Hong Kong Soil Workshop

Date & Time: Friday, May 9th 2025, 1:00pm – 4:30pm

Venue: Design Trust Collaborative Space, 1F, Murray House, Stanley Plaza

Your Mountain

Scholar's rock making in ceramics

Have you ever contemplated an object and glimpsed a world within it? Our Asian ancestors have long held a deep connection to rocks, they collect them, cut them, carve them, polish them until they see a moon in them. These rocks are given special places in our living environment for contemplation, they represent a microcosm of the universe, often suggesting forms of landscape and mountains.

While most scholar's stones are naturally occurring or shaped rocks, this workshop invites you to “sculpt" your own stone from our Hong Kong local clay. You will experience the technique of hand-building, giving textures and openings,and incorporating natural materials to create voids and interesting surface treatments. A piece of fired scholar's rock will be ready for you 3-4 weeks after the workshop.

Join us for a hike to Rhino Rock in Stanley as part of this enriching experience.

「你的島嶼」

製作陶瓷文人石

大家有沒有試過發呆看著一件物件卻能看透和看見它以外的世界?文人石，是東方古代詩人或藝術家的文房良伴，他們赏石，因為珍奇石頭的抽象造型為他們带來無限靈感，形狀紋理甚至天然岩石的色澤豐富多變，大部分石塊的輪廓宛如山峰島，有些純天然形成，有些會加以雕刻、鏤空或打磨抛光，凝視岩石彷如走進宇宙的宿影。

是次工作坊邀請你們一起透通行山賞石，使用香港本地泥土創作屬於自己的文人石。你們将體驗手塑陶泥的技術，在泥上添加紋理和凹凸效果，甚至可以混入其他天然材料，以製造透洞和豐富的質感。

工作坊将包括前往赤柱犀牛石的行程。

RUNDOWN

13:00 Meet at bus stop at Stanley Barracks (Google Maps: 6647+4P Tung Tau Wan, link)

13:00-13:30 Hike to Rhino Rock

13:30-14:15 Mini clay workshop on Rhino Rock

14:15-14:45 Hike back to Stanley Barracks

14:45-15:15 Bus back to Murray House

15:15-15:30 Break

15:30-16:45 Workshop continues at Murray House

16:45-17:00 Wrap-up and Clean up

NOTES TO PARTICIPANTS

Please prepare suitable outfits for the event, you are welcome to bring your own clay tools.

• Clay tools, materials and supplies: by Organizer
• Firing by Organizer
• Packing & Delivery at Murray House by Organizer (3-4 weeks after the workshop)

• Hiking/labour gloves: by Participants (we will prepare 勞工手套 for the participants too, the hike involves some sliding and climbing)
• Water and Snacks by Participants
• Pen and Paper for sketching by Participants

LIST OF SUPPLIES PROVIDED:

• Few Types of Clays
• Clear Glaze
• Special Glaze
• Black Pigment
• Seeds and organic materials
• Firing base for your work
• Clear box/zip lock bags to store your test pieces
• Packing materials

“The Art of Transformation” explores spatial constructions and interactions of design and architecture to re-imagine, transform perspectives of city heritage and the culture of nature. Situated in Stanley called “Chek Chue” in Cantonese, a coastal town located on the peninsula of Hong Kong Island in the Southern District with beaches, historic piers, to the popular annual dragon boat festival, heritage monuments and the seaside culture of Hong Kong. This natural context, forms the beginning of a unique programmatic and research-driven learning programme to inspire and gather for community collaboration. DESIGN TRUST FUTURES FESTIVAL 2025: “THE ART OF TRANSFORMATION” collaborates with over 60 designers, artists, architects and curators, over a three-month programme at Murray House, Stanley Plaza where the 19th Century Victorian-era building, fronted by Blake Pier and Ma Hang Park, sets the stage for new perspectives on material ecologies, ocean connectivity that links the 263 islands of Hong Kong. Five key exhibitions and multiple public space installations, features lightweight interventions throughout the historic building to echo the Stanley waterfront, and its environs, as a space for dialogue to speculate on the future of spaces, urbanism and creative discovery.

By Marisa Yiu (Co-Founder, Lead Curator/ Executive Director of Design Trust)

March, 2025

DESIGN TRUST FUTURES FESTIVAL 2025: “The Art of Transformation” is a new micro festival where Design Trust researchers, scholars, global partners to innovative designers, participate in and share further their ongoing work, where small scale site specific commissioned works around themes of “Exceptional Transformations” of the historic site Murray House at Stanley Plaza, a 3-storey Victorian style building with architectural significance and its extraordinary heritage and natural context enlivens conversations on the public realm. Curated by Marisa Yiu (Co-Founder, Lead Curator/ Executive Director) with Zheng Zhou (Head of Programmes/ Associate Curator), this new initiative is conceptualized to shape, test ideas and speculate on the future of spaces, urbanism and the role of creativity, as we respond to global conversations around sustainability, placemaking, role of tourism to culture and heritage of Hong Kong within the Greater Bay Area, and international context, in positive and impactful ways.

Opening Date and Hours:

March 29th – June 18th 2025

Wednesday – Thursday: 2 – 6pm,

Friday: 2-9pm,

Saturday: 11am-9pm,

Sunday: 11am- 6pm.

Closed on Public Holidays unless announced for special programmes. Please refer to website for more details.

Check-in via Reception at Venue 1B (Design Trust Collaborative Space)

About Design Trust (designtrust.hk)

Design Trust was established in 2014 by Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, a registered charity in Hong Kong since 2007, as a grant funding and community platform. Design Trust supports creative projects that develop expertise, build research initiatives and content related to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. Working across a multiplicity of design disciplines from graphics, media, architecture to the built environment, Design Trust aims to actively accelerate creative research, design and development of meaningful projects that advocate for the positive role of design.

Lead Organiser

Design Trust

Lead Venue Sponsor and Programme & Exhibition Co-sponsor

Link Asset Management Limited