBA, and at the same time boost consumption and stimulate economy in the region,” Ms Chong said.
Chill 11 star-studded with performances and activities for all ages
Chill 11 offers a star-studded line-up of performances, featuring up-and-coming Chinese singers such as After Class (Gigi Yim, Chantel Yiu, Yumi Chung and Windy Zhan) from Stars Academy, Albert Chau and Ramon Lo of Midlife, Sing & Shine, the reigning star Jackson Wan Kwong and music band the SAALAUfrom Jiangmen, Guangdong and more. Gabriel Choy, a star chef working in restaurants in the GBA, will give a cooking demonstration.
About 30 workshops for children, young people and families will be offered, including a workshop making Hong Kong minibus signage with unique writing style of red and blue where participants can learn about the story and use their creativity to hand-make unique signage keychains.
Immersive art experience and photo ops with masterpieces of art and photography
The immersive art experience area features a corridor of East meets West, where award-winning works from the 2022 Sino-French Young Artists Competition Award (organised by the Chinese Western Culture Arts Association Limited) will be presented digitally, including Qin Chi-ho’s Tang Sanjue – Bring in the Wine and Ng Chun-hei’s Dear cat I miss you. The public can enjoy the poetic atmosphere within the virtual realm. Monet’s The Japanese Footbridge and Van Gogh’s Wheat Field with Cypresses will also be featured as animated paintings to illustrate the impressionist style of Western art and its interpretation of natural landscapes.
Walk through the Chill 11 East-West Cultural Corridor and enjoy an immersive art experience that blends new art and technology, including Qin Chi-ho’s ‘Tang Sanjue – Bring in the Wine’
As the first young Chinese photographerto become global champion at the International Landscape Photographer of the Year, who just unveiled a remarkable collection of stamps featuring Hong Kong’s mountains and rivers, Kelvin Yuen will showcase his masterpieces including a huge backdrop of Hong Kong’s famous miscanthus hotspot, Sunset Peak. He will also share photography insights and tips with audiences. Jonas Chan, a famous cat photographer, will give a Street CATography workshop to teach attendees how to capture adorable moments of feline companions. The Photographic Salon Exhibitors Association will organise the Greater Bay Area Photography Exhibition showcasing the beauty of the 11 GBA cities with 60 photos.
Recently emerged star and young award-winning photographer Kelvin Yuen displays his award-winning works and photo albums.
Christmas programmes for both active and tranquil friends
Chill 11 also features a massive 32-metre-long inflatable entertainment facility Chill Castle and an impressive 8-metre tall, nearly four-storey sparkling Christmas tree where adults and children can unwind and enjoy the holiday spirit. Christmas is a time for gifts, decorations and dress-ups, and Chill 11 offers a series of workshops making Christmas lamps, Christmas bear keychains, Christmas wreaths, Christmas Cloisonne stockings and snow light boxes. Star make-up artist Will Orr who was once a Good Night Show judge will also stage a Christmas trendy make-up class to help people look stunning and festive for Christmas holiday.
Flavours of Hong Kong’s cultural and creative products
The trendy craft beer brand Hong Kong Whistle and Great Gourmets teamed up to brew a big-hit sauce-flavoured mocha craft beer for Chill 11, using maotai, beer ingredients, chocolate and coffee, which will be available for sale at the event. Hong Kong’s iconic milk tea has always been a standout, at Chill 11, Kamcha will invite participants to their workshop to learn the art of making the smoothest Hong Kong milk tea. In addition, famous chef Charmaine will curate a menu comprising sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty dishes under the theme Tastes of Life, and will join a number of traditional Chinese and Western food brands in serving culinary highlights at the Art Café adorned with captivating paintings.
Leading sunglasses brand Big Horn will bring a collection of sunglasses in collaboration with hero movie Justice League to Chill 11, including the Aquaman style for men and women. The shiny plastic frames resemble fish scales and the metal temples resemble Aquaman’s harpoon, bringing it to life. StephyDesignHK will present Hong Kong-themed hand-painted silky shawls, inspired by Hong Kong’s night scene, fishing villages and theme parks. The Central Market will also feature authentic Hong Kong brands, including TARTAN, Gingko House Eldershop, Good Bad Creative and Seon Hong Kong.
Christmas lucky bags and convenient transportation provided
Chill 11 tickets are priced at HK$30, with a HK$3 discount when purchased through ticketing partner AlipayHK and Alipay App. Children, full-time students and senior citizens aged 65 or above enjoy free admission. Package tickets are also available. Two adults can enjoy one-plus-one promotion (HK$30 in total); three adults can enjoy Chill-in-Three promotion (HK$40 in total); and four adults can enjoy a Chill Combo promotion (HK$50 in total). The first 1,000 attendees on 23 December will receive a complimentary lucky bag, and limited lucky bags will be given out every day thereafter, with gifts valued at more than HK$150. There will also be a grand lucky draw for every HK$200 spent at the venue, prizes include roundtrip flight tickets to Bangkok for two, five-star hotel accommodation, theme park vouchers, shopping mall spending, watches and travel suitcases.
Travel partners are offering affordable and convenient transportation options that provide excellent value. As part of this offering, the Airport Express has a special promotion where adults who present valid event tickets or proofs at the designated redemption counters in Hong Kong or Kowloon Station can purchase an AsiaWorld-Expo Same Day Return Ticket for the discounted price of HK$47, allowing them to travel to and from AsiaWorld-Expo Station. Additionally, children aged 3-11, using a valid Child Octopus card, can enjoy free rides on the Airport Express when traveling from Hong Kong, Kowloon, or Tsing Yi Station to AsiaWorld-Expo Station. Citybus has five free shuttle buses running from Tin Shui Wai, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan, Tung Chung and Tai Wai to the venue; while visitors travelling by car will have the third hour free of charge when using the nearby 11 Skies parking lot.
Photo download: https://bit.ly/3N2vYtM
Media enquiries Please contact the HKTDC’s Communications and Public Affairs Department: Clayton Lauw, Tel: (852) 2584 4472, Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.org Phyllis Tsang, Tel: (852) 2584 4288, Email: phyllis.km.tsang@hktdc.org
About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn
Patty Hajdu, the Federal Minister of Indigenous Services, announced that Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. will receive $1.8 million to support the construction of the Ka Ni Kanichihk Cultural and Wellness Centre.
Culturally relevant and culturally safe wellness programming is a critical component of supporting the health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples—no matter where they live.
Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. has been providing a variety of programs and services for Indigenous Peoples in downtown Winnipeg since 2001. These programs include a day care; cultural and social leadership development activities for Indigenous girls and Two-Spirit youth; prevention mentorship for boys aged 12 and younger who are at risk of conflicting with the law; and a healing program that focuses on the effects of trauma, cultural identity, empowerment, strengths and more for Indigenous women. Like many urban settings across the country, populations continue to grow, and the demand for services has quickly surpassed capacity.
Today, Patty Hajdu, the Federal Minister of Indigenous Services, announced that Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. will receive $1.8 million to support the construction of the Ka Ni Kanichihk Cultural and Wellness Centre. This investment is made available through the Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples funding stream. This expansion project will double the number of people who can access wellness, education and training programs each year and will create unique spaces and new opportunities for people to heal, learn and train for jobs, all centred in culture.
Along with the investment from the Government of Canada, the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg and private-sector donors have also made contributions to this critical expansion. Construction on the project is ready to begin and is scheduled to be completed by June 2023.
This financial support from the Government of Canada for the Ka Ni Kanichihk Cultural and Wellness Centre project is part of a larger commitment to address the critical need for culturally safe spaces in cities and urban settings across the country. This responds to the call for action to prevent the loss of culture, tradition and language highlighted in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan—Urban Path to Reclaiming Power and Place, Regardless of Residency.
“Ka Ni Kanichihk’s Building a Home for Reconciliation initiative is a unique opportunity to move forward on reconciliation as this expansion will ensure thousands of Indigenous Peoples in Winnipeg are included economically, socially and culturally as the City’s Indigenous population continues to grow. Indigenous-led solutions are of the utmost importance in Canada; Indigenous Peoples know what we need to do to heal, and we know how to do it. This innovative approach presents a holistic, Indigenous designed and led solution and will include a much-needed central resource hub, a rare inner-city green space, a cultural centre, healing spaces, a daycare, and mental and physical wellness supports. This will be Winnipeg’s home for reconciliation, where we can all come together to support Indigenous Peoples and build a stronger community together. It also creates space for new, responsive programming to meet the community’s evolving needs.”
Yvonne (Dodie) Jordaan, Director of the Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc.
“Culturally relevant and Indigenous-led wellness and training services are critical to supporting Indigenous Peoples living in Winnipeg. Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. has been providing a suite of healing, training and community development programs since 2001, and I am thrilled that Indigenous Services Canada can provide $1.8 million to support their expansion. Once complete, twice as many people will be able to access the space and its services and the centre will be a hub of activity, supports and services for those who need it.”
The Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Indigenous Services Canada
“For over 20 years, Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. has been a leader in downtown Winnipeg, providing support to Indigenous Peoples through much-needed programs and services such as child care, cultural development activities and mentorship for youth. With our government’s investment of $1.8 million for a Cultural and Wellness Centre, Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. will be able to can further support our city’s rapidly growing Indigenous population and offer a welcoming, culturally -relevant and safe space for years to come.”
The Honourable Daniel Vandal, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Northern Affairs
Alison Murphy
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Indigenous Services
Alison.Murphy@sac-isc.gc.ca
You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.isc.gc.ca/RSS.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department is inviting proposals from local performing artists and arts groups for the Community Cultural Ambassador Scheme 2023. The selected artists and arts groups will bring performing arts into the community through outreach activities in different districts.
Applicants should be registered local non-profit-making performing arts groups or ensembles of artists that have been active in the performing arts scene in the past year, and possess actual experience in public performance. Each applicant may submit one proposal, with a description of the theme or main content of the project using no more than 20 words.
The proposal should cover one performing arts form or more, such as Chinese opera/operatic singing, dance, music, theatrical arts (including drama, mime, magic and puppetry) and multimedia. Proposed projects may include performance, workshops, talks, demonstration, episodic performance, exhibitions or a combination of these activities.
The application guide and form for the scheme are available on the webpage of the Audience Building Office at www.abo.gov.hk or can be obtained by mail. The deadline for application is noon on May 31 (Tuesday).
For enquiries on the scheme, please call 2591 1611, email amab1@lcsd.gov.hk, or visit the website of the Audience Building Office.
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, tonight (June 7) met with representatives of Mainland and overseas art galleries via a webinar. She briefed them on Hong Kong’s growing competitive edge as an international arts and cultural hub, and that it is the best time for them to expand their presence in the city. The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Caspar Tsui, and the Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, also joined the webinar.
The webinar was organised by Art Basel, with which the Chief Executive has had close interactions over the years since Art Basel Hong Kong was hosted in Hong Kong some eight years ago. Apart from senior executives of Art Basel including its global director, Mr Marc Spiegler, the webinar was attended by a dozen of directors and founders of art galleries in major cities around the world, including New York, London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Athens, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Jakarta and Mainland cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Mrs Lam said that Hong Kong has all along been an East-meets-West hub for international arts and cultural exchanges. To promote cultural co-operation, Hong Kong has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on cultural co-operation with 20 countries which facilitate cultural activities such as staff exchanges, education, training, research and business matching. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) had also signed MOUs with world-renowned museums such as the British Museum and the Gallerie degli Uffizi to strengthen cultural exchanges and co-operation between the parties.
“The professionalism and passion of Hong Kong’s museums are well recognised by the community of collectors and artists. In addition, Hong Kong is blessed with a rich private collection; many of the collectors are supporters of our public museums,” Mrs Lam told the participants.
“I am honoured and thrilled to receive on behalf of our public museums two remarkable donations from Chih Lo Lou Art Promotion Ltd and the family of celebrated artist Wu Guanzhong in 2018.”
Mrs Lam highlighted that Hong Kong is quickly developing into a major global art trading centre. Hong Kong’s competitive edge includes its low and simple tax regime with no customs duty, value-added taxes or estate duty on artworks, the freedom of expression enjoyed by people including artists, a robust intellectual property protection regime, and comprehensive private wealth management services available to collectors.
Mrs Lam noted that Hong Kong has been investing heavily in upgrading existing cultural hardware and building new facilities. The M+ Museum and the Hong Kong Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District, which are expected to be commissioned at the end of this year and in the middle of next year, respectively, together with the renovated and expanded Hong Kong Museum of Art, will be cultural landmarks by the Victoria Harbour. Other hardware includes the host of museums managed by the LCSD, Tai Kwun – Centre for Heritage and Arts, the PMQ as well as prime Hong Kong exhibition venues including the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and AsiaWorld-Expo. Coupled with the recent efforts of private developers to enhance artistic elements in their properties, members of the public are now able to sample a rich and colourful diversity of arts and cultural activities all around Hong Kong.
On top of the first-class arts and cultural venues, she pointed out that Hong Kong has a vibrant art scene and plays host to a number of large-scale and well-received annual international art fairs, including Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Central and the French May Arts Festival, attracting plenty of art lovers and members of the public on a yearly basis.
She pointed out that Hong Kong’s position will be further boosted by the “Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035” approved by the National People’s Congress earlier this year, in which Hong Kong, for the first time, is encouraged to develop into a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world. She added that it echoed the directions of the Culture and Tourism Development Plan for the Greater Bay Area promulgated in December 2020, which indicated support for Hong Kong to develop into a more competitive global platform for cultural exchanges.
“Given Hong Kong’s competitive edge and bright prospects in art and cultural development, and the recent drop in rentals in the commercial property market amid the epidemic, I believe that it is the best time for international art galleries and world-renowned artists to expand their presence in Hong Kong. I welcome you all with open arms,” said Mrs Lam.
Contact
