https://www.scmp.com/rss/23/feed Find all the latest movie and music reviews, listings, celebrity news and interviews en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Morning Studio editors,Dominic Ngai Morning Studio editors,Dominic Ngai The Venice Biennale, the world’s oldest art biennial, has been setting global trends and spotlighting new creative talent since it was established in 1895. The event’s 61st edition, which runs until November 22, carries an overarching theme of “In Minor Keys” – a term referring to the subtle and melancholic tones in music. Artworks inspired by the idea of slowing down and reflecting on our surroundings are showcased in a central exhibition, as well as multiple national pavilions and collateral... https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts/topics/taking-hong-kongs-art-venice/article/3355049/venice-biennale-hong-kong-exhibition-draws-2-cities-closer-through-art?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts/topics/taking-hong-kongs-art-venice/article/3355049/venice-biennale-hong-kong-exhibition-draws-2-cities-closer-through-art?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2026 04:13:04 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung If all the world’s a stage, then Hong Kong must be a one-man show. Shakespeare takes centre stage this weekend at the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK) with Tibetan Hamlets and Ming-dynasty Othellos, while a North Point cafe transforms into an after-hours parlour for natural wines and flash tattoos. For those craving a slower scene, a wellness retreat will be hosted at a five-star hotel, and a pet playground has just opened inside the island’s largest lifestyle mall. Take a seat and enjoy... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355842/5-best-things-do-hong-kong-weekend-june-5-7?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355842/5-best-things-do-hong-kong-weekend-june-5-7?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2026 04:45:06 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak Hong Kong is an international economic powerhouse brimming with talent and capital, but how much of that has trickled down to local communities? This was the question that weighed on Daniella Lopez’s mind when she acquired the licence for TEDxHongKong – which had been inactive since 2017 – in late 2025. There have been more focused TEDx events in Hong Kong, such as TEDxTinHauWomen, that had specific themes. But TEDxHongKong is about building a broader platform that uses local expertise and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355675/its-back-revived-tedxhongkong-challenges-assumptions-and-reframes-beliefs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355675/its-back-revived-tedxhongkong-challenges-assumptions-and-reframes-beliefs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2026 23:15:04 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak During mainland China’s recent May Day holiday, a 2,500-year-old sword went viral on Chinese social media – but not for the reason you might think. Lasting from May 1 to 5, the May Day holiday – also known as “Golden Week” – sees large numbers of domestic tourists flocking to popular travel destinations across China, including the Hubei Provincial Museum, which houses the famous Sword of Goujian. Many of them end up buying a replica of the sword in the souvenir shop. As a result, the main... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3355704/how-chinas-excalibur-east-souvenir-swords-sparked-airport-security-warning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3355704/how-chinas-excalibur-east-souvenir-swords-sparked-airport-security-warning?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 23:15:10 +0000 Paul French Paul French This summer’s major London exhibition will undoubtedly be the James McNeill Whistler retrospective at Tate Britain. It is comprehensive and sprawling, requires a solid half-day commitment at least and is of particular interest to Asian visitors to the British capital. It is a fitting exhibit for the Tate. Though American-born, Whistler was closely associated with Chelsea, just downriver from the Tate at Millbank. The retrospective, on until September 2026, tackles every period of Whistler’s life... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3355511/how-chinamania-japonisme-shaped-james-mcneill-whistlers-art-now-view-tate-britain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3355511/how-chinamania-japonisme-shaped-james-mcneill-whistlers-art-now-view-tate-britain?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:15:04 +0000 Natasha Rogai Natasha Rogai Hong Kong Ballet (HKB) has long needed a new production of The Sleeping Beauty. Featuring Marius Petipa’s sublime choreography and Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, the work is the pinnacle of pure 19th century classical ballet and an essential part of any ballet troupe’s repertoire – as well as a supreme test of its female dancers. HKB’s 2010 staging by Cynthia Harvey (last revived in 2021) was hampered by eccentric costume designs, including floppy travesties of tutus, and a sub-par version of Act... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355566/hong-kong-ballets-sleeping-beauty-let-down-second-half-after-superb-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355566/hong-kong-ballets-sleeping-beauty-let-down-second-half-after-superb-first?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:15:04 +0000 Lisa Cam Lisa Cam Pure imagination will take hold in Hong Kong this November as the Broadway musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory makes its debut in the city. The recent announcement, made at Felix on the 28th floor of The Peninsula Hong Kong hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, was met with considerable buzz. Two cast members sat down with the South China Morning Post to discuss the challenges of bringing Roald Dahl’s beloved story to life on stage, the pressure of following Hollywood talent such as Gene Wilder – who... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3355528/charlie-and-chocolate-factory-musical-hong-kong-sweet-treat-say-stars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3355528/charlie-and-chocolate-factory-musical-hong-kong-sweet-treat-say-stars?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2026 04:15:07 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui Li Yi-fan is turning heads in Italy, where his bizarre take on the digital self-portrait represents Taiwan at the 61st edition of the Venice Biennale. The video artist’s digital avatar – or “puppet”, as Li calls it – is impossible to unsee. It is naked – genitals obscured – with plaster-like skin, and is hairless and cloudy-eyed. It is not just physically crude but verbally vulgar and provocative. This abrasive persona may well be Taiwan’s answer to other groundbreaking animated avatars, such as... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355266/li-yi-fans-bizarre-digital-puppet-critiques-screen-obsessed-world-venice-biennale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355266/li-yi-fans-bizarre-digital-puppet-critiques-screen-obsessed-world-venice-biennale?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:15:05 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service On the second weekend of May, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel gave the New York Philharmonic a salsa shock. He gleefully brought the startled players together with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, an uptown salsa and jazz band, for concerts at the city’s Lincoln Centre and United Palace. New York’s classical music fans treated it as a cultural breakthrough; Dudamel is expected to transform the orchestra as a cultural institution when he returns in autumn as its music and artistic director. A... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354975/gustavo-dudamel-his-enduring-love-los-angeles-he-prepares-lead-ny-phil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354975/gustavo-dudamel-his-enduring-love-los-angeles-he-prepares-lead-ny-phil?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 May 2026 07:15:05 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu Theatre emphasises the principle of directorial intention, a specific creative vision and message that a performance aims to communicate. Hong Kong-born actress Kaja Chan applies this theory to her life. She has known she wanted to act for as long as she can remember, and has steered her career with unwavering focus. Chan, 25, was born to a Polish mother and Chinese father and grew up in Sha Tin and Tai Po in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Now based in London, Chan is making her mark across every... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3355254/hong-kong-born-actress-kaja-chan-her-burning-desire-she-rises-tv-video-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3355254/hong-kong-born-actress-kaja-chan-her-burning-desire-she-rises-tv-video-games?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 May 2026 04:15:04 +0000 Associated Press,Enid Tsui Associated Press,Enid Tsui Looking to take off into a new era after nearly two decades under the charismatic Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced on May 26 that it had hired Daniel Harding, a British conductor who is also an Air France pilot, as its next music director. Harding, a 50-year-old who is known mostly for his work with European orchestras and is highly sought-after in Asia, agreed to a six-year contract starting with the 2027-28 season. His first appointment by an American orchestra is with... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355147/meet-daniel-harding-new-la-phil-music-director-deep-asia-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3355147/meet-daniel-harding-new-la-phil-music-director-deep-asia-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 May 2026 09:23:09 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu Artists do not tend to follow templates. But the will to forge new trajectories is all the more pronounced for a new generation of Hong Kong artists coming of age in a time of great change. Three young artists, who graduated into an era of algorithmic hyper-efficiency and a rapidly realigning world, confront the anxieties of adulthood in a new exhibition entitled “Free Radicals – New expressions from an untethered generation”. The fledgling practices of Bethany Man Hoi-ying, Elizabeth Li... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354885/hong-kong-gen-z-artists-show-rebellious-youthful-aesthetic-free-radicals-exhibition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354885/hong-kong-gen-z-artists-show-rebellious-youthful-aesthetic-free-radicals-exhibition?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 May 2026 07:15:05 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung The final weekend of May features many exciting events to keep Hongkongers entertained before summer truly begins. Whether you are queuing for a glimpse of Mads Mikkelsen, catching the Hong Kong debut of Broadway royalty, relaxing with a gong bath or watching the latest zombie movie, this weekend has something in store for you. Read on to find out more. 1. Hong Kong Comic Con 2026 Pop culture will take centre stage at Comic Con Hong Kong 2026, which runs from May 29 to 31 at the Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3355110/5-best-things-do-hong-kong-weekend-may-29-31?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3355110/5-best-things-do-hong-kong-weekend-may-29-31?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 May 2026 03:40:31 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu Sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar’s latest work, Chapters – a deeply personal trilogy written and released between January 2023 and March 2025 – was born from an intense post-pandemic creative block. “I had this notion that after the pandemic I needed to make the most significant work of my life,” Shankar says. “So, of course, as a result, I had nothing.” The paralysis broke on a New Year’s morning in India. Staring at the ocean with her journal, she decided to strip away the pressure of a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354982/how-sitarist-anoushka-shankar-broke-her-creative-block-after-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354982/how-sitarist-anoushka-shankar-broke-her-creative-block-after-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 May 2026 09:15:05 +0000 Morning Studio editors,Issac Chan,Reggie Ho Morning Studio editors,Issac Chan,Reggie Ho Imagine entering the world of China’s White Snake legend, centred on a romance between a mortal man and a 1,000-year-old reptile spirit that has transformed into a woman so it can feel human love, and – instead of finding a historic classic – discovering a modern story charged with dramatic tension, beauty and surprise. In the compelling dance drama Lady White Snake, elements as familiar as the Broken Bridge, the Dragon Boat Festival transformation and flooding Jinshan Temple have been... https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts/topics/ccf2026-bringing-legends-life/article/3354171/chinese-culture-festival-2026-brings-centuries-legends-and-glory-life-modern-audiences?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts/topics/ccf2026-bringing-legends-life/article/3354171/chinese-culture-festival-2026-brings-centuries-legends-and-glory-life-modern-audiences?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 May 2026 04:00:05 +0000 Marianna Lemus Boskovitch Marianna Lemus Boskovitch Hong Kong’s M+ museum recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Centre Pompidou in France, cementing a multi-year partnership that will cover collection, research and talent exchanges. This follows the 12 MOUs signed by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority during this year’s International Cultural Summit – bringing its total international partnerships to 46. With billions of dollars being poured into mega-events, arts hubs and wider cultural initiatives, we are... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3354642/beyond-visitor-numbers-hong-kong-must-track-full-worth-its-art-and-culture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3354642/beyond-visitor-numbers-hong-kong-must-track-full-worth-its-art-and-culture?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 May 2026 01:30:05 +0000 Natasha Rogai Natasha Rogai The latest “grand dance poem” from Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC), In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey was inspired by the work of Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010), one of China’s greatest modern painters, who brought together Chinese and Western influences in works of transcendent beauty. The production was a collaboration with the Hong Kong Museum of Art, which holds the world’s largest collection of Wu’s work, and the French May Arts Festival, since Wu studied in France from 1947 to 1950. It was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354820/hong-kong-dance-companys-ode-chinese-painter-wu-guanzhong-head-scratcher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354820/hong-kong-dance-companys-ode-chinese-painter-wu-guanzhong-head-scratcher?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 May 2026 09:15:04 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan has just made headlines as the first woman to be named music director designate of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS). Many in the classical music world had expected her to succeed Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As Chan herself acknowledged in an interview with the South China Morning Post on May 22, that was also what she expected, but – using a dating and marriage analogy – the courtship with the LA Phil went on for too long without the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354519/i-am-hungry-elim-chan-taking-lead-san-francisco-symphony?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354519/i-am-hungry-elim-chan-taking-lead-san-francisco-symphony?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 May 2026 04:45:04 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu All the world’s a stage for Tang Shu-wing, the theatre director and actor who will host the second Hong Kong International Shakespeare Festival in June. The festival, launched in 2024 by the Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio, will bring plenty of violent delights to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and WestK venues. Award-winning dance and theatre troupes from across the globe, including from Hong Kong, Tibet, Guangzhou, Romania, Poland, South Korea and Britain, will present nine unique adaptations of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354455/hong-kong-international-shakespeare-festival-bring-fresh-takes-bards-classics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354455/hong-kong-international-shakespeare-festival-bring-fresh-takes-bards-classics?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 May 2026 23:15:06 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung In Hong Kong’s bustling Central district, the pedestrian-only Shin Hing Street is a popular haven known for its wide staircase and its many great bars and restaurants. Now, one of the neighbourhood’s most beloved streets is getting its own visual identity over three days in May, courtesy of 33-year-old Daniel Wu, also known as Mr Mahjong. Starting from May 29, the 15 shops that hug the steps will each display a one-of-a-kind mahjong tile-inspired artwork on their facades. The project is the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354356/how-mr-mahjong-telling-hong-kong-stories-through-his-one-kind-outdoor-exhibition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354356/how-mr-mahjong-telling-hong-kong-stories-through-his-one-kind-outdoor-exhibition?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 May 2026 23:15:06 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan has been named music director designate of the San Francisco Symphony, capping months of intense industry speculation over her next permanent posting. The orchestra announced on May 21 that Chan will officially begin her tenure in September 2027. She will serve an initial six-year term, becoming the first woman and 13th music director in the institution’s 115-year history. The announcement marks a significant milestone for the conductor and places one of Hong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354429/hong-kong-born-conductor-elim-chan-becomes-first-woman-lead-san-francisco-symphony?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354429/hong-kong-born-conductor-elim-chan-becomes-first-woman-lead-san-francisco-symphony?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 May 2026 17:54:00 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui History looms large at the 2026 Venice Biennale, where the official curatorial framework – focused on contemplative, alternative voices from the “Global South” – has inspired many artists to draw from, come to terms with, and reveal personal perspectives within history. This is strongly reflected in a number of memorable exhibitions by artists of Asian heritage. While sidestepping cultural essentialism, these practitioners focus on sidelined perspectives and offer fresh ways of thinking amid... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354160/how-asian-artists-2026-venice-biennale-are-making-their-voices-heard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3354160/how-asian-artists-2026-venice-biennale-are-making-their-voices-heard?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 May 2026 07:15:06 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung “I want to remind people that, even when you don’t feel it, you are loved, and you are seen,” says Cherry Yeung, the founder of Cute Soulz, a fledgling art and wellness project that has amassed more than 112,000 Instagram followers to date. The brand’s signature character is a small, flower-like doll that Yeung calls the “Little Inner Child”. It lives in everyone’s heart, she says, but is too easily neglected when life becomes a blur of deadlines and commutes. Cute Soulz products range from... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353949/how-architect-healing-hongkongers-inner-child-free-sketches-figurines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353949/how-architect-healing-hongkongers-inner-child-free-sketches-figurines?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 May 2026 04:45:04 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu The pipe organ, with its thousands of whistles and massive wooden lungs, is the quintessential voice of Western sacred music. Yet for Hong Kong organist Eric Chan’s latest cross-cultural project, he shares the stage with the piercing cries of the suona – a traditional Chinese woodwind whose melodies have echoed through rural villages for centuries. Played in this project by Guo Yazhi and Chrysoberyl Chan – Eric Chan’s partner in life and music – the suona bridges a vast cultural divide, showing... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353717/east-meets-west-melodic-concert-hong-kong-musician-eric-chan-blends-suona-organ?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353717/east-meets-west-melodic-concert-hong-kong-musician-eric-chan-blends-suona-organ?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 May 2026 11:15:06 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui In Venice, Italy, Indonesian artist Natasha Tontey has resurrected an oft-forgotten female guerrilla fighter from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and moved her – and her band of girl muscle – into a four-century-old building that was once used for providing spiritual support to those sentenced to death by hanging. The message to 17th century visitors entering what is now the Ateneo Veneto cultural institute was that there was only one way to free the souls of the dead in purgatory: by buying... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353405/indonesian-artists-venice-installation-reimagines-cia-backed-female-guerrilla-fighter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353405/indonesian-artists-venice-installation-reimagines-cia-backed-female-guerrilla-fighter?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 May 2026 08:15:04 +0000 Robin Zebaida Robin Zebaida Ever tried that children’s game of trying to pat your head while rubbing your stomach? Or drawing a circle with one hand and simultaneously a triangle with the other? The key is coordination, of course, and plenty of that is required if you are playing the piano and singing at the same time. Born in the UK, raised in Canada and based in Germany, pianist-soprano Rachel Fenlon is renowned for her self-accompanied concerts. On May 12, she made her Hong Kong debut with a performance of Franz... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353677/soprano-pianist-rachel-fenlon-blends-intensity-and-innovation-dexterous-hong-kong-debut?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353677/soprano-pianist-rachel-fenlon-blends-intensity-and-innovation-dexterous-hong-kong-debut?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 May 2026 09:15:05 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung The May showers have arrived, and with them the full seasonal package: thunder, grey skies and humidity that seems to cling to everything. But before you decide to hide from the rain at home, here is a list of indoor activities around Hong Kong to try for some good, dry fun, including one of the most anticipated annual art fairs, a whisky festival and a pickleball and Pilates session to a soundtrack of Justin Bieber’s greatest hits. 1. Affordable Art Fair The Affordable Art Fair returns to the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353420/5-best-things-do-hong-kong-rainy-weekend-may-15-17?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353420/5-best-things-do-hong-kong-rainy-weekend-may-15-17?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2026 08:15:05 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu During the Christmas holiday in 2021, Jack Smith discovered a collection of surgical equipment boxes in the garage of his childhood home near London. The boxes contained around 80,000 35mm film slides taken by his late grandfather Herbert Smith as he travelled around the world between 1945 and 1987, including to Hong Kong in 1979. “He passed away in 1987, so I never met [him], and those photos were left in a big box for about 30 years,” Smith, now 28, says. Those previously hidden photographs,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353393/photographers-snaps-1970s-hong-kong-given-life-5-decades-grandson-he-never-met?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353393/photographers-snaps-1970s-hong-kong-given-life-5-decades-grandson-he-never-met?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 23:15:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press He is on screen, onstage, on tour, online and in song. Hamlet – William Shakespeare’s masterpiece about a moody Danish prince – seems to be having a moment. A production by the UK’s National Theatre has landed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York starring Hiran Abeysekera. There is a movie version set in London’s South Asian community starring Riz Ahmed. Anthony Hopkins, at 88, recently delighted fans on TikTok with part of Prince Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” soliloquy. The movie... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353158/how-hamlet-adaptations-are-having-moment-play-taps-current-existential-angst?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353158/how-hamlet-adaptations-are-having-moment-play-taps-current-existential-angst?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2026 07:15:05 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak Singapore’s reputation might be that of a conservative society that is rather prudish when it comes to physical intimacy and eroticism, but National Gallery Singapore (NGS) is opening a window into its boudoir with an exhibition that focuses on the artistic expressions of sexual pleasures. “Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art” borrows its title from Liu Kang’s 1953 essay Trip to Bali, in which the Chinese-Singaporean artist wrote that the passions of the Balinese were primal and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353096/sex-desire-and-intimacy-explored-singapore-art-exhibition-over-18s?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353096/sex-desire-and-intimacy-explored-singapore-art-exhibition-over-18s?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2026 04:15:05 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui Koyo Kouoh, the late artistic director of the 2026 Venice Biennale who sadly died before the opening of the world’s most watched international contemporary art exhibition, left behind a set of profound curatorial cues. She wanted “In Minor Keys”, the title of this year’s Biennale, to be a place where art slows you down enough to hear the voices of the ignored and the silenced, where differences can gather in “convivial collectivity” and views are not screamed combatively. But this Biennale has... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353128/hong-kongs-2026-venice-biennale-pavilion-wows-crowds-sleep?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353128/hong-kongs-2026-venice-biennale-pavilion-wows-crowds-sleep?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 11:15:05 +0000 Natasha Rogai Natasha Rogai Carmen is back – again. Opera Hong Kong’s fourth production of Georges Bizet’s masterpiece takes a bold approach by setting the story, not in 19th century Spain, but in 1970s Hong Kong, a fitting move for the local audience’s favourite opera. East meets West can be a cliché – here, it worked superbly. The concept was executed brilliantly by director Jia Ding and an all-mainland Chinese design and production team, while strong performances from French singers in the leading roles and fine... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353122/east-meets-west-opera-hong-kongs-carmen-takes-place-1970s-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3353122/east-meets-west-opera-hong-kongs-carmen-takes-place-1970s-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 09:15:04 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung For Hong Kong-based artist Apple Tong Wing-yin, Wang Fuk Court has always been more than a home address. It was a library of her life’s work. Tong, a prominent deaf illustrator and graphic designer who communicates through what she calls her “silent language” of art, kept the many canvases that spoke for her inside her flat in the Tai Po housing estate. In November last year, that library was reduced to ash in one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires. She lost everything – her awards, her backlog of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352844/deaf-artist-who-lost-lifes-work-hong-kongs-tai-po-fire-painting-heal-myself?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352844/deaf-artist-who-lost-lifes-work-hong-kongs-tai-po-fire-painting-heal-myself?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2026 23:15:07 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times South Korean soprano Sumi Jo is marking the 40th anniversary of her international career with a new album, a fresh partnership with K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment, and a year-long slate of concerts and mentorship projects. At a recent press conference in Seoul, the 61-year-old singer looked back on four decades of breakthroughs, beginning with her 1986 debut as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy. Jo has built a globe-spanning career that has taken... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352828/pioneering-south-korean-soprano-sumi-jo-joins-k-pop-label-sm-sings-exos-suho?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352828/pioneering-south-korean-soprano-sumi-jo-joins-k-pop-label-sm-sings-exos-suho?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2026 08:15:06 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg London’s museum scene is in a slump. The number of visitors to the Tate Modern and National Gallery in 2025 was down 26 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, from 2019. In the last three months of 2025, visits to state-funded museums in England – all of them free since 2001 – fell more than 8 per cent from 2019. Museums themselves cite varying reasons, including a decline in international travellers, despite tourism bouncing back after the Covid-19 pandemic, and fewer visitors in their teens... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352691/when-londons-museums-started-losing-visitors-they-decided-get-creative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352691/when-londons-museums-started-losing-visitors-they-decided-get-creative?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 May 2026 11:15:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Venice Biennale previewed its 61st and most chaotic edition ever early this week, just days after the unprecedented resignation of its jury over the participation of Israel and Russia undermined the structure of the world’s oldest contemporary art exhibition. Tensions were evident as Ukrainian artists stood by a truck that had brought a statue of an origami deer from their country’s war-ravaged eastern front to the biennale’s storied Giardini. Just metres away, a handful of participants in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352569/how-russia-and-israels-venice-biennale-participation-causing-big-problems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352569/how-russia-and-israels-venice-biennale-participation-causing-big-problems?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 11:15:04 +0000 Robin Zebaida Robin Zebaida The length and heaviness of Wagner operas have long been the stuff of legend and the butt of jokes. Who can forget Gioachino Rossini’s supposed one-liner describing Richard Wagner as having “lovely moments but awful quarter hours”? My favourite take on this topic was a recent cartoon in current affairs magazine Private Eye featuring a man at the launderette, staring forlornly at four washing machines in full swing, with the caption: “I knew I shouldn’t have selected Ring cycle!” My interest was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352491/hk-phils-compressed-ring-cycle-recording-tarmo-peltokoski-wagner-made-accessible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352491/hk-phils-compressed-ring-cycle-recording-tarmo-peltokoski-wagner-made-accessible?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 08:15:04 +0000 Ilaria Maria Sala Ilaria Maria Sala “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” at the Hong Kong Museum of Art is a spectacular show that brings together the gardening traditions of China with those of France and Italy, placing particular emphasis on China’s Qing dynasty (1644-1912) and France’s Palace of Versailles. Co-organised with the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Palace of Versailles, the show gathers artworks from different eras that reflect the universal joy people find in nature and the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352109/gardens-china-and-europe-juxtaposed-spectacular-hong-kong-exhibition-featuring-monet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352109/gardens-china-and-europe-juxtaposed-spectacular-hong-kong-exhibition-featuring-monet?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 04:15:04 +0000 Kavita Daswani Kavita Daswani At April’s San Francisco Art Fair at the Fort Mason Centre’s Festival Pavilion, artists, curators and gallerists made a strong engagement with Asian and Asian-American identity at a moment when anti-immigrant rhetoric continues to divide the US. In a city where close to 35 per cent of the population identifies as Asian, the 14th edition of the annual fair became a space where Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voices were not only vocal, but central, said fair director Kelly Freeman. “We... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352309/asian-american-artists-shine-san-francisco-art-fair-amid-ongoing-anti-immigrant-rhetoric?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3352309/asian-american-artists-shine-san-francisco-art-fair-amid-ongoing-anti-immigrant-rhetoric?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2026 04:15:06 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu Perched above the streets of Tai Hang, the 91-year-old Haw Par Mansion has stood as a watchman to Hong Kong’s evolving history. The mansion and its front garden are the only remaining sections of what was once a sprawling estate and theme park built in the 1930s by the Aw family of Tiger Balm ointment fame. They are striking examples of the period’s architectural hybridity, often called the Chinese Renaissance style. From 2019 to 2022, the restored mansion was used by a music school that the Aw... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351958/how-hong-kongs-91-year-old-haw-par-mansion-will-transform-new-cultural-hub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351958/how-hong-kongs-91-year-old-haw-par-mansion-will-transform-new-cultural-hub?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2026 04:15:08 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung This Labour Day long weekend may seem like the perfect time to catch up on some sleep, but you know what they say about Hong Kong, right? Whether you are in the mood for eating your way through a French alpine market, shaking off pre-race nerves with a Pilates-and-ice-bath combo, hunting down a rare Pokemon in Lai Chi Kok, or browsing ancient jade between glasses of wine in Wan Chai, this weekend has got you covered. Here is what is worth getting off the sofa for. 1. French GourMay As a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3351960/5-best-things-do-hong-kong-labour-day-weekend-may-1-3?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3351960/5-best-things-do-hong-kong-labour-day-weekend-may-1-3?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 02:45:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press While it looks like a freeway on-ramp as it hovers over Wilshire Boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, the people behind the new building anchoring the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) define it with aquatic imagery. The free-flowing sections of the David Geffen Galleries housing the museum’s permanent collection are named after the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. They are meant to run together physically and culturally as bodies of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351653/why-lacmas-new-us724-million-david-geffen-galleries-space-flows-oceans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351653/why-lacmas-new-us724-million-david-geffen-galleries-space-flows-oceans?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu Nearly two years after news of his appointment, 26-year-old Finnish-Filipino conductor Tarmo Peltokoski has officially arrived in Hong Kong to step into his full role as music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Hailed by international critics as one of the most exciting young conductors in the world, Peltokoski will take the orchestra on an ambitious international tour just two months into his tenure. In November, the HK Phil will embark on a four-country, eight-city European... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351631/yo-yo-ma-and-gustavo-dudamel-among-stars-hk-phils-2026-27-season?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351631/yo-yo-ma-and-gustavo-dudamel-among-stars-hk-phils-2026-27-season?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 03:34:08 +0000 Christopher Halls Christopher Halls While the benefits of raising toddlers on Mozart are compelling, Dmitri Shostakovich’s music, particularly his Symphony No 11, should be avoided at all costs. Given its highly “cinematic” depictions of war, pre-performance disclaimers such as “explicit musical content” or “listener discretion advised” would not go astray even for any uninitiated concertgoer. Of its “brutal, horrific” nature, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s music director designate Tarmo Peltokoski also addressed the 11th’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351545/tarmo-peltokoski-and-leila-josefowicz-lead-hong-kong-philharmonic-thrilling-concert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351545/tarmo-peltokoski-and-leila-josefowicz-lead-hong-kong-philharmonic-thrilling-concert?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:18:18 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung Chinese painter Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010) remains one of the most important artists of the 20th century – a bridge-builder who combined traditional ink painting with the bold abstraction of Western modernism. Later this month, the Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDance) will explore his visual language in the cross-disciplinary Grand Dance Poem In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey. Co-presented with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and co-organised by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA),... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351519/incredible-works-wu-guanzhong-reimagined-hong-kong-dance-crossover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351519/incredible-works-wu-guanzhong-reimagined-hong-kong-dance-crossover?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:15:07 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak Classical music – in particular, opera – is often perceived as an elitist, old-fashioned art form. Hong Kong’s Anima Ensemble is challenging this perception with The Diary. The original concept marries Dominick Argento’s one-act opera A Water Bird Talk and Leos Janacek’s song cycle The Diary of One Who Disappeared with contemporary dance, theatre and media art. Making opera an accessible experience is no easy task, but The Diary conductor and co-artistic director Vivian Ip Wing-wun believes that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351247/hong-kong-music-theatre-production-diary-challenges-perceptions-classical-music?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351247/hong-kong-music-theatre-production-diary-challenges-perceptions-classical-music?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 04:15:07 +0000 Payal Uttam Payal Uttam Since the late 1980s, Singaporean artist Amanda Heng Liang Ngim has invited the public to participate in unusual performances. In Singapore, Tokyo and Paris, people have joined her in walking barefoot backwards through the city streets with high-heeled shoes stuffed in their mouths to protest unfair beauty standards. In other instances, they have joined Heng for more intimate gatherings, where they help her peel raw bean sprouts and chat over tea. “Today you call that community building, but for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351321/singapores-amanda-heng-making-feminist-art-country-wasnt-ready-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351321/singapores-amanda-heng-making-feminist-art-country-wasnt-ready-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Grammy-winning conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, the birdlike maestro affectionately dubbed MTT and a “bad boy of classical music” who has led almost all the major orchestras of the United States and Europe since his teen years, has died in his San Francisco home. Born in Los Angeles, the celebrity conductor and former child prodigy died Wednesday of glioblastoma, The New York Times wrote. He was 81. He had a brain tumour removed in 2021 and underwent months of therapy. The 1960s wunderkind long... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351258/michael-tilson-thomas-legendary-us-conductor-and-bad-boy-classical-music-dies-81?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3351258/michael-tilson-thomas-legendary-us-conductor-and-bad-boy-classical-music-dies-81?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:15:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press On a summer day in New York’s Brooklyn borough last year, artist and couture designer Michaela Stark found herself in a studio surrounded by 175 cameras for a photo shoot unlike any she had done before. Clad only in her signature corsetry that binds the flesh, Stark stood in the middle as the cameras captured all angles of her body, simultaneously – part of a process known as photogrammetry. The goal was to scan her body and build a mannequin – three, actually – for display in the Metropolitan... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3350874/real-bodies-met-galas-body-positive-fashion-exhibition-celebrates-all-shapes-and-sizes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3350874/real-bodies-met-galas-body-positive-fashion-exhibition-celebrates-all-shapes-and-sizes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:15:08 +0000 Enid Tsui Enid Tsui There was never any doubt that Nawapooh Sae-tang, the grandson of the late Bangkok-born artist Tang Chang, would inherit the family business of protecting and promoting his legacy. “My father had told me from a young age that as his eldest son, I would have to be involved in the running of the estate,” he says ahead of the May 1 opening of the Tang Chang Private Museum in Nakhon Pathom, an hour outside the Thai capital. It might not have been his choice, but Nawapooh has blossomed into a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3350850/new-tang-chang-art-museum-thailand-preserves-thai-chinese-art-rebels-remarkable-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3350850/new-tang-chang-art-museum-thailand-preserves-thai-chinese-art-rebels-remarkable-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:15:10 +0000