Tai Kwun | Artists Night 2026 (By invitation only)

Description

In collaboration with Art Basel Hong Kong for the third year, Tai Kwun presents its annual Artists’ Night event on Fri 27 Mar. This evening event unfolds across multiple venues in Tai Kwun and celebrates emerging and experimental performers, musicians and visual artists active in Hong Kong, the region and internationally. From live performances to installations and music, Artists’ Night 2026 highlights the creative voices of Justin Talplacido Shoulder, Geumhyung Jeong, Tation, DAVID BORING and Lydo.

Rooted in the theme of embodied knowledge, Artists’ Night 2026 explores the body as a site of expression that invites audiences to engage with lived experience and critical inquiries relevant to contemporary society. By emphasising liveness, interaction and the rawness of vulnerability, the programme challenges notions of gender roles, identity and community. Alongside the performances, the exhibition Stay Connected: Supplying the Globe at JC Contemporary will be open late and feature a participatory work by the collective Foreign Investment, who transform objects through gold gilding. A mid-season sale of these gilded objects will take place that evening.

Headliners of Artists’ Night include the Sydney-based artist and storyteller Justin Talplacido Shoulder and the South Korea-based artist and performer Geumhyung Jeong.

In their solo performance Carrion, Justin Talplacido Shoulder explores humanity’s ecological impact through a shapeshifting, post-human spectre wandering an archaeological site. Carrion merges queer and ancestral myths into a haunting narrative, intertwining physical presence with storytelling to reveal insights into human existence and ecological awareness while reflecting the interconnectedness of identity and the environment.

Theatres or any kind of exhibition spaces are loaded with different kinds of risks, as many people gather in a confined space. Korean cross-media artist Geumhyung Jeong choreographs safety instructions to familiarise the audience with the emergency manual and evacuation routes. In Fire Drill Scenario, Geumhyung Jeong investigates the excitement and real-life risks that artists and audiences take when partaking in live performance experiences.

To kick off the night, Hong Kong band DAVID BORING presents a one-off experimental live set, Liminal Beings and their Echoes, that responds directly to Tai Kwun’s architectural surroundings. Known for an explosive yet meticulously controlled sound, the band draws from post-punk, industrial and electronic traditions to construct an immersive environment that is as physical as it is emotional, with particular emphasis on activating the theatrical potential of the site itself. Rather than a conventional concert, the performance excavates the mundane surfaces of daily life to reveal deeper conditions of alienation, grief and endurance within contemporary urban existence.

Tation, a post-rock band and art collective from the Tibetan Plateau follows with their debut performance in Hong Kong. The Sensation Quintet merges Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese folk music with post-rock, experimental film, dance and performance art. Utilising traditional Chinese drums and electronic percussion, they construct a massive and chilling rhythmic foundation, enhanced by synthesizer tones that evoke a sense of despair. Ultimately, the intertwining melodies of guitar and piano offer a glimpse of redemption, exploring the complexities of humanity and strength in the face of suffering.

In addition, Artists’ Night features Nervous System, a site-specific sonic installation by Lydo, a Filipino-born Vietnamese-American sound artist, who explores the interplay between sound, hormonal transitions and corporeal sensations. Situated within the Tai Kwun Air-Raid Shelter, the installation initiates a psychosomatic dialogue, cultivating a space of safety, introspection and transformation along the subterranean tunnel. It functions as a secondary body, enfolding the visitor within a shared bodily experience. To culminate the evening with an exhilarating and memorable finale, Lydo will take the stage for an electrifying DJ set blending fast techno and trance – leading a wild dance to the rhythm. The body flows with its own pulse, embracing the visceral experience of movement.