Against the brash backdrop of Kubrick’s hipster photography magazines sits a slim monthly paper printed only in indigo ink that's well worth a read.
ha wan pao: the friendly paper focuses on the city’s “people who make beautiful things” and amounts to a collection of Hong Kong’s creative voices that gives a wonderful insight for newcomers.
Opening issue 5 is a piece from Edith Cheung, a textile artist who runs Clothhaven on Square Street. It recounts Cheung's professional life, from starting out making movie costumes to her recent work preserving traditional Chinese textiles and there’s a great moment when she talks about the recent shift in Hong Kong’s attitude toward culture:
“…So that started my exhibitions. The first one was my handkerchiefs; I have a collection of old handkerchiefs so I just put them up. It was an interesting period, because at first people would come and ask, what are you? are you selling these? why are you putting them up if they’re not for sale? you’re not a gallery and not a shop – what are you doing?...
“And then suddenly people are talking about culture. And then suddenly you can hear people come by and say, oh you know, this is culture. So suddenly that turning point where people thought you were useless and suddenly you are a very nice citizen of the city, sharing your passion – and this is culture. It must have started when people began talking about West Kowloon… I don’t know.”
Unbound and free from advertising, ha wan pao is a humble title that celebrates creativity and the unique: every city should have its own.
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