HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 22 November 2024 - The seventh edition of “No Limits”, co-presented by the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, opens on 21 February 2025. Continuing its mission to promote inclusion through arts, No Limits 2025 offers a series of innovative performances and activities featuring numerous outstanding artists with diverse abilities from different regions in the world, including Hong Kong, the Mainland, the United States and the United Kingdom. Presenting 11 remarkable works spanning music, drama, dance, film and other genres, it will also host over 6 Jockey Club ‘No Limits’ Education and Community Programmes, along with other exciting events such as at least 20 touring performances for primary and secondary schools, as well as 15 PLUS activities, workshops and talks designed to build creative bridges across communities.
The theme of this year’s “No Limits” is “The Human Touch”, extending an invitation to audiences to experience the perseverance displayed by artists who defy their own limitations.
“The seventh edition of “No Limits” offers a diverse and exciting line up of programmes, with extensive outreach projects suitable for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. I would like to thank The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for co-presenting this important annual project with us, and for its continued support in promoting inclusion through the arts. We also extend our appreciation to Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong for its invaluable support, and provision of accessibility services enabling people of different abilities to experience the arts together,“ says Ms. Flora Yu, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
Dr Gabriel Leung, Executive Director of Charities and Community at The Hong Kong Jockey Club, adds: “Over the years, the Club’s Charities Trust has remained committed to advancing art, culture and conservation while building a culturally vibrant Hong Kong. This includes our support for the Arts Festival over the past half-century and our continuous commitment to No Limits, which empowers differently abled local and overseas artists to showcase their talent. Our support for various arts, cultural and conservation projects aligns with the Club’s purpose of acting continuously for the betterment of society. Its support is made possible by the Club’s unique integrated business model, through which world-class racing and entertainment and resultant wagering demand generate tax contributions, charity donations and employment opportunities.”
Tickets to the performances are now available through URBTIX, while community programmes do not require pre-registration and audiences can simply walk in for free. Online programmes can be viewed for free on the official website https://www.nolimits.hk at the scheduled times.
In-venue Programme
Opening Programme: Jazz Excellence
Young Emmy award nominee Matthew Whitaker will be the opening act of this year’s “No Limits”. The US jazz sensation’s Hong Kong debut will feature his jazz quintet with four other musicians in two individual performances. Born blind, Whitaker did not let his lack of sight restrict his talent as a musical prodigy and he went on to become a three-time winner of the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award. His intricate techniques and bold attitude draw on American gospel, jazz, blues and a pinch of Classical influence, moving the hearts of many.
Hide-and-Seek
Guangzhou dancer He Qiwo(ErGao) collaborated with Theo Wang Zeyu, an artist and blind masseur, to create the interactive performance Hide-and-Seek, which combines choreography and video. The performance leads the audience to discover hidden stories in an imaginary blind massage parlour, providing a deeper understanding of the daily lives and usual working conditions of visually impaired people in today’s society through a unique, immersive dance experience.
Be Seen
Adapted from the life experiences of Shanghai performing artist and celebrity content creator Zhao Hongcheng, the solo performance Be Seen, the first original production by this all-female-team, invites audiences into her inner world, recalling the artist’s aspirations behind the stigma with a unique humour and sensibility. The work won Zhao a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2023 Chinese Theatre Awards, while Be Seen was named Best Innovative Play at the 2023 Chinese Theatre Awards and won the Annual Media Attention Award at the 2024 ONE Drama Awards.
Songs of the Wayfarer
The internationally acclaimed British performer Claire Cunningham brings her latest dance work, Songs of the Wayfarer, where she transcends nature through using crutches as a second pair of legs, delivering a performance that is both exquisite and deeply touching. The piece delves into the choreography of moving through the world as a disabled person, exploring themes through “crip” navigation and feminist ideologies. Cunningham explores the potentiality of her specific physicality, crafting a unique vocabulary that challenges conventions around virtuosity, classical aesthetic and dance.
Love Beyond
Glasgow-based Singaporean theatre maker Ramesh Meyyappan, both a director and actor, presents an unconventional tale in Love Beyond, presenting the helplessness of a dementia patient from the perspective of the deaf community using familiar topics. The production received five nominations and the Best Music and Sound award at the 2023 Critics’ Awards for Theatre (CAT Awards) in Scotland.
Closing Programme: Whispers of Wind and Keys: A Piano and Flute Concert
The “No Limits” closing performance will feature a collaboration between accomplished young local pianist Anson Tang and British flautist Ruth Montgomery. With a theme of “Journey’”, the duo will perform a carefully selected set of Classical music pieces that resonate with each other, presenting the audience with an elegant, romantic and moving musical performances. Tang is the recipient of a number of awards, including the VSA International Young Soloists Award and the third prize at the Watford International Piano Competition.
In Touch We Trust
The new large-scale outdoor community dance programme In Touch We Trust explores the connections between fashion and dance, leading the audience to experience the unique way in which visually impaired individuals perceive the world, challenging people to reconsider the way they look at life itself. Performed by visually impaired performers and professional artists, In Touch We Trust is not only a site-specific dance performance focusing on unique clothing, but also a journey into the meaning of identity and liberation from constraints.
Free Screenings and Online Programmes
“No Limits” has also prepared four films and documentaries, which will be screened for free on specific days on the Laundry Steps at Tai Kwun. These works will later be made available for free screening on the “No Limits” website, allowing everyone to experience the emotions and warmth conveyed by these works online.
The Chameleons
Inclusive Swiss football team The Chameleons was established in 2019. The players have diverse abilities, but their strength lies in their team spirit. This documentary takes viewers on a journey with the team as it competes in an important international tournament, facing strong opponents such as Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, and captures the moments of players and coaches interacting both on and off the field.
The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic
This darkly comic love story follows a visually impaired wheelchair user on a difficult, challenging quest to meet his girlfriend, who shares his passion for cinema but lives far away. The lead actor in the film, like the protagonist, suffers from multiple sclerosis that had led to vision loss and partial paralysis, so the plot is partly based on the day-to-day experiences of the actor himself. The film won multiple awards at the 2022 Beijing International Film Festival and the 2021 Venice Film Festival.
An Irish Goodbye
This short dark comedy tells the story of two estranged brothers who are reunited on a farm in Northern Ireland after their mother’s passing. While Lorcan, a robust and dedicated farmer with Down syndrome, dreams of continuing to work the land he grew up on, Turlough, who lives and works in London, plans to sell the farm and send his younger brother to live with an aunt on the other side of Ireland. When the parish priest reveals their mother’s unfinished bucket list, Lorcan senses an opportunity: he’ll agree to leave the farm once he and Turlough have completed every one of their mother’s wishes. This film has played at more than 60 film festivals worldwide and been recognised with a number of international awards, including the 2023 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short.
On the Adamant
This film documents a one-of-a-kind place on the River Seine in Paris, a floating refuge in the heart of Paris that offers daytime music and art programmes for adults with mental illnesses. Veteran French documentary director Nicolas Philibert invites viewers to witness the transformational power of art and community through an understated, gently challenging observational touch. Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival, the film has screened at major film festivals around the world.
Jockey Club “No Limits” Educational and Community Programme
In addition to the programmes mentioned above, “No Limits” actively organises a series of educational and community outreach events including school tours, workshops, lectures and more. This October, “No Limits” has collaborated with internationally acclaimed UK-based Candoco Dance Company on a Pilot Creative Programme that provides local theatre and dance teachers with training in inclusive teaching methodologies, while fostering professional talents in inclusive arts education in Hong Kong.
In addition, “No Limits” is set to host an international symposium titled “How Creative Considerations of Inclusivity Are Transforming Asian Cities” on 9 March 2025. The symposium will gather experts from various fields across Asia to focus on the social impacts of artistic and creative inclusion initiatives. The symposium hopes to explore the prospects for the development of inclusivity in Asia, encouraging cities to be more inclusive and strengthen social connections among people from all walks of life.
Arts Accessibility Services
‘No Limits’ continues its collaboration with the Arts with the Disabilities Association Hong Kong to enhance high-quality art projects with accessibility services, ensuring that audiences with varying needs can enjoy performances without barriers. Accessibility services differ from programme to programme including audio description, accessible captions, sign language interpretation, braille booklet, audio booklet, theatrical interpretation, easy-to-read booklet and relaxed performances; extra wheelchair seats may be available in venues, and guide dogs are also welcome at the venues.
For more event details, please visit the website of “No Limits”: www.nolimits.hk
Click here for programme details: www.nolimits.hk/programme
Urbtix: www.urbtix.hk/series/92?bannerCode=NOLIMITS2025
Appendix
Programme
Hashtag: #NoLimits
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