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Memory

Impressions of a Port City

The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) houses a collection of China trade art paintings and sketches, showing the way of life, people, business activities, landscape, and still life objects in the 18th and 19th Centuries. This collection gives us a glimpse of the early impressions of the port cities of Canton, Hong Kong, and Macau. These port cities were open to foreign trading activities, attracting merchants from around the world. In this activity, you are invited to draw inspiration from existing museum collections and create your own impression of Hong Kong as a port city in the 21st Century.

[object Object]

Victoria City
Youqua (act. 1840 – 1870s) (attri.)
1854
Oil on canvas
57 x 100 cm
Photo supplied by The Hong Kong Museum of Art

[object Object]

A bouquet of flowers
Sunqua (act. 1830s – 1870s)
1830s
Gouache on pith paper
18 x 29.5 cm
Photo supplied by The Hong Kong Museum of Art

[object Object]

Hong Kong from the Mid-Levels looking northwest
Marciano Antonio Baptista (1826 – 1896)
ca. 1858
Watercolour on paper
39.4 x 60.4 cm
Donated by Sir Paul Chater
Photo supplied by The Hong Kong Museum of Art

[object Object]

A Chinese sampan girl
George Chinnery (1774 – 1852)
ca. 1852
Oil on canvas
28 x 23.8 cm
Photo supplied by The Hong Kong Museum of Art

How it works

1

Visit an area in Hong Kong where you can view the Victoria Harbour and activities that are happening in or around the harbour.

Suggestions: Tsim Sha Tsui, The Peak, Central, Kwun Tong, North Point, Kai Tak, Whampoa, Tsuen Wan, Kennedy Town, Tsing Yi

2
Prepare some papers, stationery, or art supplies. Create at least four simple sketches or paintings that depict Hong Kong as a port city. You can focus on the way of life, people, business activities, landscape, still life objects, or any other subjects that are reflective of Hong Kong's identity as a port city. Give each of them a title.
3
Reflect on the following points and write a brief response as your 'artist's statement':
  1. What have you included in your paintings and sketches?
  2. How does Hong Kong look like in Victoria City and Hong Kong from the Mid-Levels looking northwest? How was Hong Kong depicted at that time? Which parts of Hong Kong are featured?
  3. Look at A bouquet of flowers and A Chinese sampan girl, do the subjects look familiar to you? Are you still able to see flowers and women like that nowadays?
  4. Now look at your own works: are your impressions of Hong Kong like the ones created by trade art artists in the past? In what ways are they similar or different?
  5. Is art still being traded in Hong Kong? If so, what kind of art is being traded? Are there any art studios or places of similar nature in Hong Kong? What is the target audience group?
For an introduction to the China trade art painting, please visit the museum website:
https://hk.art.museum/en/web/ma/collections/china-trade-art.html