KIAC

Osaka-based performance art collective contact Gonzo was founded in 2006 by Masaru Kakio and Yuya Tsukahara. Its current members include Yuya Tsukahara, Keigo Mikajiri, Takuya Matsumi and NAZE. Taking its name from “Gonzo journalism” – a highly personal style of reporting from the 1970s – contact Gonzo emphasizes improvisational interaction among performers. Their performances are often likened to fighting and the practice of martial arts, blurring the boundaries between violence and trust.
contact Gonzo has performed across Japan as well as in major international cities such as Singapore, New York, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Reykjavik, Zurich, Budapest and Ljubljana.

Professional performing arts group TS Crew, led by artistic director Hugh Cho and associate artistic director Steve Ng Chung-wai, is comprised of artists with backgrounds in film, drama, xiqu, dance, martial arts and stunting, and is the driving force behind the Hong Kong-based international dance platform Hong Kong Soul. Currently a three-year grantee of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, TS Crew has performed locally and internationally at a variety of festivals and events, including New Year’s Eve Countdown 2023 at Times Square, New York; Busan International Dance Festival; Sziget Festival in Budapest; and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The group’s performance No Dragon No Lion received the Asian Arts Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022, and nominations for Best Dance and Best Show in the DarkChat Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023.

The West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on 40 hectares of reclaimed land with close ties to its neighboring community, offering a place for all to experience the arts. With an array of theaters, performance spaces and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District produces and hosts world-class exhibitions, performances and cultural events. Currently open to the public are the Art Park, the Xiqu Centre, Freespace, M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, with the Lyric Theatre Complex scheduled for completion in 2026.

Freespace — Hong Kong’s center for contemporary performance — celebrates and showcases local and international creativity across all disciplines. We present multi-genre performances and events, produce boundary-pushing collaborations, and promote bold new ways of seeing and experiencing performance. Partnering with emerging and established artists from Hong Kong and around the world, we nurture diverse creative voices and stage works that challenge and redefine the role of performing arts for our age.