deTour 2021

EVENT DESCRIPTION

What is the use of an object? Apart from the direct assessment of its “usefulness” or “uselessness”, is there still room for thinking between the two as wide as the light spectrum? Organised by PMQ and sponsored by Create Hong Kong, the annual Hong Kong Design Festival deTour 2021 will be held at PMQ in Central from 26 November to 12 December, providing an interactive and experimental space for audiences to explore design through a series of physical exhibitions, design talks and workshops. This year, deTour 2021 will also continue to feature the online virtual design festival, bringing worldwide audiences to discover more about the elements behind the festival through audio and video.

Founded by Hong Kong designers Chris Tsui and Adonian Chan, Trilingual Design Studio has been the curatorial team of deTour for two consecutive years. Following last year’s exploration of the nature of design, this year’s event is a reflection on the theme of “Use(fu)less”, which is carried through the entire festival to explore the possibilities of design creation by widening the scope of thinking and shifting our perception between “usefulness” and “uselessness”. As the saying goes, design comes from life, a “useful” design is often defined as a good design but does a “useless” design mean that it has no value? Even if it appears to be “useless”, it has a great deal of intangible value, from the aesthetics of its appearance to its cultural heritage, to the intangible functions of personal experience and emotion.

The theme of “Use(fu)less”, deTour 2021 is a great opportunity to showcase the design process and explore experimentation. Several local and international designers will present their ideas and work in three main xhibition areas, with 16 design installations located in different parts of PMQ. Numerous free design talks and workshops are open to the public.

The three main exhibition areas are International Collaboration, Curator’s Choice and Open Call Selected Entries.

▪ International Collaboration: In mythology, the red thread is the object of love that brings marriage together. This year deTour is delighted to have invited Japanese-British artist Sputniko! to crossover with the Hong Kong based team Napp Studio & Architects to create a large-scale commission for the exhibition, Red Silk of Fate. Can a magical glowing red thread really “work” to induce love? Sputniko! specializes in video works and multimedia installations, and her work “Red Silk of Fate”, for example, uses J-POP music videos to present the research and production process in a way that is fun and easy to understand!

▪ Curator’s Choice: Traditionally, the role of a designer is to solve problems, but with the changes of the times, design has become more of a source of inspiration and even debate for the future. Through the collaboration between non-design professionals and designers, deTour 2021 brings together their expertise from different disciplines to curate four thematic installations that pose questions directly to the public and to stimulate and inspire imagination and reflection.

▪ Open Call Selected Entries: In connecting the design community in Hong Kong, deTour provides a unique platform to continue to inspire creativity and facilitate exchanges between different sectors. In addition to the professional design category, this year’s open call also includes a design graduate category to provide an opportunity for young design talents to showcase their work. This year, over 120 creative proposals were collected, and five design industry leaders were invited as professional judges, including Mr. William To, Executive Director of PMQ, Ms. Wong Hin, Overseas Creative and Project Consultant of PMQ, Dr. Joseph Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Design Centre, Ms. Kwong Ka Ling, Project Director of Microwave International New Media Arts Festival and Founder of SIBYLS, and Ms. Lau Sze Wai, Chief Executive Officer of COLOURLIVING. For deTour 2021, 11 groups of exhibitors were selected, including three groups of design graduates and eight groups of professional design teams. The selected designs are based on the theme of “Use(fu)lness” and cover a wide range of concepts, including living environment, technology, interpersonal relationship and spatial design.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Organized by PMQ and sponsored by Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, deTour is an annual design festival in Hong Kong celebrating the works and ideas of local and overseas designers and creative talent. An event borne to connect the local and international design communities, deTour boosts a curated line-up of exhibitions, workshops, dialogues, debates, and networking events, invites both the public and design professionals to engage and experience design in various perspectives.