Southside Saturdays are Back: Here’s What You Need to Know

Description

Appreciators of contemporary art have good reason to celebrate — after a long, wet summer, Hong Kong’s hippest weekend art hang is back. Back, hard — with three dates in September. We’re talking of course about the #SouthsideSaturday movement, which coordinates concurrent events between members of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Associations spread across Wong Chuk Hang and Tin Wan. As well as a slew of new openings, the big days of 5, 12 and 19 September will see galleries host talks, workshops, and guided tours, while it’s also your last chance to visit several notable exhibits before they close.

Highlights of 5 September include the opening of Revisiting the Jade Terrace, grouping four contemporary female Chinese ink artists at Alisan Atelier — 12 years after three of the same talents were displayed in a similar show at Atelier Fine Arts. Following an artist talk at 15:00, the opening reception runs 16:00 to 18:00. WKM Gallery takes a wide ranging look at Japanese artist Soh Souen’s exploration of life through painting, video and installation, with Hong Kong solo debut. My Tender Passion, Tender Patience; the opening reception runs 16:00 to 20:00. 

Also from Japan, Whitestone Gallery hosts a reception for Traces, a dual exhibition pairing the works of Tokyo masters Yukihisa Isobe and Tetsuo Mizù, who passed away last year; the opening reception runs 15:00 to 18:00. On the same day, Sin Sin Fine Art’s new group show, Form, hosts a talk and workshop from participating artist Gedvile Bunkiktye, from 15:00 to 17:00 (sign-up required). Meanwhile Rossi & Rossi opens A Strange Song Amongst the Snow, a show grouping 13 artists, curated by Benchung, with an opening reception noon to 18:00.

This is also your last chance to view Ann Zhao’s Spillover at Empty Gallery and Jacques Henri Lartigue’s photographs documenting 20th century France, captured in Boogie Woogie’s Keep Only the Sunshine, originally staged as part of French May.

Looking ahead to 12 September, notable openings include Lau Wai’s After Intelligence at De Sarthe, with an artist meet and greet from 11:00 and an opening reception from 15:00 to 19:00. Ben Brown Fine Arts also gives a first view of Qi Lei’s Echoes of Day and Night, marked with an artist talk 16:00 to 17:00. Blindspot Gallery’s Soft Borders group show opens with a reception, 15:00 to 18:00, plus a guided tour at 16:00 (sign-ups required). Meanwhile Rebeka Tam & Shiori Kaneko’s ceramic works are collected at Wamono Art’s Echos of Time, with an artist meet and greet from 16:00 to 18:00.

Finally a trio of opening receptions await on 19 September: Kim Lim: Source at Axel Vervoordt Gallery (opening talk 15:00–17:00); The 0 Degree of Looking at The Hartz Project (15:00–19:00); Antenna Space’s Cell19: Observation Continues (17:00–19:00).

Saturdays spent Southside are also a great opportunity to check out Janice Laujan’s ticketed, one-hour installation and durational performance, Memory & Punishment. Running at selected times until 3 October, the David Boring singer’s powerful, evocative gallery debut utilises eerie live music and visual performers, dotting the immersive environs of Gold by Serakai.