Martha Atienza, artist, Silverlens
Taeyoon Choi, artist
Tozer Pak Sheung Chuen and Cherry Chan, co-founders, HASS Lab

Moderated by Chantal Wong, Convenor of AFIELD

This discussion, organized in collaboration with AFIELD, explores how artists are developing community-focused projects and initiatives that utilize their skills and connections as creative practitioners to engage with the needs of their communities. How can artists contribute to the social fabric of the societies they are a part of, and what does it take to make a difference in the lives of others?

Venue: Auditorium, N101B, Level 1, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre

Martha Atienza is a Dutch Filipino video artist exploring the format’s ability to document and question issues related to the environment, community, and development. Her work, primarily composed of videos with an almost sociological nature, is rooted in ecological and cultural concerns as she studies the intricate interplay between local traditions, human subjectivity, and the natural world. She won the Baloise Art Prize at Art Basel for her seminal work Our Island, 11°16`58.4" 123°45`07.0"E" in 2017. Prior to this, she has received the Ateneo Art Award in Manila (2012 and 2016) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artist Award (2015). Recent biennials and triennials include the 17th Istanbul Biennial (2022); Bangkok Art Biennale: Escape Routes (2020); Honolulu Biennial: To Make Wrong / Right / Now, Oahu (2019); and the 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane (2018).

Taeyoon Choi is an artist, educator and organizer who explores the poetics of science, society, and human relations. As an artist, he works with technology and drawing, oftentimes in collaboration with fellow artists and the disability community. His participatory performances and installations were presented at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M+ Museum, Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile and more. As an educator and cofounder of the School for Poetic Computation in New York, he helped build the school’s curriculum. In 2023, he founded forever✰, an inclusive and sustainable gallery for contemporary art in Seoul.

Tozer Pak Sheung Chuen and Cherry Chan are co-founders of HASS Lab, a collective of artists and producers dedicated to advocating art and artist thinking as a new way of understanding and valuing society. Co-founder Tozer Pak Sheung Chuen is a visual artist. His practice currently focuses on using art as an intervention in social issues. He represented Hong Kong at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009. Co-founder Cherry Chan is a cultural producer and chairperson of Renaissance Foundation Hong Kong, a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing next generation creative talent in music, moving image and writing.

Chantal Wong combines contemporary art and education to build communities and create impact. She is Convenor for AFIELD, an international network, advocacy and support platform for artists leading transformational change in society. She is co-founder of Learning Together, empowering refugees through project-based learning and scholarships; Women’s Festival HK; and Things That Can Happen (2014–2017), an experimental art space. She was founding Director of Culture, Eaton HK (2017-2021), a purpose-driven hospitality brand, and Head of Strategy, Asia Art Archive (2006-2017). She is a Global Fellow with Ford Foundation.

This talk is organized in collaboration with AFIELD.


This talk was conducted in English and Cantonese, with simultaneous interpretation available in Mandarin.

The Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 Conversations program is curated by Stephanie Bailey.