Reporters: Lotus Lau, Billy Leung, Charlie Leung
Editor: Jennifer Kwok

Foo Tak Building in Wan Chai looks like any other old tenement building. It is easily overshadowed by Wan Chai’s flashy new blocks and impressive heritage buildings. But behind its ordinary appearance, Foo Tak has much more to offer.

Foo Tak Building was built in 1968. After a major renovation in 2003, the building’s main landlady no longer wanted to run it as a residential building. This was when she encountered the cultural critic and video artist May Fung Mei-wah in a conference about local artists. It was then that she suddenly came up with the idea of turning Foo Tak Building into an artists’ village.

But it takes more than enthusiasm and financial means to do the job. Lacking knowledge of and insights into the cultural circle, the landlady enlisted Fung, who has been working in the art circle for years and has extensive experience and networks in the field. She then took a back seat and let Fung do the screening of artists.

“I act like a middleman. Studios in factories buildings and art villages were not common at that time so I helped her.” says Fung.

Fung says the criteria for selecting tenants is simple: any artist or cultural group who is too poor to afford to rent a place at market rates and has a clear goal for their work is eligible to move in. Over the years, she has selected numerous artists – from painters, indie movie-makers to publishers, Foo Tak has them all.

Since 2008, Fung has been joined by Kobe Ho Ting-ting, to manage Foo Tak’s affairs. Ho also runs a bookstore named Art and Culture Outreach (ACO) on the first floor.

The books available here are very different from those in mainstream bookstores. You will not find any bestsellers because Ho only sells books that are generally neglected yet important.

With the help of her partner Sunny Chan Dart-sun, Ho started a small restaurant, Slow Experience in March this year. Unlike ordinary restaurants in Hong Kong, it is set up with a progressive vision of promoting sustainable development through dining..

None of these could have happened were it not for the existence of Foo Tak Building. “There would be no Slow experience without Foo Tak Building,” says Ho, “If we didn’t have this space in Foo Tak Building, we wouldn’t have the platform to promote this new experience to the citizens.”

The Foo Tak model runs counter to that of a top-down scheme put forward by the government. It allows for greater flexibility and freedom which encourages mutual trust between owner and tenants. For Ho, this is what makes Food Tak Building stand out from the crowd.

Vincent Chui Wan-Shun, Artistic Director of Ying E Chi, a group that promotes and distributes local independent films, is one of the tenants here. Chui says his rent is astonishingly cheap for Wan Chai. But apart from that, he also appreciates the relaxed management style of Foo Tak Building which enables things to develop organically. Chui believes this can be more fruitful than government involvement.

“The Hong Kong government can’t solve the problem by just throwing some money now and again,” says Chui, “Many times, the community can also do a good job, and it’d be great if [the government] could put some resources into advancing the community’s work.”

Another artist to benefit from Foo Tak is Roy Tsui, one of the founders of the monthly pamphlet, Black Paper. Tsui says what sets Foo Tak apart is the warmth of the relationships between those who work in the building..

“You can’t find this kind of interaction in any IFC office,” says Tsui, “This is what’s so valuable apart from the cheap rent.”

As the old Chinese saying goes “things work the best when you don’t force it”, this definitely applies to the Foo Tak artists’ village.

Reporters: Jennifer Xu, Joana U, Stephanie Chan
Editor: Hazel Chung

Many Hong Kong parents might be worried if their kids told them they wanted to become dancers. The perception is that dancers are people who did not excel academically and did not have many choices after leaving school.

In reality, many dancers are graduates who have given up potentially lucrative professions to work hard at pursuing their dreams.

Ho Ka-yan an Economics graduate inform the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), says she followed society’s prescribed routine by studying for a degree. But she never liked it. Instead, dancing is what makes her feel alive and gives her a sense of self.

This caused tensions in her relationship with members of her family because they equated dancing with “being bad”. However, she thinks they should support her instead, since she is confident that she has found the most meaningful and valuable thing in her life.

Cheung Tsz-kwan, who is studying Business Administration at CUHK, is also passionate about dance. She wants to teach it as she enjoys sharing and inspiring others through doing what she loves.

Cheung says she will finish her studies because a degree will her safety net. But she has no ambitions to get a job at a big company and work steadily up the corporate ladder. Instead she just wants to find a stable job that will allow her to carry on dancing in her spare time.

Cheung admits that her dance schedule of five to six sessions a week does not leave her much time to study. Instead of what she gets out of dance, she can only list what dance takes out of her – time and energy. Still, she is compelled to do it because her passion for dancing means she is prepared to make sacrifices.

Perhaps Cheung can take a leaf out of Fiona Chan’s book. Chan graduated from the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong and now works as a part-time dancer and full-time clerk.

Chan has been dedicated to dance since she was a student. At university, she worked very hard as a private tutor to earn enough money to join an exchange programme in America. There, she met and danced with world-renowned professional dancers.

Chan works hard to achieve a work-life balance. She insists that instead of tiring her out after work, dancing gives her a fresh burst of energy. A physically demanding session of dance energises her for another day of work.

Dance gives her more self-confidence and self-assurance. Without it, Chan says she would have been a very shy person, someone who did not do well at school and who would have been looked down upon by her peers. For Fiona Chan, dance was a turning point in life. “I can’t say dance is my life, but dance changes my life,” she says.

Reporters: Sandy Ho, Gienne Lee, Krizto Chan
Editor: Victor Chan

Motorbikes and scooters are a common enough sight in Hong Kong. Often they are ridden by couriers and delivery workers.

The sight of riders on large bikes, wearing matching uniforms bearing flashy Harley-Davison logos roaring through Tsim Sha Tsui are a rarer picture. Heads turn as the group zooms through the busy streets.

But this is no fearsome biker gang. It is a group of biking enthusiasts from all walks of life.

Physician Leung Kai-man is one of them. He says that contrary to the perception most motorbikers are uneducated, unsavoury types, the group includes doctors, businessmen, a choreography instructor, an architect and a coach. “We talk about everything at gatherings. It’s not only about motorbikes.”

Dr Leung adds their activities are not all about thrill-seeking,“We organized charity rides and asked for permission beforehand,” he says.

Dr Leung spends time and money on refitting his motorbikes – like repainting, upgrading engines and attaching logos. It is a labour of love but he does worry his passion for bikes might disturb the neighbours because the engines are so loud.

“The neighbors should come to get you!” jokes his wife, who like him is also a doctor and a biking enthusiast..

Dr Leung Man-ching says motorbikes do not have to be macho. They are also for women.

“Motorbiking is a lifestyle. It can be applied to fashion and everything,” she says as she shows off her collection of pink helmets and cutesy masks for motorbiking.