Announcing the 2025 ACC Hong Kong Fellows
2025-05-20
Individual Fellowships
CHEN Jie, Curator (Mainland China)
Curation | Mainland China → United States | February to April 2026
Xiaoyang Yu Fellowship
Chen Jie will conduct two months of research in the United States to study the cultural interplay between Western art and Eastern ceramics. Her project aims to expand her expertise in global pottery traditions, investigate diverse curatorial practices, and strengthen international collaborations in the field.
Having joined the Shanghai Museum in 2010, Chen currently serves as Deputy Head and Curator of the Ceramics Department. Over the past 15 years, she has surveyed over 150 kiln sites across Mainland China and conducted archaeological excavations and ceramic investigations in Sri Lanka, India, Japan, and other Asian countries, advancing her research on transcultural ceramic exchanges.
CHEN Yanyi, Summer Cat, Literary Scholar (Hong Kong)
Literature | Hong Kong → Taiwan | December 2025
Altius Fellowship
With years of research in literary studies, Chen Yanyi, Summer Cat plans to do one month of research in Taiwan to learn more about how illustrated novels resonate with readers—beyond children, but also for adults. Through visits to publishers, bookstores, and literature research institutes, she seeks models that can be adapted for Hong Kong.
Chen is a core member of the operating committee of “One City One Book Hong Kong,” a community reading initiative at The Education University of Hong Kong.
Mo LAI Yan Chi, Director (Hong Kong)
Theater | Hong Kong → Japan | July to December 2026
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship
Mo Lai Yan Chi will spend six months in Japan researching physical theater and training methods, from classic Noh to modern Butoh and contemporary styles.
This research will extend her work on non-verbal storytelling approaches, an area Lai attended workshops about and made with about during her time as Project Director at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Band Four (2023), which Lai directed and wrote, received four nominations at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards and won Best Original Film Score.
Elspeth Mary LEE and Donn HOLOHAN, Architects (Hong Kong)
Architecture | Hong Kong → Japan | June to August 2026
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship
Elspeth Mary Lee and Donn Holohan will spend two months in Japan to explore traditional building techniques, focusing on monolithic stone and earth constructions. Through conversations and sharing sessions with local artisans, they aim to deepen understanding of regionally specific methods of material sourcing and construction.
Lee is a registered architect in Ireland and the UK and Adjunct Assistant professor at HKU, Holohan is an architect, trained cabinet maker, and Assistant Professor at HKU. Together they are co-founders of Superposition, a studio which merges vernacular means and methods with digital tools with a view toward making architecture which is specific rather than generic, pragmatic but not utilitarian, and with a strongly community-centred view of evolving tradition and place.
Cynthia LEUNG, Architect (Hong Kong)
Architecture | Hong Kong → Japan | February to April 2026
ACC Hong Kong-Hsin Chong Foundation Young Architects Fellowship, in partnership with the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong Chapter
Cynthia Leung has been awarded the inaugural Hsin Chong Foundation Young Architects Fellowship, presented in partnership with the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong Chapter.
Leung will spend around two months in Japan conducting research on traditional craftsmanship and local design approaches, under the mentorship of renowned expert in heritage architecture Tomoaki Tanaka, Professor, Department of Architecture, Meiji University. She aims to explore and engage in hands-on workshops focused on a variety of traditional Japanese techniques and craftsmanship.
With both cultural consciousness and environmental sustainability in mind, Cynthia hopes to contribute to the field of adaptive architecture, particularly in the context of rapidly evolving cities such as Hong Kong and Mainland China.
SHAO Chun, Visual Artist (Mainland China)
Crafts | Mainland China → Japan | March to July 2026
Désirée & Hans Michael Jebsen Fellowship
Shao Chun will conduct four months of research in Japan, focusing on traditional craftsmanship. She is especially interested in wabi-sabi and the boundary of ritual sites and installation art. Her work explores “digital intimacy” through multimedia installations, e-textiles, and more.
Shao holds a PhD from the University of Washington, and has participated in group exhibitions at CHAT and the Sharjah Biennial.
SO Lai Ping, Visual Artist and Editorial Designer (Hong Kong)
Visual Art | Hong Kong → United States | February to May 2026
Altius Fellowship
SO Lai Ping will conduct research for three months on the Cantonese diaspora community in San Francisco, with a focus on its visual presence and linguistic landscape.
SO holds an MA in Gutenberg Intermedia from Hochschule Mainz, Germany and is based in Hong Kong and Düsseldorf.
http://mmmmor.com | http://120gsm.com
Toby TSE, Clarinetist (Hong Kong)
Music | Hong Kong → United States | June to August 2025
Lady Fung Music Fellowship
A student at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Toby Tse was selected for the Lady Fung Music Fellowship to attend workshops at the Aspen Music Festival and School for six weeks in Summer 2025. The experience will provide one-on-one lessons, and the opportunity to work with more musicians from all over the world, in the context of one of the most prestigious music festivals.
WEN Peng, Visual Artist (Mainland China)
Crafts | Mainland China → Japan | September to November 2025
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship
Wen Peng will spend three months in Japan to further his research on the relationship between space and plants. He will study ikebana at Sogetsu Kaikan, visit revered temples in Kyoto, and study garden typologies and architecture in Tokyo, Osaka, and Sapporo. He will also research spatial projects and the archives of the late Isamu Noguchi’s time in Japan.
Wen spent most of his recent career working with Vitamin Creative Space and at Mirrored Gardens — a hybrid farm-exhibition-experimental space and major arts destination in Guangzhou — where he coordinated and participated in planting programs and studies.
YE Wuji, Visual Artist (Mainland China)
Visual Art | Mainland China → Pakistan | September 2025 to January 2026
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship
YE Wuji will visit northern Pakistan for four months to study the region's histories, lives and “mobile societies” connected with surrounding regions. His research in exploring Central Asia began in 2018, and he has previously visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, creating video works informed by his findings. He will explore the connections between daily experiences and historical happenings.
ZHU Ning, Architect (Mainland China)
Mainland China → United States | August 2025 to January 2026
Hsin Chong-K.N. Godfrey Yeh Education Fund: Tsinghua-MIT Exchange Fellowship
Zhu Ning will attend the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS) at the Massachusets Institute of Technology for one semester.
Zhu will research teaching methods and the use of artificial intelligence design tools with a cultural dimension. He plans to meet with different research and design teams from Department of Architecture, Media Lab and Morningside Academy for Design to seek long-term cooperation in design education, pedagogical research and innovative design tools.
New York Fellowships
Caro CHAN, Actress (Hong Kong)
Theater | Hong Kong → United States | July to December 2026
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship
Caro Chan will participate in acting, playwriting, and stand-up comedy workshops.
Chan has a strong interest and track record in honing her skills as an actress and artist, having created and participated in performances in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. In 2025, Chan was nominated for the International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong) Actor Award for her role in Flowing Warblers (2024).
Chan completed her BA in English Language and Literature in Taiwan and later earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) degree in Acting from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
As a Hong Konger of dual heritage (Hong Kong Chinese father, Nigerian mother), she is a native Cantonese speaker, fluent in English and Mandarin. Her artistic perspective is not only enriched by her academic and cultural background, but also by the experiences she has gained on stage.
Florence CHEONG, Choreographer (Macau)
Dance | Macau → United States | July to December 2026
Lee Hysan Foundation - ACC Fellowship
As a choreographer and musical director with popular productions in Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China, Florence Cheong will explore American theater in New York City, with an interest in the use of videography in productions and in musicals.
Cheong began her training as a dancer at the age of six, and has evolved her career to encompass choreographing, acting, playwriting, and directing. She recently co-directed and choreographed Sing Out (2024), a very successful original Cantonese musical performed by secondary school students representing a range of backgrounds, and I Am What I Am (2024), a musical that toured across Southern China in both Cantonese and Mandarin, presenting over 50 shows.
Serene HUI, Visual Artist (Hong Kong)
Visual Art | Hong Kong → United States | January to June 2026
Altius Fellowship
Serene Hui will explore how Asian diasporic and multigenerational immigrant artists use archives and theoretical writings to articulate migration, identity, and the construction of place and time, considering future possibilities for interdisciplinary expression.
Hui holds an MA in Artistic Research from the Royal Academy of Art The Hague. Her work intersects historiography and artist-led frameworks, through installation, printmaking, sound, and performance.
ZHANG Ruyi, Visual Artist (Mainland China)
Visual Art | Mainland China → United States | July to December 2026
ACC Hong Kong Arts Circle Fellowship
Zhang Ruyi will examine residential typologies in New York City. She will focus on identity, social dynamics, and spatial perceptions, enabling a comparative study between New York City and Shanghai.
An astute observer of urban transformations, she creates sculptures, site-specific installations, and mixed-media works that uncover relationships among individuals, their environments, and broader societal structures.
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Image credit: Photo of Elspeth Mary Lee by Raffaella Endrizzi; Photo of Shao Chun by Ladina Bischof