SAFEGUARDING THE COMMUNITY: AN INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE NEW MEDIA EXHIBITION

Centered on a series of significant historical events, the exhibition will illustrate the emergence of several Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage. The exhibition entrance will recreate the interior of a traditional Chinese house, as the roof is supported by magnificent wooden pillars as a representation of a haven, visitors enter a safe community upheld by its people. The extensive collection will be complemented by digital media, which enriches visitors’ experience of intangible culture.

Through a closer look at the coastal communities in Fujian and Guangdong in the past four centuries, a period filled with natural hazards as well as unrest, audience will be introduced to the different practices taken for the sake of survival, and how they have in time become indispensable as parts of the local intangible cultural heritage. The exhibition will consist of two sections – Starting with a dialogue on piratical disturbances and inter-lineage feuds, hence the emergence of Fujianese Martial Arts, the oldest martial arts system in South China, developed historically to defend the communities against attacks.  The second part of the exhibition will delve into rituals that were believed to have kept away spiritual threats, such as Hakka unicorn dance, fire dragon dance and parade, and Jiao Festival. These martial arts and traditions, nowadays regarded as invaluable cultural heritage, were once the key to safeguarding the communities.

Atop conventional exhibits such as texts, images and displays, the exhibition offers its visitors a multisensory experience with boxing manual animation, Hakka Unicorn Dance water projection, 360-degree immersive projection of Jiao Festival in Lam Tsuen that only takes place every 10 years, a fire dragon dance 3D animation created by renowned visual effects director Victor Wong and creative director Anothermountainman (Stanley Wong), and more.

Amongst the valuable exhibits, is an over 3-metre long Wako-Zukan (Wokou Scroll) lent by University of Tokyo. With a Linear Navigator developed by exhibition curator, Professor Jeffrey Shaw of School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, the weapons and martial skills used to defend against invaders are augmented in details with masters’ demonstrations, making it one of the major highlights of the exhibition.