“I go to all exhibitions, so you don’t have to.” gestures Yulia Yarkova, an art enthusiast and the founder of the art blog Galleries Gal. The blog’s quirky and insightful commentaries culminated from Yulia’s personal visits to galleries and art fair viewings since relocating to Hong Kong about a decade ago. Galleries Gal is one the most popular and accessible English gallery guides in Hong Kong. Its Instagram page and website offers detailed art event calendars and personal reviews of every exhibition she visits. Since May 2021, Yulia started publishing her gallery reviews on the COBO Social’s monthly column “Galleries Girl Picks''. Very recently, she began journaling her art studio visits in the local area. Yulia’s reflective and digestible notes have in turn garnered a strong following base on Instagram. She is easily spotted at all kinds of art functions, including public, private and press viewings, with a glass of champagne in one hand.Now, tune in to find out more!

For our final episode this year, First Edition is stoked to meet Hong Kong native and internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary artist, Samson Young, and understand more about his original sound compositions and accumulated studies of sound in the context of Contemporary art, and its direct impact on our visual and auditory experience. Samson graduated with a Ph.D. in Music Composition from Princeton University in 2013. In 2017, he represented Hong Kong at the 57th Venice Biennale. Samon’s works have been presented in major institutions, such as the Guggenheim Museum, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Mori Art Museum Tokyo and Sydney Opera House. In 2017, Samson represented Hong Kong at the 57th Venice Biennale. He is also a recipient of multiple awards for his progressive works, including the M Plus Sigg Prize in 2020, BMW Art Journey Award in 2015 and Bloomberg Emerging Artist Award in 2007.From virtual instruments, muted performances, video and sound-based projects showcased in international fairs and exhibitions, this interview records the refreshing thoughts and processes Samson adopted in his mixed media compositions. Join us this episode to “earwitness” Samson’s musical sensibilities and training, artistic observations, as well as his ‘quirky’ and experimental approach to art.

From establishing Fringe Club in the early eighties, organising art festivals, live theatre and music, curating exhibitions, sharing his passion for food, art and literature over tea tastings, writing a book and everything in between, the ever-so busy Fringe Club Director, Benny Chia, has had a wealth of experience in interdisciplinary collaborations with local and international artists. In this episode, First Edition finally caught up with Benny on his recent writing ventures and other personal hobbies. Since 1983, the Fringe Club has become one of the most historically significant and vibrant contemporary arts spaces in Hong Kong, where artists create and present their work, and those who enjoy the arts come to meet and see shows. The 1890s British colonial building, which used to be The Old Dairy Farm Depot, was revitalised to provide an open platform for emerging and professional artists to showcase their work without having to go through a selection process.As we slowly begin to reach the end of 2021, we hope you are staying motivated in whatever you do while hearing out what Benny has gathered over his four decades-long arts career in Hong Kong and Asia.

This month, First Edition connected with RNH Space founder and curator, Yang Jiang, and artist, Cucurrucucu, to discuss the themes and works presented in her first solo exhibition in Hong Kong - Waste Not. Ongoing till 23 October 2021 at RNH Space, an intimate independent art space located in Tai Kok Tsui, Waste Not is the first chapter of the three image-based satellite exhibition series Reality Overdose. Designed for encapsulating free and multi-faceted manifestations of emotions and philosophies, RNH Space regularly hosts cross-media art exhibitions and related programmes since 2020. It aims to explore the diverse trajectories of vulnerability as a discourse upon the interweaving nature between meticulous observations and intricate perceptions through close collaborations with artists of all kinds. Composed by cut outs from vintage magazines published in the last century, Cuccurucucu’s collages create novel images based on personal memories and fantasies. As we learned more about the artist’s habit of collecting magazines in batches from second-hand stores during her years abroad in San Francisco, we began to realize how much this intricate process has shaped her creative vision. Her playful method of decontextualizing images and repurposing them to create alternate realities evoke both empathy and humour from the viewer.Apart from covering significant topics in Waste Not, we also had the opportunity to hear Yang and Currucucu share about their unique cultural experiences in mainland, Hong Kong and the US, such as sourcing retro frames in local neighborhood thrift stores. Tune in for more content that inspires you to creatively and unapologetically express yourselves!

Founder and Director of F11 Foto Museum and f22 Foto Space, Douglas So Cheung-tak, is arguably the most esteemed Leica camera and magnum photography collector in Hong Kong. First Edition had the pleasure to truly get to know and “geek out” on a vast range of topics with Douglas, namely history, archaeology, photography, the art of collecting cameras and the many challenges encountered when managing a private museum in Hong Kong. Throughout the discussion, we discovered Douglas’ inspiration to launch F11 Foto Museum in 2014, Hong Kong’s first ever private photography-specific museum inside a 1930’s art-deco style building in Happy Valley, was driven by his passion for magnum photography, heritage conservation and relentless pursuit to acquire rare vintage cameras around the world. Douglas’ awareness to promote photography to a wider community is also reflected in the subsequent launch of f22 foto space in Wanchai and Tsim Sha Tsui, galleries specialising in photo art and creative design. For more than two decades, Douglas has worked as a solicitor at Baker McKenzie and The Hong Kong Jockey Club. With a keen interest to serve the community, he has been recognised for contributing, in many ways, to Hong Kong’s arts and cultural sector. He is currently chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board and is an active member of the Advisory Committee on Built Heritage Conservation and the Museum Advisory Committee. Tune in and don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn more about Douglas’ exciting career, fascinating encounters with world-class photographers, vintage camera collection, the future development of private museums and heritage conservation in Hong Kong!

Our guest this month, Leung Chi Wo, Warren, is a visual artist who needs no formal introduction as most of us in Hong Kong are acquainted with his conceptual and inquisitive approach to his multi-media works, which have been featured in major international exhibitions and publications since the 1990s. Warren is widely known as the co-founder of Para Site, a leading non-profit contemporary art organisation in Hong Kong and one of the oldest independent art institutions in Asia. He is also an Associate Professor at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong. First Edition had the opportunity to interview Warren about his interest in exploring the intrinsic connections between site, history and memory in his interdisciplinary works, and recent exhibitions, such as ‘Home and Non-home’ at the Eaton Hotel in 2020, that explore community relationships. In addition, it was a delightful experience to learn about Warren’s memorable private encounters with artists and early education background firsthand. During our conversation, it came as a pleasant surprise when he vividly recalled his early training days to become a professional swimmer before pursuing art seriously. He explained that studying art stemmed from practical circumstances, which unexpectedly turned into a lifelong pursuit after his formative exchange years in Europe and his editorial role in Joint Publishing. Make sure to tune in to this episode to learn more about Warren’s career in retrospect, current state of mind about practicing art under covid withstraints or the “new normal”, and for some invaluable insights into what it takes to be an artist in Hong Kong.

Aired live for the first time last month (16 June) on FM BELOWGROUND’s radio, First Edition’s session with Hong Kong cartoonist, zine artist and writer, Kaitlin Chan, is a truly relatable and unfiltered narrative about gaining perspective through self-examination, and reminding ourselves to stick to our own paths as the noise gets louder. Kaitlin reveals how isolating it can often feel to practice art in a society where conformity is prioritised and success is measured by accrued values. In her very own words, “I’m always all these weird halves of things..”, Kaitlin vulnerably dissects her unresolved feelings towards her identity, “international” education and family upbringing in post-colonial Hong Kong. In particular, she details how it was like growing up in a repressive and competitive education system, and the unexpected routes she took to overcome career setbacks. Tune in this episode to learn more about Kaitlin’s comics journey, original take on Hong Kong’s art and cultural pockets, artistic inspirations since early teenage years, unique drawing approach and many more cool independent projects, including the launch of Queer Reads Library in 2018 and traveling to Taipei to work on a long-form comic in 2019.

In this episode, Arts writer Enid Tsui candidly offers her expansive knowledge of the globalization of the art market and shares with us her fascinating journey in becoming a full-fledged cultural journalist in Hong Kong. Enid first joined South China Morning Post as their senior culture writer in 2015 after a long career as a business and politics journalist at the Financial Times, the Nikkei Asian Review, RTHK Radio 3, and the Economist Group in Hong Kong and in London. Covering current topics such as Art Fairs, Non-Fungible Tokens and the West Kowloon Cultural District development, Enid is not afraid to investigate deeper into the underlying socio-economic factors that are driving Hong Kong’s contemporary art scene and the ensuing debates around the city’s rapidly-changing cultural landscape. During the interview, Enid’s personal accounts on her creative process and growth as a writer were particularly informative and inspiring. As a journalist, who has worked with and for different news media and publications for more than two decades, Enid has had many gripping exchanges with artists and arts professionals in multidisciplinary fields. Curious to find out more about the life of an arts and culture writer? And what goes on behind the scenes in Hong Kong’s art press or media? Then be sure to listen-in to First Edition’s interview with Enid!

Get acquainted with the fun and exciting world of illustration with Hong Kong native illustrator, Celine Ka Wing, Lau! Since early childhood, Celine has developed a strong passion for drawing and loves to visualise the world in animated forms and explosive colours. She then continued on to pursue her artistic interests at the Camberwell College of Arts, University Arts London. Many have described Celine’s illustration style as ‘cute,’ ‘quirky,’ and ‘fun’ - qualities which are undoubtedly true, but the characters she creates are considered even more compelling, in their ability to convey interesting narratives and communicate personal mental health struggles, which all comes together to offer great sources of motivation and that sweet spot for many of her social media followers. This episode also touches on defining moments that have helped Celine throughout her career and prepared her to stay creative amongst the dramatic change of lifestyle during a global pandemic and the pressures of being a young creative seeking support and validation in the complex realities of life in Hong Kong. Tune in to learn more about illustration as its own field of design and the variety of processes and mediums Celine employs in her practice. Follow @celinelkw for endless fun content on Instagram and to visually experience that “happy place.”

In conversation with Contemporary art talents, Leelee Chan and Eunice Tsang, the first episode offers a diaristic view on the meaning and impact of homecoming, which entails rekindling friendships and finding one’s connection to Hong Kong’s art community. After spending thirteen years in the United States, BMW art journey’s ninth recipient and sculptor Leelee is currently embracing her artistic roots in Hong Kong and is not shy to confront her struggles as an artist during her many formative years abroad, and to share with us her life-changing revelations as a material researcher traveling across Europe in times of Covid-19. Similarly, Eunice’s current curatorial and managerial tasks in artist-run space, Present Projects, consist of numerous practical and emotional challenges, especially under pandemic uncertainties. Whilst sharing her art school years in London and past professional experiences in different arts and cultural institutions in Hong Kong, such as RTHK, TimeoutHK, and Tai Kwun, Eunice offers us invaluable insights into the optimistic development of experimental exhibition spaces in Hong Kong and the growing art gallery and local artisan culture in Sham Shui Po. Whether your homecoming experience was fun, complicated, uncomfortable, or fulfilling, join us this session to discover Hong Kong’s current art destinations and what lies ahead for the city’s art practitioners and emerging visual art spaces.Follow @doubleleechan and visit BMW Art Journey’s website https://www.bmw-art-journey.com/stories for the latest updates on her journey Tokens From Time. Visit @presentprojects now to check out You’re Not Really Here, Are You? which runs until 2nd May 2021! To learn more, visit https://www.present-projects.com/. Special thank you to Chris and Jerry from @fmbelowground!

This brief episode is an introduction to the founding concept of podcast, First Edition, and its hosts Katharine Tsang and Chantal Chan. As a practicing artist, Katharine loves to spend her time reading art news, listening to art podcasts and visiting exhibitions. After work hours, Chantal enjoys strolling through museums, galleries and discovering new cultural sites. Together, they share how their friendship began and the story behind this project.