Creative forces: Hong Kong's emerging talent

Woofer Ten, the alternative space run by local artists, is perhaps most famous for its "cycling petition" held every June 4 since 2010. But its core member, Lee Chun-fung, reveals he'd been indifferent to social issues before he graduated from the Chinese University's fine arts department in 2007.

"And not until very lately did I get June 4 and the Nanking massacre sorted out," he says. "I was totally ridiculous!"

But thanks to his first job as programme officer at Artist Commune, a former art space at the Cattle Depot Artist Village, he has learned to be more socially aware.

Today, Lee, 28, has developed his artistic concern to bring people together through his work. Artist Commune closed down in 2009, and Lee, along with nine like-minded art practitioners, formed Woofer Ten (its Chinese name being "revitalisation office") .

Funded by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the non-profit organisation promotes contemporary art as a way to engage the community. "It's all about generating dialogue and making friends," Lee says.

And those friends are not limited to the arts circle. One of them is Yau Ma Tei old-timer Cheng Kai-fong, who's exhibiting his bygone vinyl records at the art space on Shanghai Street.

"It's neither a grand collection nor is it unique in the world," Lee says with a laugh. "It's ordinary in a way. But it has social value." This solo show, the artist adds, magnifies the daily rhythms of the locale.