Hong Kong’s Music and Arts Festival was founded in 2008 by three friends – Mike Hill, Justin Sweeting and Jay Forster. They still run the event as festival director, music director and artistic director, respectively. The inaugural edition was an intimate one-day gathering that attracted 1,500 music lovers. Over the years, Clockenflap has grown to become Hong Kong’s largest open-air music and arts festival that attracts tens of thousands of people from across the globe.
Although Clofkenflap isn’t a purely music festival, music plays an extremely important role in its program. Hong Kong’s Music and Arts Festival prides itself on its rich and diverse musical program which doesn’t have strict genre constraints. The festival’s line-up includes both established and up-and-coming musicians, performing on several stages. For example, the line-up of the 2016 edition included The Chemical Brothers (UK), Sigur Rós (Iceland), Cheer Chen (Taiwan), Foals (UK), Die Antwoord (South Africa), José González (Sweden), etc.
As far as the festival arts program is concerned, Clockenflap introduces its audience to the most exciting emerging and established artists from Hong Kong and abroad in an outdoor family-friendly environment. Clockenflap’s arts program embraces all art forms including performing arts, visual arts, film and animation, etc. Each year, the organizers choose a new theme for the arts program, encouraging artists to respond to it.
Clockenflap’s film and animation program is part of its arts program. Since the very first year of the festival’s existence, its film tent has been a perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of the festival and recharge your metaphorical batteries. The festival screens a wide range of visual content from different countries including animated films, shorts, and music videos. Most films are made by independent filmmakers. You can enter “Cinema Silenzio” (Silent Cinema) any moment. Just put on a pair of headphones and allow yourself to be enveloped by the wonderful world of cinema.
Hong Kong’s Music and Arts Festival is a family-friendly event. There’s a special family area with kid-friendly entertainment to keep children engaged. Other major attractions at the festival include lots of delicious food offered by a variety of local caterers, Silent Disco, and the Clockencraft Handmade Market.
Photo: 惦
