Solidarity Street – Author Talk by Michael Leung
Date: 25 April, 2018 (Wednesday)
Time: 7pm
Venue: ACO Bookshop (14/F Foo Tak Building, 365-367 Henessey Road, Wan Chai)
The talk will be conducted in English, with Chinese translation if request
Registration: goo.gl/VZ2nHe
Based in Hong Kong since 2009, Michael Leung has participated in various social movements and community works about urban and rural development issues in Hong Kong through design and farming. Having his studio based in Yau Ma Tei, he then started beekeeping, and also urban and rooftop farming. At the same time, he also participated in supporting the fabric sellers at Sham Shui Po fabric market, opposing the Northeast New Territories development, supporting Wang Chau villagers, and also collectively farming on the road during Occupy Mong Kok. With his concern on land, social justice, sustainability, city development and even anti-capitalism, how does he use design, art and farming as a method to engage society? Solidarity Street is a collection of articles written by Michael Leung during 2014-2017, recording his critical thinking on the movements and projects he has participated in. It also includes other social observations and fictional stories by him. This author talk aims at sharing his journey along the years and reflection on the book.
Biography:
Michael Leung is an artist/designer, urban farmer and visiting lecturer. He was born in London and moved to Hong Kong in 2009 to complete a Masters in Design. His projects range from collective urban agriculture projects such as The HK FARMers' Almanac 2014-2015 to Pangkerchief, a collection of objects produced by Pang Jai fabric market in Sham Shui Po.
Michael is a visiting lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University where he teaches socially engaged art (MA). His personal research focuses on Insurrectionary Agricultural Milieux, rhizomatic forms of agriculture that exist in local response to global conditions of biopolitics and neoliberalism.
An amalgamation of his projects, zines and fictional stories can be seen and purchased at a neighbourhood street market stall called Kai Fong Pai Dong, located in a vegetable market in Yau Ma Tei.
Instagram: studio_leung