5 concerts and art exhibitions to see in Hong Kong this weekend August 3-4

Cantopop diva Frances Yip is performing, there are tributes to Beethoven and Thelonious Monk, and ingenious art made from pet cats’ fur

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Cantopop diva Frances Yip, who is performing in Hong Kong 55 years after she started out as a singer. Photo: Abdela Igmirien

Published: 3:15pm, 1 Aug 2024

For those looking for cultural stimulation in Hong Kong this weekend, there is something for everyone. From a rare concert by a Cantopop diva to fun approaches to jazz and Beethoven, we have you covered.

1. Frances Yip concert

Frances Yip Lai-yee is a true Cantopop diva. Poised, classy, her voice still stunning 55 years after she first started out, Yip is back in Hong Kong to give two rare concerts this weekend, timed to coincide with concurrent exhibitions dedicated to James Wong and Joseph Koo, who wrote some of her best-known songs.

“The Bund”, probably one of the most famous Cantonese songs ever written, is on the set list, of course, as is the theme song she sang for Unfinished Business, a 2023 microfilm in which she also stars.

Frances Yip is back in Hong Kong to give two concerts this weekend. Photo: Abdela Igmirien

Gratitude Frances Yip 55th anniversary concert Hong Kong 2024, Queen Elizabeth Stadium Arena, 8.15pm, Aug 3-4.

2. Kingsley Ng: Listen to the Sound of the Earth Spinning

Kingsley Ng, a Hong Kong artist, loved his late cat Whisky, a Scottish Fold, so much he saved all the hairs he brushed off his pet and made them into a perfectly round ball just a bit smaller than a basketball as a memorial.

Artist Kingsley Ng at The Mills with one of the balls he made with fur combed from a pet cat. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

For his solo exhibition at The Mills’ Centre for Heritage Arts and Textile in Tsuen Wan, he collected the fur of other people’s pets to make many more such balls. They lend a tactile aspect to an immersive and meditative installation featuring sound, video and kinetic installations, and are a touching symbol of how closely our lives and those of animals are woven together.

Kingsley Ng: Listen to the Sound of the Earth Spinning, Centre for Heritage Arts and Textile, 2/F The Mills, 45 Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan. 11am-7pm, closed on Tuesday. Aug 3 – Nov 10.

3. Thelonious

A multimedia show for all ages about the genius of jazz great Thelonious Monk sees the Belgian jazz trio De Beren Gieren perform on stage while channelling Monk’s quirky and seductive musical style.