The Hong Kong Art Timeline

In 1998, the lease of the vacant buildings of the Government Supplies Department facilitated a short period of prosperity for the Oil Street Artist Village, which later became an influential cultural space in Hong Kong. The autonomy of the Oil Street Artist Village fostered a favourable environment for artists to create an interactive place where public exhibitions could thrive. As the expiration of the lease slowly approached, Oil Street artists strived to extend the lease term and formed the SOS (Save Oil Street) campaign. However, the authorities still maintained their original decision, evicted the artists, and relocated the artist village to the slaughterhouse in Ma Tau Wai, now known as the Cattle Depot Artist Village. The short-lived Oil Street artist village became not only a utopia for the artists but also a collective memory imprinted in the public mind. The timeline of the formation, eviction, and transformation of the artist village in Hong Kong incorporates not only the resettlement and movement of artists but also the regional variations in political policies and urban land use. As such, by investigating the turbulent state of the artist villages, the instability of land policy, and the voices of various parties at that time, this project aims to establish a comprehensive tableau of the first Hong Kong artist village.

The vibrance of Oil Street was unprecedented, which is a prosperity of artistic creation and thrived on public engagement. During the short lifespan of Oil Street Artist Village, there were over 200 exhibitions and activities held by artists and studios that attracted over 10,000 visitors. The public participation suggests the public’s interest in art, and it also reflects the tendency that art could play an important role in everyday life.[1] The first chapter of our timeline visualizes the spectacular vibe and abundant artworks and attempts to find out the causes of such vibrance. First, the gathering of the artists forms an ecology of a reciprocal and competitive environment to encourage and stimulate creativity. Second, the time limit of the lease gave the artists a sense of urgency. Kum Chi Keung, an artist and a tenant of Oil Street, believed that the success of Oil Street lay in its alienation, desolation, and the unknown future, so everyone was hardworking and productive.[2] Although Oil Street received gradually more restrictions at the entrance, public interaction remained very active.

In 1999, the Government Property Agency issued a termination notice for the lease of Oil Street. In response, artists organized the Save Oil Street Campaign to reinforce their influence and sought the opportunity to remain at Oil Street, igniting a renewed passion for artistic creation. Simultaneously, artists, researchers, and critics commented on Oil Street and the necessity of an art village in Hong Kong. Their perspectives and proposals offered insights into the role of art in Hong Kong at that time, as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by the art world. In May 2001, artists gradually moved into Cattle Depot. The past vibrancy of Oil Street was no longer present, with some artists choosing to go elsewhere, resulting in fewer tenants in Cattle Depot compared to Oil Street. The management of Cattle Depot was chaotic, and numerous restrictions gradually drained this new art village of its vitality. Art has the power to play an important role in cultural and economic development, especially at the end of the century when the Hong Kong government intended to make Hong Kong the cultural and art centre of Asia. In Lin Hanjian’s “One Hundred Year: Research & Report on Oil Street Art Village,” he suggests the possibility of an art village as a cultural complex with multiple benefits, not only for the promotion of Hong Kong art but also a good opportunity to revitalize historic architecture and increase the local economy.[1] There were voices against art villages as well. The institutionalization of artists was not a necessary condition to create artworks.[2] There was also a concern about the potential gentrification that might be brought about by the thriving of the art village.

However, the proposal to develop the art village into a cultural and entertainment complex involved multiple governmental departments. Oil Street had been handed over among multiple departments. The building belongs to the Government Property Agency, which was responsible for the lease contract. The Home Affairs Department was responsible for the artist’s relocation to Cattle Depot, and the Development Bureau was responsible for the regional zoning and urban planning. The shifts in responsibilities made it difficult to keep the consistency of management rules for the art village. However, after the move-out, the land sale applications of Oil Street submitted to the Development Bureau had been rejected three times.[3] The land use of Oil Street in the application was marked as “residential and commercial.” Oil Street had been set aside for decades due to the long application process. The turbulence of the zoning policy and ambiguity of the responsibility for Oil Street led to the vulnerability of the art village. The art village struggled to survive in Cattle Depot; the new location struggled to achieve the vibrance and vigour on Oil Street.

Since the artists moved out in 2000, the site of Oil Street has undergone various twists and turns and was eventually sold in 2011. Remaining vacant for over a decade, it is indeed regrettable to imagine how it would have been if the artists had stayed there. Oi! art space was officially established in 2013 at 12 Oil Street, North Point (formerly the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club), but it is not located at the original site of the former Oil Street Artist Village. Although the connection to the Oil Street Artist Village is never mentioned on any official platforms of Oi!, the established public memory inevitably evokes associations with the former Oil Street Artist Village. There are substantial differences between the two in terms of space properties and management direction. When the Oi! was first established, the Director of the Art Promotion Office, Lau Fung Ha, subtly mentioned the history of the place: “For those in the art world, Oil Street already implies ‘art.’ This space is just starting now, and we hope to keep it closely associated with art.” This chapter documents and restores the changes in land policy for the Oil Street Artist Village and the Oil Street Art Space, presenting the parallel and separation of history in the form of two timelines.

The Cattle Depot Artist Village is not very active and has an unknown future. The public memory of the Oil Street Artist Village is also gradually fading away. Both Oil Street and Cattle Depot share a similar practice to re-use abandoned architecture and transform vacant space into an arts space. However, transforming these spaces into vibrant cultural places and integrating them into the city’s collective memory is undoubtedly challenging. In the final section of this handbook, we document various perspectives from Oil Street. At that time, the community of tenants on Oil Street was diverse, and not everyone supported staying on Oil Street. This project pays tribute to the Oil Street Artist Village, sorting out a clearer history from chaotic social archives and gathering diverse perspectives. The complexity of the Oil Street Artist Village lies in the fact that it was not merely a place of revelry for the artists themselves but was also part of the social and public culture of Hong Kong at the time, making Oil Street synonymous with art. While both the Oi! and the Cattle Depot Artist Village aim to recreate the vitality of the Oil Street Artist Village, they are ultimately different, each with its unique characteristics. Through this booklet, we aim to reproduce a portion of the turbulent, unstable, and fragile visual culture, showcasing important chapters of Hong Kong’s art history buried in the currents of history. The rise and fall of the Oil Street Artist Village resulted from the combination of government policies, the socio-historical context, and fortuitous circumstances. Hopefully, this booklet can provide a general picture and information about the Oil Street Artist Village, encouraging scholars to pursue richer interdisciplinary directions in the future.

Oil Street to Cattle Depot

Zhu Wei & Claire Hao-Fan Ling

Footnotes

Bibliography

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