PANEL | How Hong Kong’s Visual Storytelling Shapes Creativity

Speakers: Kevin Mak, Lynn Yau, Derek Ting and Alicia Sing

Moderator: Slavica Habjanovic

Date: March 5, Thu

Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Venue: Thirsty Shaker

Address: Hilltop Plaza, 3/ F, 49 Hollywood Road, Graham St, Central

Price: HKD228 (includes 1 drink)

Language: English

Format: Panel

Description:

Hong Kong is a city that reads with its eyes first through neon glow, restless streets, and a skyline that never stops rewriting itself. In this vivid cross-disciplinary conversation, Zolima CityMag’s neon specialists explore the cultural memory embedded in Hong Kong’s disappearing signs; filmmaker and writer Derek Ting reflects on how cinema and storytelling capture the city’s transnational energy, ambition, and contradictions; and Alicia Sing, author of Iconic Hikes Hong Kong, shares how walking, mapping, and close observation offer new ways of seeing the city’s landscapes and histories. Joined by Lynn Yau, Head of AFTEC and author with HKU Press, the panel examines why visual culture, movement, and creative education are essential to how Hong Kong imagines itself and to nurturing the next generation of engaged, visually literate citizens and storytellers.

About the Speaker:

Kevin Mak

Zolima CityMag contributor Kevin Mak is an urban and architectural photographer, a Hong Kong registered architect, and the co-founder of signboard heritage conservation platform @streetsignhk. He practised as an architect for more than 12 years on international urban and culture related projects. In the past few years, Mak has begun to take a multidisciplinary approach to projects on urban space, street life and aesthetics through exhibition, research, design and photography. His involvement in Neon Is Not Dead includes his conservation work as co-founder of StreetsignHK as well as photographic contribution to the book.

Lynn Yau

Lynn Yau is a founder and CEO of AFTEC, an award-winning charity pioneering Arts for Change education. As a Harvard Project Zero alumna, she holds a Masters in Education from Hong Kong University. Under her leadership, AFTEC has received numerous accolades, including the Hong Kong Arts Development Council’s Arts Education Awards. As a Clore Leadership Scholar, Lynn is a frequent speaker and published author, most recently of Evolving Creative Mindsets: Thinking Through the Arts. With numerous proofs of concept through impact studies, she drives AFTEC’s mission to transform learning through innovative creative learning programmes.

Derek Ting

Named “Hong Kong’s New Action Vanguard” by Prestige Magazine, Derek Ting wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the Hollywood movie, Agent Recon, where he is credited for bringing legendary action icon, Chuck Norris, back to the big screen. The movie topped Hulu and Disney’s charts and was released on HBO Max across Asia, Paramount+ across Europe. As a graduate from Cornell University, he formerly worked as a CNN Producer and as a manager in Google.

Alicia Sing

Alicia Sing is a multidisciplinary creative producer whose work spans independent films, global television productions, and brand storytelling across Hong Kong and London. An avid hiker since high school, Alicia created Iconic Hikes Hong Kong to celebrate the city’s trails, which are often overlooked in comparison to Hong Kong’s skyline. The coffee table book immerses readers in each hike through narrative descriptions and concise summaries, paired with vintage-style posters that give each trail a distinct identity. Through this approach, Alicia highlights the cultural and visual richness of Hong Kong’s natural landscape.

Don’t miss our special offer: Buy 3, Get 1 Complimentary!

Purchase 3 tickets to any events under HKILF 2026 and claim a complimentary seat at one of these exciting talks at Central Library:

•⁠ 3rd March (Tue): On Muscle: The Stuff that Moves Us and Why It Matters (7:00-8:30pm)

⁠•⁠ 4th March (Wed): I Deliver Parcels in Beijing (7:00-8:30pm)

•⁠ ⁠5th March (Thu): Amitav Ghosh: Ghost-Eye (7:00-8:30pm)

To redeem your complimentary seat, email us at [email protected] with:

•⁠ ⁠Your 3 ticket order numbers

•⁠ ⁠The event you’d like to attend

•⁠ ⁠Subject line: Buy 3, Get 1 Complimentary!

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ABOUT HKILF

The Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF) inspires the joy of reading by bringing the world’s writers and stories to Hong Kong’s diverse communities. A dynamic year-round programme and an annual festival offer dialogue, entertainment and perspective, while the Young Readers Festival (YRF) motivates students to engage with all aspects of the written word, improving communication skills, while nurturing the art of writing and storytelling.

The annual festival features established and emerging writers from around the world, alongside local literary talents, in a programme that includes panel discussions, book talks, readings, workshops, walks, school programmes, performances, and more.

We are a registered charity non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing the best in the literary arts to Hong Kong. To find more, please visit our official website: https://www.festival.org.hk.

Please note that:

*We are unable to process refunds, please consider your ticket purchase a donation to the festival.

*Photos and videos of participants may be taken during the activities,which may be used by the organiser and the major sponsor for educational and promotional purposes in any way deemed appropriate, including disseminationthrough printed and online channels. Participation in the programme will constitute the participants’ consent to the above arrangement.

*The views and opinions expressed by the speakers do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Hong Kong International Literary Festival. HKILF disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information shared by the speakers.

*If the Black Rainstorm Warning or the Tropical Cyclone Signal No. 8 or above is in force 3 hours before the start time of an event, the event will be cancelled and participants will receive a refund. If the Red or Yellow Rainstorm Warning or the Tropical Cyclone Signal No. 3 is in effect, the event will be held as scheduled.

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