Artsy Weekend!

This weekend was a very artsy weekend (as the title implies already, but I felt like I needed an opening line and this was the best I could do at the moment...) Yesterday Trace and I made our way to Cattle Depot (Ao Pang), an art complex somewhere near Kowloon Tong (I think). Actually I am not sure what it was but we took the MTR to Hung Hom and then took bus 21 to the road where the Cattle Depot is located (also don't know what it's called Cattle Depot). We went there to see my art professor's exhibition opening. Her drawings of trees along with a set of poems written by her husband/friend (not sure which) were featured at the exhibition. The whole event was titled "Time with the Sky" and was the result of them spending time at an artist's commune in Australia (where they both come from). We listened to the poetry reading in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin and then socialized for a bit.

Cattle Depot

 

Kit Kelen reading his poems

Carol Archer (my professor) making a little thank you speech

Photo my professor emailed to me. It was taken by the professional photograph there.

Trace and I left early and poked our heads into some other exhibitions. We saw a digital video art exhibition as well as some installation pieces. Honestly, I don't really understand that kind of art, but I'm sure it is very powerful if you get that kind of abstract thing. We also poked our head into this little shop-like place crammed full of odds and ends with a group of people making these bowls using pieces of class and some sort of clay. It was a pretty neat place to look around and the owner had a very friendly cat :-)

Hung Hom Train Station

After leaving the complex, we took the bus back to Tsim Sha Tsui to pick up the ballet tickets for Sleeping Beauty at the Cultural Center that I had ordered online earlier in the week. We had a couple of hours before the show started so took the MTR over to Hong Kong Island so Trace could take care of something at the British Council (an English learning place), but it turned out it was closed so the journey was pretty much for nothing. We stopped at the store to grab some snacks from the bakery for a quick dinner and then crammed into the crowded train to return to Tsim Sha Tsui.

We ate our sweets on a bench while admiring the night view of the harbor and Hong Kong island. Then we headed into the theater to take our seats for the ballet. It was magnificent. I don't think I have ever seen a real, professional ballet. If I have, I was young and I don't remember. The house was packed with people of all ages, genders, and nationalities. The set, costumes, and lighting was fabulously done. The little children who were in the ballet were adorable. The ballet dancers were incredible. Their strength and grace amazing. It was a long performance, but my attention was kept through most of the show. I'm so glad we went.

Today, I spent the day doing homework, going to the grocery store, and just getting things done. Not that exciting, but I actually have work to do now that the semester is coming to a close. It's kind of hard to get back into the routine of actually doing work, but this is nothing compared to how busy I'll be next semester when I return to school in Chestertown.