HONG KONG.- CHAT announced the culmination of its 5th anniversary celebration with a seasonal programme that explores the future of textile art across two fascinating spectrums: innovation on an international level and historical transformation through inspired community collaboration. The programme features the illustrious ANTEPRIMA x CHAT Contemporary Textile Art Prize 2024 in collaboration with esteemed fashion brand ANTEPRIMA, alongside an exhibition by CHAT’s 2024 artist-in-residence, BOLOHO.

On November 29, 2024, CHAT announced Yee I-Lann, Roziah Binti Jalalid and Julitah Kulinting as the winner of the inaugural ANTEPRIMA x CHAT Contemporary Textile Art Prize 2024. The international jury was impressed with the deep and joyous social engagement, outstanding textile technique, artistic innovation and complexity displayed in the winner’s work. With a generous award of HKD300,000, the prestigious art prize aims to inspire and elevate global-minded Asian artists who offer new insights into textile materials, techniques and history. The winner’s work is now on view in CHAT’s winter exhibition together with works by seven finalists till February 23, 2025. During the exhibition period, visitors can also vote for their favourite work of art in the Audience Prize, the result of which will be announced on March 3, 2025.

The eight finalists of the ANTEPRIMA x CHAT Contemporary Textile Art Prize 2024 are: Cian Dayrit (Cainta); Hu Yinping (Beijing); Gözde İlkin (Istanbul); Aluaiy Kaumakan (Wu Yu-Ling; Pingtung); Oh Haji (Brisbane); Rice Brewing Sisters Club (Seoul); Shao Chun (Hangzhou); and Yee I-Lann, Roziah Binti Jalalid and Julitah Kulinting (Sabah) (in alphabetical order).

The finalists were carefully selected by a panel of internationally renowned curators, each a prominent figure in the art world: Ann Coxon, freelance curator, writer and researcher, and former Curator of International Art at Tate Modern, London; Judith Greer, Director of International Programmes at Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE; Lesley Ma, Ming Chu Hsu and Daniel Xu Curator of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Cuauhtémoc Medina, Chief Curator at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico; and Takahashi Mizuki, Executive Director and Chief Curator of CHAT, Hong Kong. The judges assessed the artists on a range of criteria, including artistic potential, originality, skill, idea and methodology.

BOLOHO concludes community art project and presents mini-drama inspired by Hong Kong’s TV and film culture from 1980s to 2000s.

In a parallel initiative, CHAT’s 2024 artist-in-residence, BOLOHO, presents a summary of their activity in Seed to Textile, the flagship community programme of CHAT, over the past six months. BOLOHO: Visitants to Lunar Factory represents a milestone in the artist collective’s work, showcasing their co-creative efforts with over 2,800 members of the public.

Artefacts of Belonging digs into heartwarming stories of former textile workers
Complementing these exhibitions, the thematic display delves into Hong Kong’s rich industrial past, exploring the intricate social networks forged within the textile industry. It features a selection of archival materials from the CHAT Collection alongside oral histories and photographs that capture the lived experiences of former textile workers amid a rapidly changing socio-economic landscape. A surviving set of letters even reveals the love story between two workers in different spinning factories.