The Indie Map: Playground for the Denied

The flock of budding creatives moving into industrial buildings during the decline of Hong Kong’s manufacturing era has led to an organic flourishing of local creative industry, in particular the independent music scene in Kwun Tong. Despite the out-of-date policies that prohibit most of the cultural activities to take place in industrial buildings, habitants managed to get by and built their own nurturing grounds for creativity. Yet, recent schemes to formally “revitalize” these buildings are sabotaging the already dynamic micro-community instead. This thesis aim to investigate the potentials of “rebellious” informal spaces (that are denied by the system) created by the socially “unwanted” through addressing the inadequacy of the “top-down” revitalization approach.

Image Credit: Hidden Agenda Facebook
(Link: https://scontent-hkg3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12974502_1052417821484575_374323296168358784_n.jpg?oh=a75671fc3afe0746759769700e3d5c2a&oe=587A003A)