APO wins DFA Awards (with photos)

     The public art project "City Dress Up: Seats．Together", which is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and organised by the Art Promotion Office (APO), has received three awards in the DFA Awards 2018. The award presentation ceremony was held today (December 4) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
 
     The project won a Grand Award with Special Mention under the DFA Design for Asia Awards 2018, while the artistic furniture "Hack-a-Bench" by artists Dylan Kwok and Hinz Pak at Aldrich Bay Park and "Cultural Backyard" by artist group KaCaMa Design Lab at Mody Road Garden both won Merit Awards.
 
     A spokesman for the LCSD said, "The APO has been striving to provide high-quality and diverse visual art activities and services, so as to connect art with the community and to encourage people to embrace art in their daily life. The awards have recognised the efforts of the APO and the participating artists in promoting public art, and prove that the standard of local artistic creations has been affirmed internationally."

     The DFA Awards Exhibition introducing details of the awarded works will be held from December 6 to 8 during DesignInspire 2018 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. For details of the exhibition, please visit www.hktdc.com/ncs/designinspire2018/en/main/index.html.
 
     The DFA Awards was launched by the Hong Kong Design Centre in 2003, under which the DFA Design for Asia Awards aims to celebrate design excellence and acknowledge outstanding designs with Asian perspectives. The Awards provides a stage upon which design talents and corporations can showcase their design projects internationally. For details of the Awards, please visit dfaa.dfaawards.com/winner/.
 
     Apart from the above-mentioned awards, the artistic furniture "Cultural Backyard" has also won Korea's Asia Design Prize 2018. In addition, 10 sets of artistic furniture under the project have been included in the China Public Art Annual 2017 and the project will also be featured in the coming 3rd China Design Exhibition & Public Art Thematic Exhibition in Shenzhen.
 
     Since its establishment in 2001, the APO has won over 10 international and local awards, among which park furniture-related prizes also include Hong Kong Public Space Awards 2013 – Winner of Urban Park. Other prize-winning projects have included "XCHANGE: Social Gastronomy", which was awarded in Japan's Good Design Best 100 2016, and the art space Oi! was the winner of the Best Public Space in the Hong Kong Public Space Awards 2016.
 
      The "City Dress Up: Seats．Together" public art project was launched in July last year and will last for three years. It displays 20 sets of innovative seats at 20 venues managed by the LCSD across the 18 districts, offering members of the public a fun and unique outdoor experience. For details of the project, please visit the website www.seatstogether.hk or the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/apo.seatstogether).