Best things to see and do in Hong Kong this May

Art Central 2021 is set to return from May 20 to 23 and relocating from the Central Harbourfront to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this year. Prepare to be impressed by a myriad of stunning artworks from distinguished international artists and rising talents in Asia featuring large-scale installations, sculptures, and new media art projects. Be sure to catch the engaging talks and much more. Art Central will also be launching a new digital platform, Art Central Capsule, which allows art lovers and collectors to experience the art fair virtually. Entry to Art Central this year is free with registration, but capacity is limited, so early registration is recommended.

A crown jewel on the city’s art calendar, Art Basel will be held alongside Art Central at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from May 21 to 23. This year, the three-day event – running in both a physical and digital format – gathers over a hundred galleries locally and abroad to present different mediums of art from the diverse art scene in Asia and beyond.

The new digital initiative, ‘Art Basel Live: Hong Kong’, will run parallel with the physical art fair, featuring over 50 satellite gallery booths that could not attend the show due to travel restrictions. The virtual platform provides art enthusiasts and galleries across the globe to connect with one another through the Online Viewing Room, live broadcasts featuring a diverse programme of special events.

The city's biggest street art festival is back! From May 8 to 16, the annual street art and mural festival will be giving Sai Kung a colourful makeover this year with an exciting lineup of artists painting different murals in the neighbourhood. A thematic exhibition titled Tools of the Trade will also be held at Soho House in Sheung Wan from May 8 to June 6. Framing the history of street art and graffiti through the tools that artists use to create their work, the exhibition will feature artists and tools dating back to the late 1960s USA, including acclaimed American photographer Martha Cooper, juxtaposed with Tsang Tsou Choi aka the King of Kowloon, who painted the streets of Hong Kong as early as the mid-1950s.

When May arrives, you know what that means – French May. The annual two-month-long festival brings a raft of Gallic events, cinematic experiences, performances, gastronomy, and entertainment. Highlights this year include a cinema concert called Jazz in French Films featuring best-known French films and the local jazz icon Patrick Lui Jazz Orchestra, a solo exhibition featuring renowned Chinese-French abstract artist Chu Teh-chun, and a musical tribute to famous French composer Michel Berger, and a French May Cinema Program featuring a selection of films that will bring the audience into a world of fairy tales and parallel universes. Click here to see the complete list of the festival's programmes this year.

Calling all gin lovers! Here's an event you must bookmark on your calendars this spring. From May 6 to June 5, Ki No Bi gin – the first craft gin made in Kyoto, Japan – will launch a one-month House of Ki No Bi pop-up at Sake Central in PMQ. If you've been missing Japan, you'll be transported to the zen garden of the House of Ki No Bi in Kyoto here and experience an immersive journey to the distillery through tastings and masterclasses. Highlights of the event include an eight-course ($1,388/person full pairing experience; $1,188/person light pairing experience) gin pairing menu – a sneak peek of the new Japanese restaurant, Censu, which is opening this June – '6 Elements Masterclass' ($388/person for walk-ins; $288/person for online bookings) every weekend starting from May 15, hosted by Bar Buonasera bartender Ayako Miyake. 

Book your reservations to the tasting experiences and masterclasses on sake-central.com.   

Say hi to Jimmy the 'digital fitness trainer' at K11 Art Mall. Poking fun at the common everyday interactions that occur between people and their digital devices, local art collective Brainrental has created a Digital Fitness interactive experience store featuring fun illustrations and innovative training equipment to help get your fingers and thumbs in tip-top shape. 

Visitors can have a full workout and train their fingers for some swiping, pinching, and scrolling action, get on a rowing machine for a literal 'like', or 'run' on the treadmill by simply eyeing up and down the social media feed being delivered on the belt! Afterwards, head up to the InConvenience Dept. pop-up store to discover a huge variety of collectables and crossover products, including figurines, candles, phone cases, fashion items, CBD-infused products, and much more.

JPS Art Gallery has joined hands with Belowground to turn Landmark Atrium's basement into a mysterious underground subway station for the Time Travel group exhibition. Held from now until May 16, the exhibition features art pieces – including large-scale murals, canvas works, and sculptures – created by NYC graffiti artists Cope2 as well as homegrown artists Afa Annfa and Chino Lam. Inspired by the 1980 cinematic classic Somewhere in Time, the show invites its audience to step through modern subway doors and travel back in time to the late 1980s, the golden age of graffiti and street art in NYC.

Held from now until May 23, Art For Everyone @HKMoA is a city-wide art campaign that brings the unexpected world of visual arts to the public. Gathering 100 images of artworks from HKMoA’s core collections, the campaign transforms Hong Kong into a dazzling city with different images splashed across a total of 490 billboards, digital displays, transport hubs, as well as indoor and outdoor spaces in all 18 districts. Out of the 100 artworks, 10 are AR-enabled, allowing viewers to interact and view art in a new and unique format. Discover the AR pieces at locations such as China Hong Kong City, Tsim Sha Tsui Centre and Empire Centre, Harbour City, and Hong Kong Museum of Art. For a full list of locations, artworks, and information about each artist, download the ArtForEveryone.hk AR app and find the nearest masterpieces around you!

Hong Kong-based artist Phoebe Hui has put together a large-scale installation titled The Moon is Leaving Us as part of the fifth Audemars Piguet Art Commission. Working in collaboration with Hong Kong curator Ying Kwok, the installation uses observations of the moon from different time periods to explore new perspectives on science through contemporary art. Two major artworks are featured for the show, including Selenite, a kinetic robot boasting 48 mechanical arms with screens showing historic drawings, visuals from NASA, and other online open-source data of the moon, and Selena, a hand-built machine that creates ink drawings of the moon. 

If you’re looking for afternoon tea and beauty treats this May, head over to Madame Fù and book a French-themed afternoon tea. The new afternoon tea menu is inspired by the verdant meadows of Provence and is presented in partnership with French skincare brand L'Occitane. The afternoon tea menu features savoury and sweet bites to celebrate the launch of L'Occitane’s Immortelle Reset Triphase Essence – a three-part formula that helps to support radiance, balance, and the strength of the skin – from their best-selling Divine Immortelle collection.

As an extra gift, each guest will get a complimentary L'Occitane trial kit – 30ml Oil-to-Milk Makeup Remover, 5ml Immortelle Overnight Reset Oil-In-Serum, two 35ml Almond Shower Oil, 20 percent off on Spa L’Occitane facial treatment, and a $50 conditional shopping coupon. 

Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy! From now until June 13, Donald Duck and his friends are taking over Times Square with a whimsical carnival featuring seven interactive fun zones. Expect to be greeted by a 2.7metre-tall 'Donald Duck Tail' (see what happens if you pat his cute duck bottom!) connected inside an interactive 'Donald Tunnel' where you can download limited-edition Donald Duck mobile phone wallpapers after completing some fun challenges. Other interactive zones include a six-metre-tall 'Donald Duck's Funny Hat', a swing, seesaws, a psychedelic funhouse, and more.

Visitors can also sign up to participate in a workshop held at the 'Donald Duck’s Neon House', or head to the 'Donald Duck’s Exhibition of Collectables' where limited-edition Donald Duck collectables, designed by famous figure designer Eric So for fashion brand Referee, is on display as well as a series of special items which is showcased for the first time in the exhibition.

Take a walk on the wild side at V Walk shopping mall as the first Chinese Lego Certified Professional Andy Hung uses more than 800,000 pieces of Lego to build a miniature East African prairie! Aside from an eye-catching interactive Lego Creative Scene, where different lighting, sound effects, and narration will take you through the day and night of the safari, there will also be six giant wild animals built with Lego dotted around the space, including a three-metre-tall giraffe, a vibrantly pink flamingo, a majestic lion, and more.

Hi! Flora, Fauna is an exciting art project held at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens from now until June 30. Featuring 17 artists and art groups, the project investigates the relationship between human and nature through a variety of music performances, creative workshops, and various art mediums such as paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations, and much more. The artworks are scattered around the garden grounds, inviting visitors to go on an artistic journey inspired by the history, cultural significance, and natural surroundings of the garden. Click here to view a map guide to the artworks featured.