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Meredith Chen

Similar to many Hongkongers, Vikky Tam Sau-fong found herself grappling with a mix of emotions during the months of anti-government protests in the city in 2019.
Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, and the businesswoman felt the city she called home was badly in need of uplifting.
The result: “Paint Beautiful Hong Kong”, the project she started that year to brighten city walls with vibrantly coloured murals.
The large murals of flowers, animals, people and traditional cultural themes now adorn what used to be blank walls in urban and far flung locations on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.

Tam said she wanted to revive the spirit of Hong Kong and beautify the city without involving religion, politics or race.
“It’s not about creating the perfect mural,” she said. “It’s about uniting, healing and drawing people together to do their part to bring peace and joy to our beloved city.”
She drew inspiration from Finnish artist Riitta Kuisma, a long-time resident of Hong Kong who has been painting brightly coloured murals of flamingos, blooms and marine animals on pedestrian bridges, in hotels and restaurants, and at the exits of MTR stations.
One of her best known works, Rainforest, is a 40-metre-long (131-foot) piece on a footbridge leading to Kowloon Tong MTR station featuring brightly hued parrots, butterflies and flowers.
‘Chubby Hearts’ arrives in Hong Kong on Valentine’s Day as couples tie the knot
Tam recalled that the first time she came across Kuisma’s works, she just felt happy and joyful.
She invited Kuisma to design murals for the Paint Beautiful Hong Kong project, and about 1,500 volunteers have helped by dipping their brushes into pots of paint to fill in the artist’s outlines with a riot of colours.
The first mural went up at a primary school and there are now 27 across the city, half on school premises and the rest in urban and residential areas, villages and on outlying islands.
Tam said it was not easy getting the project off the ground. She set up a charity for it with two co-founders, Elizabete Fong, who works in marketing and management for consumer products and telecommunication, and Nancy Leung, who is in the insurance and financial management sector.

At first, most people they approached were reluctant to allow them to paint on their walls. Graffiti of anti-government slogans were a feature of the 2019 unrest, and it was hard for Tam’s mural idea to shake off that association.
Then a primary school principal offered to help and referred Tam to other principals who also said yes to having murals on their premises.
“I said anywhere is fine, as long as it’s an exterior wall and accessible for everyone to enjoy without having to spend money,” she said.
A mural at Yung Shue Wan, on Lamma Island, has sea turtles, corals and a sandy beach. Two symmetrical walls at the Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree Plaza in Tai Po show a dancing lion and a roaring kylin, a mythical creature.
‘Draw whatever sparks joy’: art unites Hong Kong community and developer
One of the largest projects is on Cheung Chau island, where a long wall has been painted with diverse unique motifs representing the island, including a scene of the island’s famous bun festival when people scramble up tall bamboo towers covered with buns.
The mural of three Cheung Chau bun mountains had 300 volunteers lining up to inscribe the Chinese characters “ping” and “on”, meaning peace, on each bun, a sight Tam found deeply moving.
“Each mural we do tells something special about the locality,” she said. “We paint and leave something behind in the community for people who pass by every day. The magic lives on. That’s how we connect our city together.”
One of her volunteers, chief legal officer Sophia Yap Pei-kwun said she felt the murals had an “empowering energy”.

She joined a team painting an 80-metre mural on an external wall of a public school in Tai Po last year. She had just recovered from an injury, which meant using crutches for months, and found painting therapeutic.
She was at work on the mural one day when she heard the familiar sound of crutches and turned to find an elderly man standing and admiring the unfinished piece.
She shoved the brush into his hand and encouraged him to paint, and he did. After that, she began inviting friends living with long-term illnesses or chronic pain to join the project.
“It doesn’t mean that when we’re in pain, we’re totally helpless or we have to wait for people to show us empathy,” she said. “We can step out of that sad state and [generate] positive energy for ourselves and others.”

She found this “more healing than waiting to be healed” and added that the mural project also fit in with the concept of “healing Hong Kong”.
Tam told the Post she hoped the project would become known internationally as a tourist attraction.
With a mini map, tourists could explore Hong Kong to track them down and take photos, she said.


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Hong Kong culture

‘Paint Beautiful Hong Kong’ art project brightens dull walls with vibrant murals to revive spirits, bring people together

A mural on Cheung Chau island depicting the bun festival when people climb tall bamboo towers covered with buns. Photo: Handout

Vikky Tam, founder of Paint Beautiful Hong Kong, says it was not easy getting the project off the ground. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Paint Beautiful Hong Kong volunteers working on a mural. Photo: Handout

Art project founder Vikky Tam (left) and volunteer Sophia Yap in front of their mural in Tai Po. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Volunteers paint a mural on Cheung Chau island. The Photo: Handout

Anya Hindmarch’s ‘Chubby Hearts’ art installation arrives in Hong Kong on Valentine’s Day as couples tie the knot

A pop-up Chubby Heart floats in the air at the flower market of Mong Kok. Photo: Elson Li

Chief Executive John Lee and wife Janet Lam take a selfie at the ceremony launching Chubby Hearts Hong Kong at Statue Square Gardens in Central on Wednesday. Photo: Facebook/@John KC Lee

British fashion designer Anya Hindmarch attends the launch ceremony for the installation in Central, saying she was “delighted to gift this project to Hong Kong for Valentine’s Day.” Photo: Sam Tsang

An inflatable Chubby Heart next to the Wishing Tree in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po. Photo: Eugene Lee

University students buy roses at the flower market as a pop-up Chubby Heart floats in the air. Photo: Elson Li

Katie and Patrick Wong celebrated Valentine’s Day by visiting the Chubby Heart display at Kennedy Town’s Belcher Bay promenade. Photo: Ambrose Li

Funding cuts, cancelled shows leave Hong Kong arts groups guessing about ‘red lines’ caused by national security law

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Octavian Chan, a theatre director, says he has vowed to take care not to tread “on a red line” with his productions to avoid losing government financial support. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Kenneth Fok, chairman of the Arts Development Council, says the body cannot risk breaches on national security legislation. Photo: Dickson Lee

Bao Choy, a former RTHK producer convicted but cleared on appeal of a breach of law in using the government’s vehicle registry, was a guest at the 2023 Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies’ awards. Photo: Dickson Lee

The HKICC Lee Shau Kee School Of Creativity in Lok Fu, which was told to withdraw a venue rental agreement with a drama group on national security grounds. Photo: Handout

(From left) Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies’ Dominic Cheung and president Luther Fung respond to to the Arts Development Council’s allegations about controversial guests at its 2023 drama awards. Photo Jonathan Wong

News

Hong Kong

Society

When Covid hit after months of social unrest, businesswoman Vikky Tam launched project feeling city needed uplifting
Inspired by mural by Finnish artist, Tam’s project uses volunteers to help paint scenes celebrating local life in spots across Hong Kong


Inspired by a mural by a Finnish artist, businesswoman Vikky Tam’s project uses volunteers to help paint scenes celebrating local life in spots across Hong Kong.


Wellness

‘Paint Beautiful Hong Kong’ art project brightens dull walls with vibrant murals to revive spirits, bring people together

When Covid hit after months of social unrest, businesswoman Vikky Tam launched project feeling city needed uplifting Inspired by mural by Finnish artist, Tam’s project uses volunteers to help paint scenes celebrating local life in spots across Hong Kong

When Covid hit after months of social unrest, businesswoman Vikky Tam launched project feeling city needed uplifting

Inspired by mural by Finnish artist, Tam’s project uses volunteers to help paint scenes celebrating local life in spots across Hong Kong