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After a well-received initial stop at Central Market in May, the two main activities under this year’s “Chinachem Group Celebrates French May” collaboration – the popular French Traditional Gourmet Market and a captivating interactive installation called “Waterlight Graffiti” – move to NINA MALL from today (1 June) onwards, giving residents of Tsuen Wan and surrounding New Territories districts a chance to enjoy these attractions within easy reach of their home areas.

The French Traditional Gourmet Market opening ceremony was held at NINA MALL this morning, performed by Chinachem Group’s Chief Business Impact Officer Sylvia Chung, the Group’s Deputy Director of Leasing Joseph Leung, Consul-General of France in Hong Kong and Macau Christile Drulhe, and Chairman Emeritus of French May Arts Festival Dr Andrew Yuen.

The Group has partnered with French May Arts Festival by hosting special events each year since 2021, with NINA MALL being one of the venues on all three occasions. While the primary objective has always been to create shared value with the Hong Kong community through arts and culture, different art forms have been adopted for each year’s collaboration. Sustainability elements have been injected into the partnership this year.

“Our aim is to facilitate arts and cultural exchange between Hong Kong and France, and in particular make the Festival events as accessible as possible to all residents”, explains the Group’s Executive Director and CEO Donald Choi. “Our collaboration exemplifies the Group’s commitment to a sustainable future and our ‘Triple Bottom Line’ approach, which equally prioritises People, Prosperity and Planet throughout our business operations.”

Dr Yuen said French May Arts Festival was delighted to join hands with Chinachem Group for the third year to celebrate the Festival’s 30th Anniversary at both Central Market and NINA MALL, bringing French arts, culture and gastronomy to the Hong Kong community.  “In addition to the hugely popular French Traditional Gourmet Markets, this year we are delighted to jointly present an East-meets-West artistic crossover, welcoming French artist Antonin Fourneau’s Waterlight Graffiti installation to display the meaningful artwork creations of Hong Kong artist Bao Ho.”

The French Traditional Gourmet Market will run from 1 to 4 June, bringing a total of 18 pop-up stalls to the Atrium and near Shop 108 on 1/F of NINA MALL 1 in two zones – “Food Paradise” featuring 12 food and lifestyle-focused retailers, and “Wine Experience Zone” featuring six French wine merchants.  “In France, visiting local markets is a must-do activity for families at weekends,” noted Consul-General Mrs Drulhe. “We can talk there to the crop growers, wine growers, and hand-pick the freshest ingredients to enjoy a good meal at home.  If sparkling wine is a must for French people, then the ‘marché’ is definitely a plus!”

Residents of Tsuen Wan and the surrounding community will now be able to sample this popular feature of French town and village life on their own doorstep.  In keeping with this year’s French GourMay theme, “Bubble Up”, the 18 stalls will feature champagnes and other sparkling wines from different regions as well as a wide range of other French products including cheeses, cold cuts and pâtés, snacks, croissants and patisserie.

Waterlight Graffiti, conceived by Marseille-based digital artist Antonin Fourneau, is a unique interactive art installation composed of several thousand LEDs that illuminate when in contact with water. Designed to raise public awareness of sustainability issues, it will be set up on 1/F of NINA MALL 2 from 1 to 19 June, allowing visitors to express themselves freely by creating their own art works in lights on this sustainable LED canvas, using only water as the medium.

Renowned Hong Kong-based artist Bao Ho, who launched the Waterlight Graffiti installation at Central Market on 11 May by creating a painting called Siren’s Song, reprised her efforts at today’s NINA MALL launch by creating a new work titled Evergreen Love, which focuses on the importance of preserving and protecting our fauna and flora.   

The Group hopes this will help spread the vital message of sustainable living around the Tsuen Wan community, as well as bringing residents an alluring combination of French food culture, art and technology.

Programme details:

• Waterlight Graffiti Interactive Art Installation
  Dates: 1 – 19 June
  Opening hours: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
  Venue: 1/F, Opposite to Green Common, NINA MALL 2

   

• French Traditional Gourmet Market
  Dates: 1 – 4 June
  Opening hours: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
  Venue: 1/F, Atrium and near Shop 108, NINA MALL 1