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Welcome to the Spinning Factory!
Docent and Accessibility Tours Experience the exhibition in full 360° immersion below. Double click to launch the VR 360° tour in full screen mode. The Mills building was formerly a cotton-spinning factory owned by Nan Fung Textiles. The green walls and high windows in The D. H. Chen Foundation Gallery are vestiges of the golden era of Hong Kong's textile industry. The exhibition Welcome to the Spinning Factory! will provide a brief but intensive history of Hong Kong's textile […]
Find out more »Untitled by Kato Izumi
Kato Izumi is a renowned painter based in both Tokyo and Hong Kong. Born and raised in a rural area in Shimane prefecture in Japan, young Kato’s playground was always surrounded by rich nature. This experience from his childhood instilled in him the idea that humans are a part of nature. When he was invited by CHAT for the Spring Programme in 2020, he made an installation of 5 figures with painted stone heads and bodies from living plants in […]
Find out more »Makers of Hong Kong: In Conversation
‘Made in Hong Kong’ is a distinguishing emblem of quality and history that has carried different meanings over the generations past. In the ‘Makers of Hong Kong: In Conversation’ video series, ‘makers’ of textiles from knotted fishnets to tailored saam fu are invited to share their making process, practice and their thoughts on the continued importance of ‘Made in Hong Kong’. Topics of discussion will reflect on the displayed objects of Misfitted: Unspoken Stories of Tailoring and past displaysat The D. H. […]
Find out more »30-Minute Making
Enjoy a walk-in making activity and bring home a unique work of textile design, including woven heat-shrink keychains, wax print pouches and Illumin-Loom heat-transfer tote bags, all inspired by Hong Kong's textile industrial heritage. Interested participants are encouraged to call 3979 2301 on the day to confirm availability. Date & Time: Weekdays 3:00-5:00pm Weekends and Public Holidays 2:00-6:00pm (Closed on Tuesdays) Experience Level: Suitable for all ages Fee: From HK$40 to HK$200/set
Find out more »Hand Spinning Demonstration
In this demonstration, visitors can observe how cotton fibre is spun into yarn. The demonstration welcomes all for viewing and questions! Date & Time: Weekdays 3:00-5:30pm Weekends and Public Holidays 1:00-4:00pm (Closed on Tuesdays) Fee: Free
Find out more »Learning Tour on Sustainability
Sustainability is an important global topic across different disciplines. How should we Hongkongers and the textile industry take action together? From machines and archival documents of our industrial past, to valuable denim items from the CHAT Collection, to the most innovative technology and inventions in textile industry nowadays, participants will learn about the relationship between Hong Kong’s textile development and the environment. CHAT’s Learning Tour on Sustainability runs for an hour, suitable for students from Primary 4 to university level […]
Find out more »Interactive Experience : Illumin-Loom
Operate a weaving loom from the future and create your own illuminated textile images in CHAT Arcade! Illumin-Loom is a walk-in interactive experience where visitors can design unique patterns on colourful light strips. The finished creation will be exported as a digital image to download. Visitors can also choose to print the image as heat transfer stickers, and in our 30-Minute Making workshop, iron it onto a special tote bag. Alternatively, visitors can bring home the sticker and follow the […]
Find out more »‘Factory of Tomorrow’ Community Embroidery Curtains
What is a ‘Factory of Tomorrow’ like in the eyes of primary school students? In CHAT Lounge, a set of embroidered curtains takes inspiration from the new motto as CHAT celebrates its 5th anniversary in March 2024. Over the course of several months, hundreds of primary school students from the '333 Learning Companion Leadership Program' supported by We R Family Foundation learned about CHAT and its history to create drawings and paper models of a ‘Factory of Tomorrow’. Several works […]
Find out more »Guided Tour
Discover hidden stories and knowledge about CHAT’s exhibitions and collections through guided experiences! Led by trained docents, our Regular Tour is available by walk-in or group booking. Private group tours can also be extended to include a making workshop. Find the one that suits you best and make your visit truly memorable! 1. Walk-In Guided Tour This free 45-minute guided tour of our permanent and seasonal exhibitions will take you through the rich history and heritage of Hong Kong’s textile […]
Find out more »Cherry Machine Demonstration
Let’s witness Hong Kong’s only operating industrial drawing frame in action at CHAT! Leung Fung Yee (Auntie Yee) worked as an experienced machine operator who operated spinning machines at different cotton mills, including Nan Fung Textile, from 1980s to 1990s. She is now retired but she comes to CHAT to make the ‘Cherry’ drawing frame come alive again! Performing one of the essential processes in the spinning production, this drawing frame is donated by the last cotton-spinning mill in Hong […]
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Pixel to Stitch: Knit Computer Sleeve Workshop
$850｜RSVP 10% discount for CHAT members, 15% for CHAT Patrons. Turn your unique creation into a computer sleeve with the colourful pixels of the Illumin-Loom. In this exciting one-hour workshop, you will explore essential graphic design principles that will help bring your ideas to life! Then, you will get to customise your computer sleeve, including personal lettering and yarn selection, all under the expert guidance of CHAT’s talented textile programme team. To ensure optimal learning results, each session accommodates only […]
Find out more »Curator-led Private Tour
Join our intimate and interactive tour of exhibitions on view led by curators. Conducted in groups, these tours are the best way to ask questions about the ideas and concepts behind the exhibition and share your thoughts with the curators in a friendly atmosphere. Topic subjects to the exhibitions on view. To reserve a tour, please submit your booking form 30 days prior to your intended visit: $50 per head for University and Tertiary level institution $150 per head for […]
Find out more »Bloomberg Connects
The Bloomberg Connects app is a free digital guide to cultural organizations around the world that makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices, anytime, anywhere. The app offers information about current exhibitions at a portfolio of hundreds of participating cultural partners through dynamic content tailored to each organization. Participating collections currently include botanical gardens, performance venues, outdoor sculpture parks, and world-class museums. Features include expert commentary, video highlights, pinch-and-zoom capability and exhibition maps. […]
Find out more »Lining Revealed – A Journey Through Folk Wisdom and Contemporary Vision
From beadwork to embroidery, straw weaving to paper craft, patchwork quilts of nomadic tribes to silkscreen prints of agrarian island communities, handicraft techniques and everyday objects inherited through time immemorial have often been sources of inspiration and materials for contemporary artists. Both folk craft and contemporary art originate from humanity’s innate desires for creation, expression, exchange and identity, and are vessels for conveying emotion and reason. Lining Revealed examines the interactions between folk craft and contemporary art by juxtaposing artworks, […]
Find out more »Special Display: CHAT at The Mills – Weaving the Ocean
Weaving the Ocean began with the idea of replacing vanishing natural materials with new, commonly available ‘natural’ materials. Ari Bayuaji discovered an abundance of plastic ropes tangled in the roots of trees on the coast of Bali. These ropes, appearing as an organic part of the trees, inspired him to repurpose them as weaving material. In early 2020, during the pandemic, Bayuaji recruited two local assistants to help unravel and clean the harvested plastic ropes, turning them into fine, colourful […]
Find out more »Glossy Indigo Fabric of Dong: Band Weaving Experience
$450 | RSVP 10% discount for CHAT members, 15% for CHAT Patrons. Learn about the textile culture of the Dong ethnic group in China and weave your own phone strap using their traditional techniques. Patterned bands have been part of every aspect of Dong women’s lives – from mothers weaving baby wraps and shoulder straps for their children to villagers gathering to make luck-bringing bracelets for the young. These bands feature intricate designs like plum blossoms and snake bones or […]
Find out more »Revisiting Handicraft: Kwan Kwa Marriage Gown as Case Study
Deposit $50 | RSVP Is the past always better? In a society obsessed with nostalgia, how can handicraft validate, criticise or rebut the popular idea? Timmy Wong is a master tailor of kwan kwa, a type of traditional two-piece Chinese bridal costume. He inherited ‘Lucky Embroidery’ from his father in 1977, which now stands as the only workshop still producing kwan kwa embroidery in Hong Kong. Here, Wong will explain the techniques involved in making the wedding costume, showcase exceptional […]
Find out more »Busy Needles: Textile Embellishments of Hong Kong
Embroidery, beading, drawnwork – these intricate tasks were once skilfully carried out by many of our older generations. Upon closer look, they also illustrate the defining qualities of commercial craft production and circulation in 20th-century Hong Kong, such as systematisation of skilled work, female labour and leadership, adaptation for export markets, and alienation between makers and consumers. Busy Needles examines embroidery materials from Maryknoll Convent School Foundation, drawnwork from Swatow that circulated through Hong Kong, beadwork and its cottage industry, […]
Find out more »Artefacts of Motif
The dragon has taken countless forms through the centuries: in ancient China, it was reserved for religious or imperial use; today, it is a symbol of prosperity widely applied in everyday life and on special occasions. Through the dragon, this display of CHAT Collection objects questions and attempts to answer how traditional motifs are sustained and reinterpreted, how they gain character, and how the success of their contemporary interpretations is measured. The display also aims to create dialogue with the […]
Find out more »Accessibility Tour
Free Admission｜Walk-in Join us for a guided tour like no other, where our dynamic duo of Deaf and hearing docents brings to life the rich textile heritage of Hong Kong! Our knowledgeable and witty docents will re-enact the experiences of three remarkable makers, explore the artistry of textile embellishment and uncover the hidden stories of industrial cotton spinning through performative show-and-tells. In this interactive tour delivered in both Cantonese and Hong Kong Sign Language, you will also learn to sign […]
Find out more »Curator-Led Tour
$50 | RSVP Lining Revealed – A Journey Through Folk Wisdom and Contemporary Vision features 13 artists across Asia, showcasing a diverse range of folk crafts alongside works of contemporary art. It encourages a thoughtful dialogue on the historical, social and cultural contexts of folk craft between the past, present and future. Join an in-depth exhibition tour led by the curator of the exhibition Wang Weiwei. It will be a great opportunity to ask questions about the ideas and concepts […]
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