Prof. LEUNG Hok Bun, Isaac
Programme Director, Associate Professor
Prof. LEUNG Hok Bun, Isaac
B.F.A. (School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA), M.Phil (LingU), PhD (CityU)
3943 1926
Room 202, Leung Kau Kui Building
Office hour (by appointment) : Every Thursday 1030-1330
Office hour (by appointment) : Every Thursday 1030-1330
Introduction
Prof. Isaac Leung is a practicing artist, curator, and scholar in art and culture. In 2003, Leung received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Over the last few decades, he has initiated and participated in various projects, including exhibitions, workshops, lectures, publications, online projects, and symposia. Some of these projects include ’40 Years of Video Art’ (Hong Kong, China; and Germany), ‘The 12th Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition’ (Venice, Italy), ‘Time Test – International Video Art Research Exhibition’ (Beijing, China), ‘ISEA Festival’ (Hong Kong, China), ‘Both Sides Now’ (Hong Kong, China; the UK; and various countries), ‘Loop Barcelona’ (Barcelona, Spain), ‘One World Exposition’ (Hong Kong, China), ‘China Remixed’ (Indiana, USA), ‘Clockenflap’ (Hong Kong, China), ‘Art Basel Crowdfunding Initiative’ (Hong Kong, China), and ‘Beyond the Singularity’ (Hong Kong, China). Leung is currently an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Research Interests
Artificial Intelligence
Art and technology
Arts management
Contemporary art
Contemporary Chinese art
Creative industries and art market
Cultural historiography and ethnography
Cultural studies
Curation and exhibition studies
Courses Taught
Autumn Term (2024-25):
CUMT 1003 Cultural Policy and Development
CUMT 2007 Curation in Arts and Culture
Spring Term (2024-25):
CUMT 2009 Introduction to the Art Market
CUMT 3005 Design you Exhibition – Curational Planning and Practice
Other Positions Held
External Service
| 2020-2022 | Board Director, Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival |
| 2013-2019 | Chairperson, Videotage |
| 2018-2022 | Advisory Board Member, Photofair Shanghai |
| 2015-present | Assessor, Hong Kong Arts Development Council |
| 2008-2013 | Board Director, Videotage |
| 2011 | Advisor of Digital Community, Prix Ars Electronica |
Research Grants / Projects / Awards
Research and Teaching Grants
| 2023 | Principal Investigator, Digital Disruption—The Emerging Field of Non-Fungible Token in the Art World, General Research Fund 2022/23, Research Grant Council, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. |
| 2018 -19 | Principal Investigator, An Ethnographic Study on Chinese Private Museums in the Context of the China’s Recent Cultural Policies, Early Career Scheme 2017/18, Research Grant Council, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. |
| 2020 – 21 | Principal Investigator, Artrepreneur – An Emerging Shape of Cultural Entrepreneurship in Hong Kong, Direct Grant, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. |
| 2021 – 22 | Principal Investigator, Special Funding Scheme for Online Learning (supported by the Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant for 2019-22), The Chinese University of Hong Kong. |
| 2020 – 21 | Principal Investigator, Funding Scheme for Virtual Teaching and Learning (for Faculties and the Office of University General Education), The Chinese University of Hong Kong. |
Awards
| 2023 | The Faculty of Arts Outstanding Teaching Award 2023, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. |
| 2019 | The Faculty of Arts Outstanding Teaching Award 2019, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. |
Selected Publications
Books
| 2023 | Tracing Contemporary Chinese Art: An Ethnographic Journey through a Decade in Shanghai. Palgrave Macmillan (Springer Nature), 2023. |
Journal Papers
| forthcoming | “Idol-chasing, Frenzy—public screens, Popular Culture and Urban space.” Journal of Cultural Studies. |
| 2023 | “Power and Knowledge: The Birth of Museums in China.” Museum Anthropology, Wiley, 46(1): 26–34. |
| 2022 | with Poposki, Zoran. “Hong Kong as a global art hub: Art ecology and sustainability of Asia’s art market centre.” Arts, Special Issue “A 10-Year Journey of Arts”. 11(1), 29. |
| 2021 | “Artificial Landscape: in search of publicness through urban spectacle in Hong Kong.” Architecture_MPS, UCL Press, 20(1): 1-12. |
Books Chapters
| 2023 | “Museum Frenzy: Notes from the Field on Studying The True Color Museum.” In Menene Gras, Jonathan Harris and Bashir Makhoul (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Art in Global Asia. Routledge. 2023, pp. 225–232. |
| 2023 | “Architecture And Disciplinary knowledge: A Case Study of Hong Kong’s Heritage and Politics.”In Graham Carins (ed.) Architecture, Media, Populism… and Violence: Reification and Representation II: 2. Routledge, 2023, pp. 70–90. |
| 2022 | “‘COVID-19 Is Accelerating the Art World’s Adoption of Technology’ — Does More Advanced Technology Lead to Better Art Exhibitions?” In Frank Vigneron and Joanna HY Lee (eds.) Hong Kong Visual Arts Overview 2020. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, pp. 47–81. |
| 2021 | “The Resilient City: When Social Activism Meets Media Arts in Hong Kong.”In Eliza Steinbock, Bram Ieven and Marijke de Valck (eds.) Art and Activism in the Age of Systemic Crisis: Aesthetic Resilience. Routledge, pp. 117–129. |
| 2019 | “From Personal History to an Avant-Garde Movement: A Brief History of Videotage and Video Art in Hong Kong.” In Hanru Hou and Bei Xi (eds.) The D-Tale: Video Art from the Pearl River Delta. Sternberg Press, Berlin, pp. 252–261. |
| 2019 | Leung, Isaac HB, et al. “Digitisation with (in/out) Borders.” In Jeroen de Kloet, Chow Yiu Fai and Lena Scheen (eds.) Boredom, Shanzhai, and Digitisation in the Time of Creative China. Amsterdam University Press, pp. 307–314. |
| 2017 | “Sham Shui Po: Tactical urbanism or a precursor to gentrification?”. In Jurgen Krusche and Siu King Chung eds. Deep Water – Public Spaces in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong. MCCM: Hong Kong, pp. 21-29. |
| 2009 | “The Representation of Sex Machines.” In Johannes Grenzfurthner (ed.) Do Androids Sleep with Electric Sheep? Re/Search Publications, San Francisco, CA, pp. 16–35. |
Conference Papers
| 2020 | “Connections: Exploring Heritage, Architecture, Cities, Art, Media.” Architecture_MPS (UCL Press), Screen Cultures, Artistic Intervention, and Publicness – A Case Study of an Art Project in Public Screen in Hong Kong. |
| 2021 | “Online Education: Teaching In a Time of Change.” Architecture_MPS (UCL Press), Using Telepresence And Social Technologies To Create Social Impact. |
Non-Refereed Publications
| 2017 | “Our Exhibition Embraced Selfies, Snapchat, and Shopping Malls-and Went Viral.” Zócalo Public Square (Arizona State University Media Enterprise). 3 Oct 2017. |
| 2016 | “The Observer’s Paradox?”. International Association of Theatre Critics Journal. 15 Dec 2016. |
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2016 |
“Creating a brave new art world.” International Association of Theatre Critics Journal. 1 Mar 2016. |
| 2012 | “One World Exposition. In Between Hong Kong and China – mediation as a world-making process.” Art In China (The International Art & Culture Foundation of Spain), 2012, pp. 6-15. |
Selected Curated Exhibitions
| 2024 | Curator, “Beyond Singularity,” Hong Kong Arts Development Council Headquarters (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2024 | Curator, “Beyond Singularity,” Sea World Culture and Arts Center (Shenzhen, China). |
| 2023 | Curator, “Both Sides Now 8: Queer,” multiple locations and collaborators: The Hose Hospital (London, U.K.), Fabrica Gallery (Brighton, U.K.), Eaton Hotel (Hong Kong, China), ESEA Contemporary (Manchester, U.K.). |
| 2022 | Curator, “Both Sides Now 7: DeNatured,” multiple locations and collaborators: Fabrica Gallery (Brighton, U.K.), Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre (Leicester, U.K.), Hart (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2021 | Curator, “Bit Street,” (a screening program both online and at physical location), the New Art Fest (Lisbon, Portugal). |
| 2020 | Curator, “Both Sides Now 6: Viral Futures,” (a screening program both online and at physical location), multiple locations and collaborators: Duddell’s (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2020 | Curator, “Content Lab,” content lab.hk (online exhibition), Videotage (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2020 | Curator, “Hong Kong – Tales of the City,” (an exhibition features works of multiple artists), Denny Dimin Gallery (New York City, US). |
| 2019 | Curator, “Both Sides Now 5: Queer,” multiple locations and collaborators: Eaton Hotel Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China), Fabrica Gallery (Brighton, U.K.), Royal College of Art (London, U.K.), Vivid Projects (Birmingham, U.K.), Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre (Leicester, U.K.), John Hansard Gallery (Southampton, U.K.), AFIAS Spain Moving Images Festival (Madrid, Spain), Videodrome2 (Marseille, France). |
| 2019 | Curator, “Centripetal,” Screening Program in Art Basel 2019, Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2019 | Curator, “Artificial Landscape,” (a large-scale immersive exhibition at the biggest public screen in Asia), SOGO Hong Kong Co Ltd (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2018 | Curator, “Connective Videos,” (a series of screening programs), Goethe Institut (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2018 | Curator, “Art Basel 2018: The Future Is in the Past: Video Art Collections of Videotage and Nam June Paik Art Center” (a screening program), Art Basel, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2018 | Curator, “One World Exposition 2.2,” “#you #me 3ourSELFIES,” (an exhibition features works of multiple artists), Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Visual Art Center (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2017 | Curator, “2017 Hangzhou Liangzhu Moving Image Exhibition: Urban Nomad,” (the Hong Kong section of the exhibition features works from multiple artists), Liangzhu Village Cultural Art Center (Hangzhou, China). |
| 2017 | Curator, “The spirit of our time,” (a large-scale screening program) Clockenflap, Central Harbor Front (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2017 | Curator, “31 June 1997 – A solo exhibition by David Clarke,” Videotage, Cattle Depot Artist Village (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2017 | Curator, “One World Exposition: #like4like,” (an exhibition features works of multiple artists), K11 Art Foundation, K11 Art Mall (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2017 | Curator, “GREATER China,” (a screening program across various locations), Casa Asia, Cinema Girona and Soho House Hotel (Barcelona, Spain). |
| 2017 | Curator, “China Remixed,” (a large-scale public screen project at various locations), Indiana University, various locations in Indiana University (Indiana, United States). |
| 2016 | Curator, “South Phenomena (a screening program)”, Shenzhen New Media Art Festival 2016, OCAT (Shenzhen, China). |
| 2016 | Curator, “Both Sides Now 3: Final Frontiers,” (a screening program across various locations), SongEun ArtSpace (Seoul, Korea), British Council (Hong Kong, China), Boom Art Gallery Bar (Hong Kong, China), Ray Art Centre (Shanghai, China), Minsheng Art Museum (Beijing, China), Fabrica (Brighton, U.K.), Exeter (Phoenix, U.K.), ICA (London, U.K.) and Phoenix (Leicester, U.K.). |
| 2016 | Curator, “Cyborg Manifesto,” (a large-scale screening program), Clockenflap, Central Harbour Front (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2016 | Curator, “Time Test International Video Art Research Exhibition,” (the Hong Kong section of the exhibition features works from multiple artists), China Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing, China) and Redtory Art Museum (Guangzhou, China). |
| 2016 | Curator, “Art Basel Crowdfunding,” (a large-scale pavilion, accompanied by the first crowdfunding project endorsed by Art Basel in Hong Kong), Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2015 | Curator, “Victoria’s Secret,” (a large-scale screening program) Clockenflap, West Kowloon Art District (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2015 | Curator, “Jimei X Arles: East West Encounters,” (the Hong Kong section of the international photo exhibition features works from multiple artists) Jimei Citizen Square Exhibition Hall (Xiamen, China). |
| 2016 | Artist, “Curating Each Other,” Zurich University of the Arts Connecting Spaces (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2015 | Curator, “Both Sides Now 2: It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times?” (a multi-location exhibition and screening program), Electric Palace Cinema (Hastings, U.K.), Fabrica (Brighton, U.K.), Aspex (Portsmouth, U.K.), Institute of Contemporary Arts (London, U.K.), HOME (Manchester, U.K.), British Council (Hong Kong, China), Chronus Art Center (Shanghai, China). 06/2015 – 12/2015. |
| 2015 | Curator, “Made in Hong Kong, Our City, Our Stories,” (the “Hong Kong Talents” section of the exhibition), HSBC, Hong Kong Maritime Museum (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2015 | Curator, “Loop Casa Asia,” (a screening program), Loop Festival (Barcelona, Spain). |
| 2014 | Curator, “Asian Arts Space Network,” (the Hong Kong section of the exhibition), Ministry of Culture: Sports and Tourism, City of Asian Culture (Daegu, South Korea). |
| 2014 | Curator, “Both Sides Now,” (a multi-location exhibition and screening program), Whitechapel Gallery (London, U.K.), FACT (Liverpool, U.K.), Duke’s at Komedia Cinema (Brighton, U.K.), Chinese Arts Centre (Manchester, U.K.), Osage Gallery (Hong Kong, China) and Broadway (Nottingham, U.K.). |
| 2014 | Artist, “Ten Million Rooms,” Para/Site Art Space (Hong Kong, China). |
| 2012 | Curator, “One World Exposition,” (a large-scale exhibition consists of multiple locations and artists: Xu Wenkai, Cao Fei, Henry Chu, Feng Mengbo, Linda Lai, Teddy Lo, Ou Ning, Ellen Pau, Qiu Zhijie, Jeffrey Shaw, Eric Siu, Johnnie To, Wang Jianwei, Wang Zhenfei & Wang Luming, Yang Fudong, Danny Yung, Zhang Peili), Osage Foundation, Hanart TZ Gallery, Spring Workshop, Kee Club and City University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong). |
| 2008 | Curator, “97+10 Hand Baggage,” (a section of the exhibition Reversing Horizons), Shanghai MoCA, Shanghai, China. 07/2008 – 08/2008. |
| 2006 | Curator, “40 Years of Video Art in Germany and Hong Kong,” (an exhibition features works of multiple artists), Goethe Institute of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. 12/2006. |
| 2005 | Curator, “Home Movies,” (a screening program features works of multiple artists), Incubator for Film and Visual Media in Asia, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong. 03/2005. |
| 2005 | Curator, “Stalkshow,” (an interactive public performance produced by Karen Lancel and Hermen Maat), Hong Kong Arts Center, Hong Kong. 03/2005. |
Selected Conferences
| 2023 | Conference organiser, (forthcoming) “Local Cultures – Global Spaces: Communities, People, and Place” is co-organised by Rochester Institute of Technology, New York; the University of Melbourne, Australia; Architecture Media Politics Society; and UCL Press. |
| 2023 | Speaker, “Cultural resilience in times of change—UBS Digital Insights Program from Art Basel in Hong Kong,” UBS, Hong Kong, China. 12/2023. |
| 2021 | Speaker, “Way Forward: Unlimited Possibilities in NFT Art? ,” 2021 Cultural Leadership Summit, Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association, Hong Kong, China. 11/2021. |
| 2021 | Speaker, “Publicness, Screen Cultures and Artistic Intervention,” The Media Architecture Biennale, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and Utrecht University, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 06/2021. |
| 2021 | Speaker, “What is Possible for Queer Art?” Hong Kong International Photo Festival, Hong Kong, China. 01/2021. |
| 2020 | Speaker, “Hong Kong as a Global Art Hub,” The Christie’s Education 2020 Conference The Chinese Art Market, Hong Kong, China. 11/2020. |
| 2020 | Speaker, “Student Master Class,” Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, Asia Society, Hong Kong, China. 09/2020. |
| 2020 | Speaker, “Publicness, Screen Culture and Artistic Intervention,” Connections: Exploring Heritage, Architecture, Cities, Art, Media, University of Kent, United Kingdom. 06/2020. |
| 2020 | Speaker, “Using Telepresence and Social Technologies to Create Social Impact,” Online Education- Teaching in a Time of Change, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. 04/2020 |
| 2019 | Speaker, “Diversity Arts Festival,” Gay Games Hong Kong, Duddell’s, Hong Kong. 06/2019 |
| 2019 | Speaker, “Digital Emotions: The Hybridisation of Art and Technology,” Art Basel 2019, Hong Kong, China. 03/2019. |
| 2019 | Speaker, “Premiere Artist Talk: Ellen Pau in conversation with Isaac Leung,” Art Basel 2019, Hong Kong, China. 03/2019. |
| 2018 | Speaker, “The Possibility of Art Management in the Age of Intelligence,” The Thirteenth Annual Conference of China Art Management Education Society, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China. 12/2018. |
| 2018 | Speaker, “Moments in Time: Photography, Film and Video,” Photofairs Shanghai, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China. 09/2018. |
| 2017 | Speaker, “Curating new media art,” “K11 Art Keen,” K11 Art Mall, Hong Kong, China. 11/2017. |
| 2017 | Speaker, “A Curators Cut: The Innovation Generation and the Platforms it supports,” Art World Forum 2017,” Art World Forum, Hotel Ovolo, Hong Kong, China. 10/2017. |
| 2017 | Speaker, “When art meets technology: innovation and collaboration,” 2017 Cultural Leadership Summit, Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Hong Kong, China. 09/2017. |
| 2017 | Speaker, “Archiving: local history in an international context,” Indiana University, Library Screening Room, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States. 02/2017. |
| 2016 | Speaker, “You Must Create – Boredom, Shanzhai, Digitalization in the Time of ‘Creative China’,” Department of Humanities and Creative Writing of Baptist University of Hong Kong and University of Amsterdam, West Kowloon Art District, Hong Kong, China. 04/2016. |
| 2016 | Speaker, “Art and Mental Health,” Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences 20th Anniversary Community Fun Fair, Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences, Hong Kong, China. 04/2016. |
| 2016 | Panel speaker, “Collaborative network: Curating in the 21st Century,” Art Basel 2016, Art Basel, The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Hong Kong, China. 03/2016. |
| 2015 | Speaker, “Survival Strategies of Independent Art Spaces,” The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China. 12/2015. |
| 2015 | Speaker, “Asian Maps Programme,” ARCO Contemporary Art Fair, Feria de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 03/2015. |
| 2014 | Speaker, “Cross Over Collaboration: Art & Tech,” K11 Foundation, Chi Art Space, Hong Kong, China. 03/2014. |
| 2014 | Speaker, “AFT Global Forum of New Media Video,” The 5th China International New Media Short Film Festival, Jia Pingwa Cultural Museum of Art, X’an, China. 03/2014. |
| 2014 | Speaker, “The Film and Video of Andy Warhol, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, China. 03/2014. |
Visiting and Guest Professorship
| 2017 | Repository Research Fellowship of the Institute for Advanced Study, Indiana University Bloomington (During this fellowship, I was tasked with researching the Moving Image Archive of Indiana University Bloomington and delivered presentations related to my research in affiliation with The Media School.) 08/2017. |
Selected Knowledge Transfer Activities
Consultancy
| 2023 | Workshop trainer, 08/2023, Offering domain-specific expert advice and training to the education sector, I have specially designed a workshop for various teaching staff at the invitation of the Vocational Training Council. This workshop aims to provide training in art and technology. |
| 2022 | Cultural Advisor, 02/2022 – 07/2022, Offering industry-specific advice to the NFT sector, The Screens Guru is an art and technology startup involved in businesses related to machine learning, social conversion, and tech implementation. Their mission is to redefine the creation, curation, and collection of art. |
| 2018 | Consultant, 07/2018, Offering domain-specific expert advice to the Han Nefkens Foundation (Barcelona) concerning Asian media art. |
Selected Media Interviews and Works Being Cited
Interview
| 2022 | By Faculty of Arts, CUHK. “Cultural Management Programme Launches Its First Interactive Online Exhibition.” https://www.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/web/news-and-events/cultural-management-programme-launches-its-first-interactive-online-exhibition, 08/2022. |
| 2021 | By Ives, Mike. “The Latest Artist Selling NFTs? It’s a Robot.” New York Times, 25 Mar. 2021, http://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/arts/sophia-robot-nft.html. |
Works Being Cited
| 2021 | (Artwork) In Lehner, Ace. Self-Representation in an Expanded Field: From Self-Portraiture to Selfie, Contemporary Art in the Social Media Age. MDPI, 2021. |
| 2020 | (Exhibition) In Pollack, Barbara. “‘Hong Kong – Tales of the City’ in the Cobo Social.” CoBo Social, 2 Apr. 2020, http://dennygallery.com/news/hong-kong-tales-of-the-city-in-the-cobo-social/. |
| 2019 | (Exhibition) In Lee, Christie. “Artificial Landscape: Hong Kong’s Largest Video Billboard Is Taken over by Art.” Zolima City Magazine, 14 Mar. 2019, http://zolimacitymag.com/artificial-landscape-hong-kongs-largest-video-billboard-is-taken-over-by-art/. |
| 2019 | (Artwork) In Waugh, Thomas, and Brandon Arroyo. I Confess!. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019. |
| 2019 | (Talks) In Giles, Oliver. “5 Talks You Can’t Miss at Art Basel Hong Kong 2019.” Tatler Asia, 25 Mar. 2019, http://www.tatlerasia.com/lifestyle/arts/talks-art-basel-hong-kong-2019. |
| 2018 | (Exhibition) In Karacs, Sarah. “The (Video) Art of Disruption: Exploring New Frontiers at Art Basel Hong Kong.” Zolima City Magazine, 15 Mar. 2018, http://zolimacitymag.com/the-video-art-of-disruption-exploring-new-frontiers-at-art-basel-hong-kong-videotage/. |
| 2017 | (Exhibition) In Karacs, Sarah. “In a Smartphone-Saturated World, Can Video Art Still Push Boundaries?” Zolima City Magazine, 7 Sept. 2017, http://zolimacitymag.com/in-a-smartphone-saturated-world-can-video-art-still-push-boundaries/. |
| 2011 | (Artwork) In K., Cheung Esther M, et al. Hong Kong Screenscapes from the New Wave to the Digital Frontier. Hong Kong University Press, 2011. |