Tai Kwun has been dedicated to nurturing performing arts talents in Hong Kong since its opening in 2018. Through commissioning, interdisciplinary and site-specific works were developed to respond to Tai Kwun’s unique background and environment, embodying the story and identity of Hong Kong in the language of theatre, dance, music and more.

The Season is also a platform to foster international collaboration and exchange between Hong Kong and overseas artists. Outstanding international productions are adapted to Tai Kwun and Hong Kong’s context and presented in joint efforts with local artists, creating cultural and artistic synergy.

Accolades of Tai Kwun commissioned works

• The Message Behind The Wall by 198491 (2018 Dance Season)
• 2019 Hong Kong Dance Awards – “Outstanding Small Venue Production”
• Diary VII • The Story Of...... (2021 SPOTLIGHT: A Season of Performing Arts)
• 2022 Hong Kong Dance Awards - “Outstanding Choreography” and “Outstanding Small Venue Production”
• The Inner Études (2021 SPOTLIGHT: A Season of Performing Arts)
• 2022 Golden Pin Design Award – “Mark Winner, Integration Design”
• Since When (2023 SPOTLIGHT: A Season of Performing Arts)
• 2023 CASH Golden Sail Music Awards – “Best Serious Composition”
• Memory Trace of Western Chamber (2024 SPOTLIGHT: A Season of Performing Arts)
• 2025 Hong Kong Dance Awards – “Outstanding Small Venue Production”

The 6th SPOTLIGHT: A Season of Performing Arts 2026 presents six new works, where artists showcase the multifaceted nature of humanity and explore the concept of identity through diverse perspectives and approaches.

Korean cross-media artist Geumhyung Jeong is renowned for breaking conventional performance formats. She integrates exhibitions, performances, and audience participation into a seamless experience. Through meticulously crafted escape plans in Fire Drill Scenario, she reflects on humanity's most primal shared goal—survival.

Songs of Being draws inspiration from William Blake’s renowned poetry collection Songs of Innocence and Experience. Using a dualistic structure, this work, crafted over years by three local elites, contrasts the duality of human nature, good and evil, across two different settings.

The Liar is a reflection of real life. This first international work commissioned by Tai Kwun is a solo performance created by renowned Danish director and playwright Tue Biering in collaboration with Hong Kong actor Chan Tai Yin. Set in an era of rapid technological development, where fake news, deep fakes, empty rhetoric, and white lies abound, the piece unveils the darker side of human nature.

On The Up Grade is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between Guangdong choreographer ErGao and video and multimedia artist Cao Fei. The piece focuses on identity and cultural characteristics, exploring how unity and diversity coexist in a multicultural society.

The two dance works in the dance double bill programme Between Selves, Limbo: The Waiting Room and Double Being explore identity from different dimensions. Limbo: The Waiting Room examines cultural and identity differences encountered in foreign environments, while Double Being investigates the relationship between reality and illusion, body and image.

This year also marks the launch of Play Reading, which adopts a non-traditional approach to play reading. Set against the unique atmosphere and open outdoor environment of Tai Kwun, this platform opens new possibilities for theatrical creations. It provides a stage for outstanding local film and theatre texts to shine while offering audiences new and diverse theatrical experiences.

Tai Kwun is Hong Kong’s beating cultural heart, enabled by The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) in partnership with the Hong Kong SAR Government. A vibrant, welcoming space that brings people together, Tai Kwun is committed to inspiring the community through arts, culture and heritage. Located in the heart of Central, Hong Kong, Tai Kwun brings creative energy into our city by providing the people of Hong Kong with access to a variety of immersive, world-class experiences. It is open for all members of our community to enjoy, nurturing appreciation for arts, heritage and culture. 

Tai Kwun supports youth in our community with the skills and development opportunities needed to thrive in the creative industries. Together with HKJC, Tai Kwun aspires to contribute to a culturally vibrant Hong Kong, amplifying the city’s role as a thriving arts and cultural hub in the region and the global arena. 

The relationship between HKJC and Tai Kwun continues HKJC’s longstanding role as a supporter of the city’s iconic arts and cultural institutions, which aligns with HKJC’s purpose of acting continuously for the betterment of our society. HKJC funded the revitalisation and continues to fund the ongoing operation of Tai Kwun, which consist of three Declared Monuments – the former Central Police Station, Central Magistracy and Victoria Prison – transforming the historic site into an accessible world-class centre for arts, culture and heritage. In 2019, Tai Kwun received the Award of Excellence in the 2019 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. 

For more information, please visit our website:
https:/www.taikwun.hk/