Media Centre

Chinachem Group participates in "Beyond Territories - Made . Make . Making" architecture exhibitions organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects with a multi-media exhibit named "Central Market: Old is New, Again".

In response to the call to showcase the expertise, the style and the right acumen of Hong Kong architects in orchestrating a matrix of “Past meeting Future, East meeting West”, the Group's curatorial team has designed a multi-media installation to manifest its dedicated commitment in cultural and heritage preservation, placemaking and sustainable development. Film slide of red lampshades, a symbolic feature of Central Market, is projected to the exhibition hall ceiling. Visitors of the exhibition are invited to learn about the Central Market Revitalisation Project in a simulated environment through viewing a miniature model alongside videos.

The exhibit will go on roving tour in Hangzhou, Beijing, New York and Hong Kong.

Exhibitions period:

1st exhibition:  29 August to 10 September at OoEli, Hangzhou

2nd exhibition: 20 September to 5 October at Choi Centre, Beijing

3rd exhibition:  10 to 25 October at Ideal Glass Studios, New York

4th exhibition: 9 December 2022 to 4 January 2023 at Chantal Miller Gallery, Asia Society Center and The Annex, Nan Fung Place, Hong Kong

Exhibitor: Chinachem Group

Exhibit: Central Market: Old is New, Again

Curator: Ray Zee, Deputy Director - Chief Designer, Chinachem Group
       Susanna Lui, Corporate Communications Manager, Chinachem Group

Curatorial statement:

Since its inception in 1842, Central Market has been a place where people come together.

From its original name of Canton Bazaar, the DNA as a food and wet market was kept even though the architectural envelopes morphed in form from a Victorian style in 1858 and 1895 to the Streamline Moderne style you see before you when it was rebuilt in 1939. And throughout its rebirth, regardless of name or form, its potential shone through none more than when it finally flourished in the 1990's as the intersection of the Central District connecting the Mid-Levels escalator with Exchange Square.

Chinachem Group is the current caretaker of the Central Market. And we are proud to continue this awesome responsibility as a curator of spaces following our own internal guidelines of “People, Prosperity and Planet”. We will continue to serve Central and the neighboring districts as a beacon for new while respecting the old, careful not to erase our heritage where local vendors and enterprising hawkers are known for. We will usher in biophilic courtyards and ceilings to encourage education for vendors and visitors alike.

Chinachem Group along with its partner Urban Renewal Authority and designers AGC Design and Shadow Design, are proud to carry on the tradition of those who came before us, and in doing so, hope to contribute back the city we call home.