The “Arab Arts Focus” section of the Hong Kong Arts Festival features three dance productions, offering a glimpse into Arab history and culture. These include Anchoring, choreographed and performed by Salma Salem from Egypt. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The 52nd Hong Kong Arts Festival includes a dedicated section called “Arab Arts Focus”. The three shows featured in it are expected to shake up preconceived notions about Arab culture and showcase some of the vibrant and varied forms of performance arts from the region. 

The performances in this section include Untitled 14KM, created by Moroccan visual artist and performer Youness Atbane; Anchoring, choreographed and performed by Egyptian artist Salma Salem; and Losing It, co-created and performed by Palestinian dancer Samaa Wakim and New York-based artist Samar Haddad King, who is responsible for the live music and soundscape. Losing It shows will be preceded by a new piece, New Palestine x Hong Kong Duet, featuring Salem and Hong Kong dancer Peggy Lam. Similarly, Anchoring will be complemented by New Palestine x Hong Kong Work, choreographed and danced by local artist Sudhee Liao.  

“In a city like Hong Kong, we are very European, or should I say Anglo-Saxon-centric,” says the festival’s program director So Kwok-wan, who wanted to think outside the box in making his choices for the 2024 lineup. “I went to Egypt to attend a contemporary theater and dance showcase, from where I selected a few small pieces that do not necessarily present a whole view of the Arab world, but offer a fair representation of the contemporary works being produced there.” 

He was particularly impressed with Untitled 14KM. “Atbane questions the Western dominance in the worlds of art and politics in a very humorous way,” So explains. “It’s not a very heavy piece, though it’s a dark comedy. The visual art elements make it even more fascinating.”

Untitled 14KM tells the story of a semi-fictional 12th-century Arab-Andalusian poet who ends up at an exhibition opening in a museum, where he has a conversation with the show’s director and curator. “They’re negotiating how they can best present the poet to the audience as an artwork,” says Atbane. The “14KM” in the production title refers to the distance between Morocco and Spain. It also “represents the distance between Europe and the Arab world in people’s minds”.  

Atbane also wanted to explore how poets living in the Arab-occupied Spain (711-1492) had managed to create a new Arab identity and bring about the golden era of Islamic civilization. The props used in the show include a sculpture of a knight, wearing a golden foil blanket, representing the golden age of the Arab world, covering roughly a period from the eighth to the 16th centuries; a golden dog, which “speaks” during the show; and an installation symbolizing the “raising of the borders in our minds”.

Untitled 14KM, a combination of installation, theater and dance, created by Moroccan artist Youness Atbane. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Championing diversity 

Anchoring closely examines women artists’ ability to produce creative work under duress — even as they grapple with cultural, social, traditional, religious, and financial pressures. Liao, who created its companion piece, New Palestine x Hong Kong Work, says, “It started as an examination of my identity as a member of the Chinese diaspora in Hong Kong, while also being from Singapore. I wanted to create an image of being drowned in a shower of rice, as it is a staple of Asian cuisine, using it to symbolize the rapid passage of time.” 

Liao’s piece is directed by Haddad King. She says the two of them had a lot to share on the common problems faced by artists, especially women, irrespective of the cultures they live in. The dancer-choreographer notes that New Palestine x Hong Kong Work is not meant to be a political piece, but more like a conversation about the power of freedom. 

Arab Arts Focus gives us hope of seeing more productions from underrepresented cultures in the forthcoming editions of the festival. If the initiative is sustained, Hong Kong’s image as a city that champions pluralism and diversity will have gone up by a few notches.