Tsuen Wan CHAT Mill6 | Weave and Shout!

Description

CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile) announces an exciting summer programme filled with participatory, playful and highly tactile experiences. Showcasing works by Agus Nur Amal PM Toh, Chan Wai Lap and Slow Art Collective, Weave and Shout! is curated by CHAT’s Executive Director and Chief Curator Takahashi Mizuki, who recently co-curated the enthusiastically received Japan Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. In this year’s edition of Seed to Textile, CHAT’s flagship community programme, fashion designer Yeung Chin, Indian dance artist Neesha Jhaveri and choreographer Wong Sui Lun Alan join hands to trace resonances between human migration and botanical dispersal through a series of hands-on and co-creative activities. Both Weave and Shout! and Seed to Textile are open to the public at The Mills from 18 July 2026.

Weave and Shout! | 18 July – 25 October 2026

This group exhibition showcases works by Agus Nur Amal PM Toh (Aceh), Chan Wai Lap (Hong Kong) and Slow Art Collective (Melbourne). Together, the artists playfully explore the sources of everyday stress and invite visitors to relax and recharge through touch, weaving, role-play and laughter.

Entering The Hall at The Mills, visitors will be welcomed by Sensation Release, an imaginative playground built by Agus Nur Amal PM Toh. Using household objects and second-hand textiles, Agus has invited various communities in Hong Kong to co-create this interactive space. Visitors of all ages are invited to rescue lifelike dog statues with a pump, take amusing pictures of their animal companions, relive childhood memories by shouting into electric fans, and become imaginary news presenters. The playground will be on view from 18 July to 9 August.

Agus is a renowned storyteller and artist from Aceh, Indonesia. Committed to preserving the Acehnese storytelling tradition by giving it a new form, he is also noted for empowering communities through art and using playful art making as a means of trauma healing. His work was featured at the documenta fifteen in Kassel, Germany in 2022, where he showcased installations and storytelling performances that highlighted the power of cultural memory, collaboration and peace building.

At CHAT on the second floor, visitors will begin their journey with a familiar yet alien local school corridor installed by Hong Kong artist Chan Wai Lap. From school uniforms standing 3 m tall, to a giant leather shoe one can climb into for photos, to classroom desks waiting to be scribbled on – everything visitors encounter will be recognisable but intriguingly different from what is expected in an ordinary school setting.

Chan is acclaimed for his distinctive swimming pool series, which has become highly recognisable in Hong Kong’s contemporary art scene. Before developing these iconic works, Chan’s creation had a special thematic focus on school and school life. In this exhibition, these familiar subjects will be reimagined as large, immersive installations.

Slow Art Collective presents two distinct spaces. In the disco-like space where fluorescent colours pop in the dark, visitors can drop tennis balls into tubes that run across the room and lead to various sound-making instruments. In the brighter space, visitors will find an abundance of colourful yarns and recycled fabric strips, which they can freely weave, knot or plait onto a large bamboo structure and specially designed walls. The installation will constantly evolve throughout the exhibition as more visitors contribute to its ever-changing form.

Led by Chaco Kato and Dylan Martorell, Slow Art Collective is known for their large-scale interactive looms and musical installations in public spaces. For over a decade, they have been using recycled materials to bring sensory and play-based experiences into community settings. Having presented their participatory work in Australia, Nepal, Japan, the US and other locations, they are now bringing it to Hong Kong for the first time.

Seed to Textile 2026: Open Studio | 18 July – 25 October 2026

Launched in 2019, Seed to Textile is CHAT’s annual flagship community programme. Through hands-on processes of planting and art making, it brings together artists and the public to draw connections between nature, textiles and art.

This year, Seed to Textile looks to Indian culture for inspiration. As Hong Kong’s fourth-largest non-Chinese ethnic group, the Indian community is inextricably woven into the fabric of the city. Hong Kong fashion designer Yeung Chin, Indian dance artist Neesha Jhaveri and Hong Kong choreographer Wong Sui Lun Alan lead Seeders – openly recruited participants from different generations and cultural backgrounds – to explore sustainable fashion and contemporary dance inspired by Indian culture.

In the open studio at CHAT, visitors will have the opportunity to experience the heritage textile craft of Indian block printing, using wooden blocks designed by Yeung and natural dyes made from plants grown by Seeders on the rooftop of The Mills. They can also use various pre-inked stamps to create unique motifs on paper as a memento to take home.

The activities offered by Seed to Textile 2026 engage more than just the hands. With expert advice from Jhaveri, Wong has created a set of easy-to-follow dance movements inspired by Indian traditions and textile production, both of which share inseparable ties to nature. Using recycled clothing, Yeung gives physical form to these movements through a three-dimensional patchwork installation, where visitors can pose as dancers by fitting into the sculpted garments. As visitors try the dance steps, they are also encouraged to wear a pair of special overshoes and leave ink footprints on a piece of fabric laid out nearby. The textiles resulting from this activity and the block printing experience will be made into costumes for a dance performance after the exhibition, further promoting cultural diversity, eco-consciousness and empathetic creative practices.

Snuggle and Stitch: Childhood Textiles of Hong Kong | until 21 February 2027  

In The D. H. Chen Foundation Gallery, Snuggle and Stitch: Childhood Textiles of Hong Kong brings together local childhood textiles spanning the 1930s to the 2020s, featuring heirloom garments, mass-produced toys, artisanal dolls and more – inspiring nostalgia from a simpler time and sparking joy through shared memories. The activity stations accompanying the display have been hugely popular since their introduction. Visitors can experience some of old Hong Kong’s favourite childhood games, such as ‘Toss-a-Pouch’ and ‘String-a-Web’, rediscovering the wonders of tactile play with friends old or new.

Takahashi Mizuki, Executive Director and Chief Curator of CHAT, said, ‘Weave and Shout! intends to free visitors from everyday stress and pressure through interactive artworks. From a reimagined local school corridor and two distinct spaces for experimenting with sound and weaving, to a whimsical installation built with household objects and second-hand textiles, this highly participatory experience invites every visitor to immerse themselves in an open environment.’

Eugenia Law, Associate Curator of CHAT, remarked, ‘Seed to Textile 2026: Open Studio is not only an exhibition – it is a catalyst for exchange and a living space where different communities meet, create and imagine belonging together. At the heart of the programme is a simple belief: when we create together, we begin to understand one another.’