To accompany Hong Kong’s collateral event at the Venice Biennale 2017, ‘Samson Young: Songs for Disaster Relief’, M+ is hosting a series of talks in Hong Kong. Taking Samson Young’s artistic practice and diverse influences as a starting point, the series offers a deeper understanding of key concepts in contemporary art and provides a wider context for Young’s newly commissioned work in Venice. ‘Songs for Disaster Relief’ is conceived of as an album unfolding in space to be experienced in person. The series includes four key pieces, each of which tells a new story referencing the cultural and political context of iconic 80s charity songs. Through a deliberate repurposing and creative misreading of such iconic songs, Young presents an exploration of the troubling ideologies and genuine affective qualities that these songs and their aspirations embody. In the first talk, Guest Curator Ying Kwok shares her experience of taking the exhibition from concept to realisation, and is joined by Anthony Leung Po Shan, one of the contributors to the exhibition catalogue, who expands the discussion on Young’s artistic practice in relation to the presentation of his current work. Speakers: Anthony Leung Po-shan and Ying Kwok Language: Cantonese, with simultaneous interpretation in English Free admission. Limited capacity on a first-come, first-served basis, please register in advance. Registration: https://app.eventxtra.com/registrations/2bb36ca8-773e-4a14-a693-6ab29a9004fc/new?locale=en

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Anthony Leung Po-shan Belonging to the last generation of university students under the colonial rule, Leung studied Fine Arts at The Chinese University of Hong Kong but witnessed the Handover as a reporter. Moving between art and politics, she has been a member of Para/Site Art Space and In-Media (Hong Kong). She has a PhD in Cultural Studies from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and is a founding member of Hong Kong Culture Monitor. Her research interests include artistic labour, city space and cultural politics. Her essays and commentaries have been published in the 'Hong Kong Economic Journal, InMedia (Hong Kong), City Magazine and Leap, amongst others. She is the editor of several published works including ‘Modern Art in a Colony: Narrated by Hon Chi-fan at the Millennium’, ‘Odd One In: Hong Kong Diary’ (by Pak Sheung-cheun), ‘QK – Specimen Collection of Chan Yuk-keung’ and ‘The Red Twenty-years of Ricky Yeung Sau-churk’. Ying Kwok Kwok has worked internationally as an independent curator since 2013. She co-curated ‘Harmonious Society’ at Asia Triennial Manchester 2014, ‘From longing to belonging’ with Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art in Poland in 2014 and 2016, and ‘No cause for alarm’ at La MaMa Galleria, New York in 2016. In 2015, Kwok was awarded the Asia Cultural Council Fellowship for a five-month research programme on participatory and engagement projects in the US. In 2014, to encourage critical thinking and initiate productive discussion in Hong Kong, Kwok founded the Art Appraisal Club with a group of local art professionals. The Art Appraisal Club launched the six-monthly, bilingual journal ‘Art Review Hong Kong’ in 2016 and provides regular exhibition reviews for magazines and various cultural networks.