Photos
About the event
Wyndham Social gladly presents we have to be very strong, a collaborative exploration through installation, participatory creative sessions and a workshop series on the neglected, intimate personal spaces in our urban daily lives in collaboration with a group of local artists and creative units.
The title of this project is derived from a lyric in the song Romantic Kowloon Tong by the local independent music group my little airport: “we have to be very strong / if we want to do something very wrong.” Although we are not preparing to do anything wrong, under various societal constraints, if we want to break through established rules, frameworks, or rhythms and re-understand the relationships within private spaces, groups, and communities, we must continuously present ourselves as strong (or at least feign composure). By transforming the non-places of commercial building lobbies that connect main streets and office areas into participatory safe spaces, we create a private nook on the social stage. This extends the “backstage” space, encouraging the public to participate as they pass by, connecting and sharing their embodied experiences through practices such as performance, writing, and visual media, allowing individuals to pause and breathe away from the homogeneous and linear pace of commercial urban life, to embrace and discuss self, emotions, and vulnerability.
The project is primarily divided into three parts: sharing sessions, participatory installations, and workshops. Each weekly sharing session approaches emotional expression in modern urban life from different angles.
Since its establishment in August 2022, art and cultural space Wyndham Social has been dedicated to supporting local artists in their creative endeavours and providing a platform for creators from diverse cultural backgrounds to showcase their works, encouraging interaction and exchange among cultural enthusiasts. This participatory art project lasts for six weeks and aims to encourage the audience to embrace their own and others' emotional vulnerabilities through various artistic and expressive mediums, working together to build a more inclusive and humanised diverse space within the community.
Details of Exhibition
「we have to be very strong」
Presented by Wyndham Social in collaboration a group of local artists and creative units
18 Oct - 1 Dec 2024
G/F, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
11:00am-9:00pm daily
Details of Workshop and Sharing Sessions: https://linktr.ee/wyndhamsocial
About the organiser
About Wyndham Social @wyndham_social
Established by Peterson Group in 2022, Wyndham Social is a contemporary platform for collective exchanges. Located at the heart of Wyndham Street, one of Hong Kong’s main roads rich in historical and cultural significance, this arts and culture space offers a distinctive hub for individuals and communities to connect, engage and inspire.
About Peterson Group
Peterson Group (“Peterson”) is a private company based in Hong Kong since 1959. The company is a diversified family business with a focus on different real estate asset classes across Asia, North America and Europe. In parallel to growth of the real estate business, the family remains entrepreneurial and has evolved its alternative business from trading to manufacturing, to a full range family office investing in alternative strategies.
About the Collaborators
The Blu Journal @theblu.journal
The Blu Journal is a wellness community and event organiser to inspire transformation through self-love, mindfulness, and personal growth. Founded by LeanneBlu—a dedicated speaker, wellness writer, and life coach—we are committed to empowering individuals, particularly youth and women, to reach their fullest potential. With our wellness retreats, panel discussions, and collaborative workshops with industry leaders, we create spaces for connection and growth.
Our highly ranked podcast, Beyond the Label, amplifies the voices of those who have forged their own paths, breaking stereotypes, and inspiring others that success and happiness is not linear. We aim to unite like-minded souls passionate about self-development and tranquillity. By providing unique experiences in venues worldwide, we foster an environment where individuals can learn, grow, and transform. Join us in this journey of empowerment, as we educate and inspire through wellness practices and events that cultivate lasting change and a deeper understanding of oneself.
Sonia Wong
Sonia Wong is a Hong Kong-based interdisciplinary artist, writer and scholar. Wong's works use text as the main carrier, developing artistic expressions that combine spatial design, installation, interaction, theatre, movement and contemporary performance. Rooted in reflections of the histories and colonial legacies of Asia, Wong explores gender, identity, intimacy, violence, power, among other themes in her work. Her mutable identities as scholar, advocate, curator, and community organizer enrich her work, intertwining the personal and political, emotions and knowledge. Her work often departs from reflection on the personal, with a focus on human connection and presence, making her voice a deliberately intimate and feminine one.
Santayana Li
Scriptwriter and actor from Hong Kong. In 2018, she was invited to collaborate with the Canadian troupe Theatre du Poulet, touring the original work The Extinction of Hong Kongers in Eastern Canada. Subsequently, she participated in the Toronto Summerworks Performance Festival and Halifax Fringe Festival, where she received the Emerging Artist Award and Newcomers Award, respectively.
Li recently participated in various theater roles, including: Assistant to Director for Chan Ping-chiu's Iron Lane at On & On Theatre Workshop, Co-director for Wu King-yeung's Hongkongshima, Dramaturg for Kingston Lo × David Chan's 20xx 2xxx xxxx, Creative Partner for Kwok Chui-yi's solo play My Therapist Said:, Co-director for Loui Yuen's The Anonymous Many and The Spotlighted One, Associate Director for Yat Po Singers’ The Little Things in Life, and Co-director for Radix Troupe’s Radix Series: Say Sei Laan Seen Dai Gin Poon Wai Sum.
Li is currently an instructor for Radix Troupe's Full-time All-round Dramatic Arts Training and a member of Table To-gather, a 3-year collaborative creation programme at On & On Theatre Workshop.
Linda Cheung @fotowriting
Linda Cheung is a photographer who believes good portraits are by-products of real conversations and deep listening.
While trained in the social sciences, photography is her introverted way to learn about people around her and connect with total strangers. It touches her how people reveal and open up through shoots, imparting to her their most intimate journeys, from a broken bone to a healing heart.
Her experience in photographing those typically less seen—survivors of sexual assault, the elderly, the drag community, the differently abled and their caretakers—has shown her the healing power of collaborative portrait making and the importance of creating a safe space for such narratives to unfold. Apart from image making, Linda is passionate about sharing visual storytelling - whether in the form of photography or oracle cards - as a tool for self-exploration and a medium for creative dialogues.
Her works related to healing journeys, inclusivity and mental wellbeing were exhibited at Fringe Club, Soho House Hong Kong and Goethe-Institut Hong Kong.
Li Tin-yan
Li Tin-yan is the Chief Consultant at Talent Professional Training Group Limited, Director of External Affairs at CountAudit and a Counselor at Antares Counseling & Education. He received his Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Media and Cultural Studies from Middlesex University (UK) and Master of Arts in Guidance & Counseling from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is a columnist, film screenwriter, cultural and media worker, and once wrote a column in am730.
Specialising in tailored training and counselling services, he has provided professional training and counselling to middle to senior executives of multi-national corporations, non-profit organizations, and government in the past decade.