HK's Biggest Art Event Returns

ART HK takes place from May 17 - 22 and is one of the must-see events of the year. What’s great about the show is that because there’s a mountain of work on display, you’ll enjoy it whatever your taste. To be precise, 266 galleries will represent 38 countries at the 2012 edition which is a bit like walking into Toys”R”Us as a toddler. You can’t conceive of so many toys in one room.

DJ's Music Going Online

John Peel, the iconic British DJ who held a show on BBC’s Radio 1 for nearly 40 years, amassed a record collection of world renown, and now a selection of it is going online. When Peel died in 2004 his musical treasure trove stood at 25,000 LPs and 40,000 singles. Blessedly, each week from now until October, 100 albums will be released on The Space in alphabetical order, starting with Mike Absalom. Bummer if you’re a Led Zeppelin fan.

Former Porn Venue to Host Cantonese Opera

Hong Kong’s seedier past is largely brushed over by its synthetic skyscrapers so we’re delighted to reveal the Yau Ma Tei theatre has re-opened for Cantonese Opera. What’s particularly special about the re-furb is that it was formerly a porn theatre, one of the funnier sides of adult entertainment. The thought of a very public theatre showing very private business, while the patrons get up to god knows what (sitting next to each other) is surreal comedy at its best. Can you imagine being one of the cleaners?

Classic Photos from Famous Archive

The Picture This Gallery has just unveiled a collection of photos from the Getty Images/Hulton Archive featuring celebrity, cultural landmarks and classic sporting moments. They're all instantly accessible, but perhaps even more importantly, they’re also the type of casual pieces you can have on your walls; in stark contrast to the luminous pink, pop-art Chinese faces grinning maniacally from nearly ever gallery on Hollywood Rd.

Photographer's Debut Solo Exhibit

Annie Leibovitz's debut solo show in Hong Kong will be held at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery on Hollywood Road. Taking place from May 10 - June 17, the exhibition will explore the theme of power in public and private spheres. Having said that, all we really want to know is how one of the most famous photographers of her generation, the last to shoot John Lennon (pun intended), could have got into such financial difficulty that she had to pawn away her image rights a couple of years ago?

Walk through World’s Finest Art Galleries

Google has taken its Street View concept and transferred it to some of the greatest galleries in the world. The Google Chrome extension, Art Project, lets you walk through the likes of the Met in New York, the Uffizi in Florence and the Tate Britain in London without leaving the comfort of your sofa. For art lovers it's an incredible collaboration. For private gallery owners trying to make end's meet - not so much.

Sam Gellman is a travel photographer based in Hong Kong whose work has been published by the BBC, The Huffington Post and Wired to name a few. He’s taken some spectacular shots of the city and he's got some sage advice about how to get the best out of your camera in Hong Kong and abroad.

Musicians for HK Events, Studio Time, Lessons & Management

RISE Entertainment is a Hong Kong company that can organise musical accompaniment for pretty much any event. What makes the service special is that they approach the business from the point of view of the artist. It was set up by musicians and is run by them to help their fellow peers. You can imagine they throw a great Christmas party but are stumped by a balance sheet.

Coolest Exhibition in Hong Kong

Dialogue in the Dark is an extraordinary multi-sensory exhibition in Mei Foo, set in pitch darkness. You can’t see a thing so you’re lead around by a visually-impaired guide, an interesting role reversal designed to help raise awareness for the blind. It’s rare we’re taken so far out of our comfort zone – think of the first time you had to fight Bowser on Super Mario – and it has a very profound effect.

Best of the 40th Edition

The 40th Hong Kong Arts Festival is up and running and there are a few highlights worth seeing. In fact, picking the right show is essential because there’ll be 166 performances on 17 stages and there are few things more embarrassing than getting up from the front row to head for the exits. It’s the adult equivalent of wetting yourself in school assembly. Everyone sees. Everyone disapproves. And most of the time you just stay where you are.

Most films never make it to Hong Kong so we’ve compiled a list of the best we’ve missed over the last 12 months to watch over Chinese New Year.

We love kung fu films and the man who's trained most of Hollywood’s stars is Hong Kong legend, Yuen Wo-Ping. One of the most influential filmmakers in history, he’s directed or choreographed nearly every major kung fu scene in the past 30 years, including THAT scene in The Matrix.

We’d like to thank you for supporting NecesCity this year so here’s a rundown of our best stories from the last 12 months

Rare Second Hand Book Shop in HK

Second hand book shops are in short supply in Hong Kong but we've found one on Elgin Street called The Book Attic. A charming little place, the store is particularly valuable because book prices are so offensively high in Hong Kong. If you fancy taking Richard Branson's autobiography on holiday (you won't have to speak to your girlfriend the entire trip) a visit to Dymocks will cost about the same as 10 wonton mei. Or a bowl of olives in Sevva.

HK's Top Design Event Kicks Off

Detour 2011, Hong Kong’s biggest design festival, is up and running until December 11. The theme is ‘Use-Less’ – a combination of less is more and putting to good use items consigned to the scrap heap. While they were at it they should have added the customer service at PCCW. They are truly useless.

Learn from 3-Time Emmy Winner

We’re privileged to tell you about a unique opportunity to learn aerial cinematography with Helicopters HK and three time Emmy award winner, Steve Howell. He’s the man behind film stealing scenes in XXX and Terminator so you’re working with a pro. And someone who likes to blow stuff up - a lot of stuff.

Top Speakers in Town

TEDx, an independently organised TED event, will 'premiere' in Hong Kong on December 2. If you’ve ever walked into a library, seen the shelves of books and thought how wonderful it would be to have all that knowledge at your finger tips, this is the event for you. It’s cheaper than going to an online college and frankly a lot cooler.

World's Best Commercials in HK

Art of Commercials, a celebration of great TV advertising from around the world, will mark its 21st birthday at the Hong Kong Arts Centre at the end of the month. Everyone loves a good advert. In fact we often remember the best (and worst) adverts better than our favourite films. Whether the Carlsberg classics or Honda’s precision, they sear themselves into our brains. It’s enough to make you wonder whether there’s any subliminal foul play going on.

HK Forgets Itself for the Weekend

Clockenflap, Hong Kong’s only genuine music festival, returns in December with a two-day programme spanning five stages and over 20,000 people expected to attend. Unsurprisingly they haven’t managed to squeeze it onto the Island  (it’s taking place in the West Kowloon Cultural District) so most of you will enjoy a very raucous eight minute journey on the Star Ferry as well as a humdinger of an event.

Everybody’s Favourites on the Roof

Next Wednesday the Fringe Club will show 11 short films on its rooftop. Talk about cinema at its artistic best. Not only will you not have to sit through the usual Hollywood rubbish, Michael Bay essentially blowing up everything in sight for 117 minutes - you’ll also get to watch the shorts on a rooftop. And that’s romance.

At 10 Chancery Lane

Artist Vincent Fantauzzo and film director Barney Howells have produced a ‘Suzie Wong’ exhibition which is on show at the 10 Chancery Lane Gallery. Prostitution has always put a smile on men’s faces but this time around it’s elevated to the upper echelons of art so you don’t even have to be worried about including your girlfriend in the fun. Nay, she’ll probably be impressed.

Apple Legend Remembered

A memorial for Steve Jobs will be held tonight (Oct 6) at 7pm. Dubbed the iVigil, it will take place in the IFC outside the new Hong Kong Apple Store. The response to his death has been quite extraordinary - here are just some of the things being said about him:

Masterful Architecture Exhibition Opens

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about Norman Foster’s exhibition and this week it’s Frank Gehry’s turn with a show in Taikoo Place. Contrary to popular belief Gehry’s not here to perform an architectural exorcism for Hong Kong (the city has a striking resemblance to the Sims) instead he’s here courtesy of Swire Properties. Together they’re working on his first building in Hong Kong, the lavish Opus residences, which will open in 2012.

Human League’s Debut Performance in HK

One of the most celebrated electro pop acts from the 1980s, The Human League, will have their Hong Kong debut on October 13. It’s a chance to re-live your glory days of clubbing except you’ll have markedly less hair and a Blackberry to ignore.

HK Jazz Festival Highlights

The Hong Kong International Jazz Festival takes place from Sep 25 – Oct 2, attracting 300 artists from 24 countries. It should be special. There’s something about jazz that never fails to connect with people. From grandfathers to bored, angry youths laying waste to London last month - jazz resonates. Well, arguably not those youths, but jazz is unique in that it’s cross-generational.

Norman Foster Exhibition Opens in HK

A major exhibition on Foster + Partners, the world renowned architectural studio, has opened in the Hong Kong Arts Centre. It’s full of little models and what guy doesn’t like a model? First there was Lego, then there was Airfix and now there’s Victoria's Secret. Models are part of the essence of man, and the ones on show are top notch.

Deafening Darkness

This week sees the return of Concert in the Dark, a Hong Kong music festival held in complete darkness. The 10 shows will be a true sensory overload but it’s also a chance to show how comfortable you are in darkness, laughing at the memory of a misspent youth keeping the bedroom door open ajar at night.

Hong Kong has a fair few museums but some are fairer than others. Here’s our run down of the best museums in town including some you might not have heard of...