Artist of the Month- Chun Ying

This month's Artist of the Month is a working Cantonese Performer and Artist. He makes a living everyday working in our field. He doesn't have to wait tables or teach classes to pay his bills. He actually is a paid actor. *shock and awe* He busts his butt too! I wanted to feature a Cantonese Performer for this month. Please get to know him!

Artist of the Month- July- Lara Genovese

This month's artist was recently voted Best Designer by the public! She also recently appeared as an actress in Filumenia presented by the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Stylus Theatre and Talking With presented by Aurora Theatre. She is a multi-talented theatrical artist and a very nice person. We respect Lara's talent and love her go getter personality! If you need a hard to find prop in town or if you need a set built she is the girl to go to. I love working with artists who are very dedicated to their crafts and Lara is certainly very dedicated to her work. She is a complete pleasure to work with and a true professional from my small experiences with her. I hope to have more in the future.

Please enjoy getting to know a little more about Lara, her opinions on the Hong Kong art scene and the biz.

Please remember you can always nominate a friend for an Artist of the Month article. We are always looking to showcase new talent in town of any medium!

Artist of the Month- June- XYZ

Street Art and their creators have had a recent boom in the art industry. Of course we all know the Messiah of street artists, Banksy and HK's God of Graffiti, the King of Kowloon. There is a lot of developing and emerging talent in this kind of work as spray paint and walls are easily accessible to people. As long as one doesn't mind treading a little on the dangerous side...

I thought it was about time that my blog give some love to one of HK's street artists, XYZ.
Despite his penchant for my nemesis, performance art, (ugh),  I think he is incredibly talented. I like how his pieces are never really finished and are always evolving into bigger and better things.  I really love his art collaboration group DimmSumm which consists of him and 2 other local artists making a collective community where artists can come together and share their work together. You can view their work and learn about upcoming shows at their website here.

His survey is below! Some of the questions were slightly altered because his medium is art and not theatre. Check out his answer to number 5, it's so sweet!!!! We are always striving to feature new and upcoming talent on the blog! If you know of someone you think is worthy of the Artist of the Month feature feel free to nominate them! We accept all mediums of art, theatre, music and dance.

Artist of the Month- May- Kirsty McLean

 Kirsty McLean is our Artist of the Month for May! One of the triple threats in town she can sing/dance/act and she is one of the funniest ladies I have ever met. Super talented and nice we are pleased to get to showcase her for the month of May! We're a little scared to hear she practices "method" acting as she is playing Lust in Snow and the Deadly Seven in Vixens Burlesque's cabaret in May. I would be scared to know how you go method for a character like that!!!

Please enjoy getting to know Kirsty! I can say from working with her personally she is always a professional, passionate about her craft and she is a pretty fierce dancer! 

Artist of the Month- April- Nicole Garbellini West

This month's Artist of the Month is the undeniably unique Nicole Garbellini West. One of the few Italian Actors in town she brings a different training and a strange blended accent to our fair scene. On top of being beautiful and talented she is also super nice! I have had the pleasure of working with her and she has become more than a co-worker over the years. I love her and respect her as both a person and an artist. 

Recently she has become a power producer of Aurora Theatre putting on plays like Glengarry Glen Ross and Coffee and Cigarettes at the Fringe Club. 

When we first started working together back in the day on Mary Ignatius, Nicole spoke to me about how actors with accents were not really used in the HK scene very often. I think that Hong Kong is a beautiful melting pot of cultures and accents. We should embrace it as part of our talent fabric.  She's one of the most open people in town about wanting new talent. So, if you're new in town and don't know where to get started in the theatre scene she is the lady to contact.  She is super friendly and loves to give advice to newbies in town. She also likes finding new actors to put on stage!

Artist of the Month- March- Daniel Garcia

 Daniel Garcia is not new to the theatre scene in Hong Kong but he has been flying under the radar.
Becoming a big wig in HK's voice acting scene over the past year with his big break in the cartoon series, "Dream Defenders", Daniel hasn't hit the stage too often. Recently he was cast in California Suite! We thought this a great opportunity to highlight the talents of a fellow Southern American Thespian who makes us laugh every time we hang out with him! Born and raised in the great state of Texas, Daniel is an actor we hope to see lighting up the "Great White Way" in the future!

You can catch him in California Suite when it performs with Sweet (Suite? haha!) and Sour Productions in May!

Artist of the Month- February- Leo Lakerson

This months Artist of the Month is Leo Lakerson, the manager of the art gallery, Future Industries in Sheung Wan. I had the pleasure of meeting Leo on a roof top party. We share a love of using social media to spread the love of art. He's a pretty cool guy and is the host of the first ever ZINE event in HK. Don't know what zine is? Then you should come! It's Feb 10th at the Future Industries Gallery in Sheung Wan. There will be artists, zines, live music (which HK is sorely lacking) and general awesomeness. If the event is even half as cool as Leo's music choices at the roof top party then it should be a pretty awesome event! (He picked a lot of Johnny Cash, a way to my heart... *sigh*)

 You can attend his event the 10th of February at 7pm! 21 Square St., Sheung Wan! It's right by Man Mo Temple. So get your blessing on, see some cool zines and listen to some great local music!
*I also especially love his answer to number 8, his process is very right to point*

Artist of the Month- January- Aisling McDonnell

Here is our Miss January; Aisling McDonnell! You may have seen her previously in Glengarry Glen Ross, Coffee and Cigarettes or We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! I completely agree with her answer to number ten! I haven't seen an mass audition notice go out in MONTHS!

One of the few female Irish actors in HK, Aisling is something really special...

Artist of the Month- Simon Grunberger

This months' Artist of the Month is relatively new to the HK acting community. Here's a little chance to get to know him better. You may have seen him in Coffee and Cigarettes in October. He is a special actor in Hong Kong that is bi-lingual and most of all a nice person!

His self portrait...

Artist of the Month- November- Giles Burton

Our November Artist of the Month is Giles Burton. He is the Artistic Director of the HK Microfest. You can see his work later this month with Address Unkown, Nov 22 - 26 at 8.00pm, Nov 27 (Sun) at 3:00pm at the McAuley in Wanchai!
You can get more info about the microfest and Giles' work in HK at www.microfest.hk

New Feature- Artist of the Month

We at HKarts want to know more about the pieces that make our community so great! If you like to be featured as a local artist of the month please let me know. All styles and mediums welcome. (Even performance artists... Yeah, I said it.)

If you are selected as an artist of the month, please fill out the questionare below and PM it back to me with an avant guarde self portrait.
-Meaghan

Questions
1. Name, Birthplace, Age
2. How does where you were raised affect your work?
3. Where did you train?
4. What is your favorite style of (insert appropriate medium here)? Why?
5. What was the best show you EVER saw?
6. What was the best show in HK you EVER saw? (You cannot say your own.)
7.What piece of work are you the most proud of? (please include photo, if possible)
8. What is your process like?
9. What is your dream project?
10. If you could change one thing about the art scene in HK, what would it be?