Our People Our Land : Pokfulam Village
This exhibition investigate recent debates on urban development and heritage preservation, things and memories, and associated myths and traditions in the only surviving indigenous village in Hong Kong Island: Pokfulam Village.
Introduction
This exhibition investigate recent debates on urban development and heritage preservation, things and memories, and associated myths and traditions in the only surviving indigenous village in Hong Kong Island: Pokfulam Village. The village was first documented in the Xin’an County Record in 1819 and the villagers believe that the history of their village could date back to 1780. For many Hong Kong people, Pokfulam village was well-known by its milking farm where Scottish surgeon Sir Patrick Manson and five local businessmen established Dairy Farm in 1886. The farm had developed and entwined with the evolution of Pokfulam Village into the modern era. Nowadays, no more dairy farm or even cattle are bred here but their traces, such as the staff quarters and silo have become the collective memory of the community. In addition to its milking farm history, it is a historic village which still preserves traditional cultures and rituals in such a unique landscape on the mid-hill.
Pokfulam Village is included in the list of 2014 World Monuments Watch for its significance and scarcity in a city which has a predilection for rapid development. It is a rare living site with great research values for fields including local history, architecture, urban studies, conservation, art history of objects and many others. There are around forty “objects” or “architectural structures” being classified as historic sites inside and near the village.
Co-organized by The Warehouse Teenage Club and with the support of Pokfulam Village Cultural Landscape Conservation group, Caritas Hong Kong, and the Centre for Innovative and Service Learning (CISL) and Academy of Visual Arts (AVA) of the Hong Kong Baptist University, this exhibition highlights the service-learning project findings of HKBU students through a field study in Pokfulam Village.