Finding Clarity in Post-pandemic World with Vision to Design for Society

HONG KONGSAR - Media OutReach - 2 December 2020 - The global pandemichas upended our everyday lives like never before. The optometric term"20/20 vision" denotes normal visual acuity measured at a distance of20 feet. In this age of uncertainties, having such a clear vision becomes evermore important in helping us grasp opportunities and uphold hopes amidst theunprecedented crisis. Organised by Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC), BODWCityProg (CityProg) comes to its third edition this year with the theme"20/20 Vision of Post-pandemic World". We present more than 200design and creative happenings to inspire you to search for your unique 20/20vision and a spirit of designing for society.

As inprevious years, CityProg spans across November and December. Its 9-day peakperiod from 28 November to 6 December will coincide with Business of DesignWeek (BODW) and other concurrent events to ignite an outburst of creativitythroughout the city. Carrying on the 3 platforms distinctly curated fordifferent types of creative partners, this year CityProg continues to connectlocal creativity and design initiatives with incredible local talents to bringto the public 17 one to three-day Anchor Site Festivals, 5 Design EduVationprogrammes targeting different age groups and more than 50 Satellite Events.They add up to more than 200 activities of various scales and unfold in 4 typesof "post-pandemic 20/20 vision": Made in Hong Kong, Wellness andSustainability, Placemaking and Business as Force for Social Good. All of thesevisions aim to foster the design thinking and creative problem-solving spiritto boost the city's resilience and agility as the post-pandemic era ushers in.

Inaddition, organised by Hong Kong Design Centre and initiated in 2018, 3-yearcreative tourism project Design District Hong Kong (#ddHK) comes to its finalyear with the theme "transFORM" to forge ahead into the future withcreativity.

CreativeTourism Project "Design District Hong Kong #ddHK"

Presents"Colour Fantasy" Chinese Garden Gala in Victoria Park

to"transFORM" Signature Urban Park Through Design and Placemaking

and LeadYou to Explore Wan Chai's History and New Possibilities for Public Spaces

As allwalks of life are planning ahead for the post-pandemic era, #ddHK is alsoproactively harnessing design and creativity to present a novel Chinese gardengala "Colour Fantasy" in Victoria Park, a signature urban oasis inHong Kong. With elements such as mountains, rocks, ponds, windows, paving,bridges and streams, it "transFORMs" the park into a reinvigoratingpublic space for the post-pandemic world where users can relax and rechargethemselves.

VictoriaPark was originally a typhoon shelter. More than a century ago, with the wishto drive away a plague, people living in Tai Hang performed the "firedragon dance" and sank the "dragon head" into the typhoonshelter afterwards to symbolise its return to the heaven. In the mid-50s,Victoria Park was built on the land reclaimed from the typhoon shelter."Colour Fantasy" presents 7 sets of design installations. All of themincorporated elements from the Tai Hang fire dragon dance ritual in the form ofdesign. They are scattered in different corners as if the fire dragon overlayson the entire plan of the park, blessing Hong Kong during the ongoing pandemic.

As thepandemic lingers on, everyone wants to take a breather from the urban hustleand bustle and the stressful fight against the crisis. Green parks which areessential to any city are ideal buffer zones for us. With boundless creativityand imaginations, #ddHK turns Victoria Park into Hong Kong's back garden bycurating a series of sense-opening experiences to help citizens return to thegreat outdoors, immerse in nature and tend to their well-being. Observingsocial distancing rules, they will also rediscover the park's potentials in thenew normal and get inspired to reimagine future public spaces. Having exploredVictoria Park, they can follow the "Colour Wan Chai" map to discoverthe urban palette of Wan Chai through dining, shopping and sightseeing,indulging themselves in uniquely coloured cityscapes.

For furtherdetails about CityProg & #ddHK, visit our official website and follow us onsocial media to explore our city's design surprises anywhere, anytime!

About CityProg:
BODW CityProg website:	www.bodwcityprog.com
Official Facebook Page:	https://www.facebook.com/bodwcityprogramme
Official Instagram:	https://www.instagram.com/bodw.cityprog
About #ddHK:
#ddHK website:	www.designdistrict.hk
Official Facebook Page:	https://www.facebook.com/designdistricthk
Official Instagram:	https://www.instagram.com/designdistricthk_ddhk/

About BODW CityProg

BODW CityProg (CityProg) is a citywide creative business andcommunity activation programme that features 3 distinct platforms: "AnchorSite Festivals", "Design EduVation", and "Satellite Events& Offer". The programme activates local creative neighbourhoods byconnecting creative units, business and community organisations throughco-creation, exchange, matching and partnership. As new alliances and ideasstart to flourish, CityProg engages people of all ages with excitinghappenings, enhances public spaces, and encourages creativity and design totake wing in the community, fostering the development of local creativeecosystems.

As a community extension of Business of Design Week (BODW),CityProg spans all year round with its peak in November and December. It wasdebuted in 2018 by Hong Kong Design Centre, with Create Hong Kong of theGovernment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the Lead Sponsor.

About Design District Hong Kong

Design DistrictHong Kong (#ddHK) is fantasised as a curated open-air design district gallerycoupled with festivals to boost tourist attractions in Wan Chai and Sham ShuiPo by a series of creative design and street events; through which theinhabitants, cultural and creative communities, local designers and artistsfamiliarise visitors with an "dei dou" (Cantonese) / "di dao" (Putonghwa) authenticexperience of Hong Kong with their original design concepts, traditionalcraftsmanship, distinct architecture, district characteristics and uniquestories presented by a cluster of creative modes.

#ddHK is a 3-year Creative TourismProject with a number of self- guided routes to explore creative works to beupdated from time to time in Wan Chai and Sham Shui Po. The entire project isorganised in the form of community collaboration, social conversations andparticipative design, with traditional craftsmanship, localisation streetactivities and creations. To provide visitors and citizens with an experiencethat combines local history and culture with rich regional features Optimizethe different scenic spots and buildings in the district.