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Wynna Wong

Hong Kong’s annual street art festival HKwalls has returned for its 10th edition, marking a decade of celebrating the colours and murals that adorn the city’s urban landscape.
The Post explores what to look out for this year, including the slate of international artists showcasing their works and creative processes.
1. What is the HKwalls festival?
HKwalls is a nine-day festival taking place from March 22 to 30. Central’s PMQ is acting as a hub for the event, while murals and digital artworks enliven Central and Western district.
“Our vision is to create opportunities for local and international artists to showcase their talent … through the mediums of street art and street culture,” HKwalls managing director Maria Wong said.
2. What is HKwalls’ cultural significance?
HKwalls aims to act as a catalyst for recognising and elevating street art, while fostering the exchange of ideas by inviting international artists to take part.
“We genuinely want to make street art … accessible to all who want to enjoy and engage with it,” Wong said.
But she added that a decade of organising the event had not come without its challenges, as the festival relied on wall donors for artists to paint on.
“We often face last-minute changes when an owner decides not to proceed, leaving us scrambling to find alternatives,” Wong said.
She said that while many were supportive, some saw it as a risk, and the team had learned to consider such setbacks as opportunities to engage with new partners and expand its reach.

3. What are the key highlights of this year?
The festival features a diverse line-up of international and local artists, who will create large-scale murals.
The PMQ hub is also hosting a range of exhibitions and interactive events.
A new HKwalls Rooms initiative seeks to bridge the gap between street culture and the wider art market, offering exhibition space to independent galleries.
A Youth Mentorship Programme is also supporting emerging artists by showcasing their work at Kai Tak Sports Park and providing them with professional guidance.
Additionally, digital art will be integrated into the festival through LED screen displays, and community engagement will be fostered through workshops and guided tours.
4. Who are some of the notable artists taking part?
Among the notable participants is Alexandre Monteiro, also known as Hopare. The French street artist is famous for applying floral motifs to his portraits.
Visitors to PMQ can expect to see his large-scale installation, “Indigo Memories”, which features portraits painted on delicate textiles that “unfold to the rhythm of the city’s breath”.
“My work revolves around humanity and memory,” Hopare told the Post.
“[The portraits] embody individual and collective memories – those inhabitants whose imprints shape the city, those voices that still resonate despite censorship and repression.
“Hong Kong, once a space of expression and exchange, is seeing its relationship with memory transformed by political and social shifts.”

5. What about other forms of art?
At HKwalls Rooms, local artist KC Wong will showcase pieces that blend sneaker art, illustrations and recycled materials to dissect consumer culture and social hierarchies.
Visitors can expect to see works such as “RidiculouSneakers”, which explores the idea of trainers as a status symbol.
“Through my work, I aim to reflect our social status and how it is intertwined with the shoes we wear for different occasions,” he said.
Another HKwalls Rooms artist is Rotterdam-based Jelmer Konjo, with his pieces defined by their playful composition, colour and form.
“The main message I always try to convey in my work is the worth of being naive in an adult life and the worth of playfulness in everyday life,” he said.

6. Are there any initiatives highlighting rising talent?
Hong Kong Arts Collective is also part of the festival. Established in 2019, it aims to support the city’s visual arts scene.
Local colourblind artist Ernest Chang, known for his high-saturation pieces with futuristic elements, is bringing pieces from his 2019 series, “Famous by Proxy”, to this year’s festival.
“The works are a hybrid of Renaissance and neo-renaissance masterpieces blended with Japanese manga characters,” he said.
“The idea is that the viewers can have multiple entry points into understanding these works depending on your upbringing.”

For example, an older person might recognise the famous classical works of European masters but a young person might identify with the manga characters first, he said.
He described his upbringing in Hong Kong as a main influence on his works.


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Hong Kong economy

HKwalls 2025: what not to miss at Hong Kong’s street art festival

HKwalls is a nine-day festival taking place from March 22 to 30. Photo: Jonathan Wong

HKwalls managing director Maria Wong says the organisation aims to act as a catalyst for recognising and elevating street art. Photo: Jonathan Wong

At HKwalls Rooms, local artist KC Wong will showcase his pieces that blend sneaker art, illustration and recycled materials to dissect consumer culture and social hierarchies. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Rotterdam-based artist Jelmer Konjo’s art is defined by its playful composition, colour and form. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Works by Ernest Chang in the HKWalls Room at PMQ. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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The West Kowloon Cultural District is hosting multiple exhibitions during Art March, including Picasso for Asia. Photo: Nora Tam

Mas jumps in his Vortex to DoodleLand by Mr Doodle at Art Basel Hong Kong. Photo: Eugene Lee

How Picasso exhibition at Hong Kong’s M+ brings Spanish artist into 21st century

“Horse Head. Sketch for Guernica” by Pablo Picasso. Organisers have said they hope the exhibition can bring the artist’s work into the 21st century. Photo: Nora Tam

“Gunpowder Drawing No. 8-A5” by Cai Guo-qiang. The artist’s signature style is to ignite gunpowder on a canvas to record the chemical reaction. Photo: Nora Tam

“Strange Bird” by Isamu Noguchi is among the pieces on display for the Picasso exhibition. Photo: Nora Tam

The show also highlights Picasso’s famous dove etching for the Paris Peace Conference in 1949, which was later used on Chinese stamps. Photo: Nora Tam

News

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

Nine-day festival takes place from March 22 to 30, with hub at Central’s PMQ and murals and digital artworks in Central and Western district


Nine-day festival takes place from March 22 to 30, with hub at Central’s PMQ and murals and digital artworks in Central and Western district.


Hong Kong culture

Explainers

Provide background, definition and detail of a specific topic, helping the reader understand how something works or what has happened in the past.  (Eg. What is Nafta? US and Mexico are on the verge of revising trade deal.)


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Explainer | HKwalls 2025: what not to miss at Hong Kong’s street art festival

Nine-day festival takes place from March 22 to 30, with hub at Central’s PMQ and murals and digital artworks in Central and Western district

1. What is the HKwalls festival?

2. What is HKwalls’ cultural significance?