Chris Kyme: Postcard from Hong Kong – A fine state of affairs

Chris Kyme (pictured above) continues his ‘Postcard from Hong Kong’ series this time highlighting New World Development and Saatchi & Saatchi Hong Kong’s recent campaign to save the post-war entertainment hub, The State Theatre.

I love it when your first interaction with some good work is seeing it out there in public (in the event that it did actually appear in public wink wink nudge nudge). So it was when I first encountered the idea for a final public tour of the famous State Theatre in North Point. There I was wandering about the area, something I do often as my office is just up the road and I love exploring the streets and backstreets, looking for bargains on dried spicy cuttlefish or electric fly swatters, when I came to the building, a landmark I’m well familiar with. Suddenly I felt like I’d been transported back in time. There were old Hong Kong movie posters up. People were going inside. Had I missed something? Or had I stumbled onto the set of a new Wong Kar Wai movie. It was all part of a brilliant idea on behalf of New World Development, who will be restoring the former theatre into a new centre for culture and arts, and their agency Saatchi& Saatchi Hong Kong in conjunction with their Publicis Groupe PR and Social arm, MSL.

Curious to know more, I asked a lady in the street on her way back from the wet market. She didn’t have a clue what I was going on about saying “Tee-sing gweilo”, so instead, I got in touch with Chris Lee, Group Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi in Hong Kong and asked him how it all came about.

“We saw the opportunity when New World Development announced its successful consolidated ownership of the 68-year-old State Theatre and its meticulous conservation project to restore the Grade I historic site. But before launching a complete architectural conservation of the State Theatre, we wanted to curate an immersive event to honour it – and to raise awareness of the plans that were to come.

“We cross-collaborated with Culture for Tomorrow (CFT), a non-profit organisation under New World Group, along with several other different parties to work on such a meaningful and exciting project. CFT has a mission to empower Hong Kong’s rising changemakers in the interconnected pillars of architecture and design, living heritage and cultural exchange. To actualise creativity in large-scale projects to reshape the culture of living and livelihood of Hong Kong.”

For those of you dear readers who don’t know, the State Theatre is a famous former cinema in North Point that first opened in 1952 as the Empire Theatre and became an important landmark not least because of its unusual concrete arches on the roof. It had been marked for demolition until New World stepped in and vowed to “preserve it and give it a new lease of life”. It may not look like much now, but its historical significance is important.

Chris Lee further explained the agency’s concept for turning this into an event before work commences. “The idea is “Discover the State Theatre in all of us”. The reason it came about is because the State Theatre holds different meaning and memories for different people who experienced it during its existence.

It used to be the entertainment hub of Asia – where performers and musicians from far and wide came to rock the stage. Then, it became the movie theatre for the community to see the biggest stars from around the world being projected on the screen. It had the most popular CD store where people found the latest hits. Afterwards it became a community gathering place.

We wanted to bring to life the whole history of the State Theatre and make it an immersive experience where tour guides doubling as ushers took you through the history of the State Theatre. Inside, you could see some of the old films that used to play here, see the traditional movie poster designs, calligraphy designs, as well as thousands of iconic relics put on display.

We wanted you to explore for yourself what the past looked like, but lastly, leave a note for us to see what you hoped for the future of State Theatre – and how it can inspire New World Development to use its conservation project to help State Theatre return once again as a culture and arts landmark with more riveting stories and memories to tell. The concept has so far been running for about one month”.

I love the idea behind this, anything which can make Hong Kongers feel proud of their heritage is good to me. I didn’t actually go inside on the day I came across it as I was late for a manicure, but I did wonder what was the message behind it all. “The State Theatre is one of the last remaining post-war cultural icons of Hong Kong, and it charts the rise and decline of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry” added Chris Lee. “So this project is larger than itself, it represents our society as a whole. Together with New World Development, we will do our best to conserve and restore this iconic building to its original glamor and build a cultural oasis for the next generation.”

The combined team behind it all worked with different artists, such as traditional movie poster designers, historians who collect relics, calligraphy artists, as well as local musicians. “We want to preserve the art that is unique to the city, and take it on to the global stage where people can appreciate all these. We believe these legendary tales deserve a new chapter which future generations can share and make their own memories.”

I have to say I found it all very inspiring. I know this building well and have wandered in and around it many a time in the past, fascinated by its history. I really did think it was destined for the bulldozers, so kudos to New World and their team for having a bit more vision.

Chris Lee summed it up for me. “Honestly speaking, the message is a very admirable one. Not every developer sees the value in conserving historic buildings for the future, and fewer even would spend the time and effort to curate an immersive tour to educate the public on its tales. If it wasn’t for New World, I believe the State Theatre would’ve been torn down by now. For that, I think we’re very lucky. What New World wants to create is a cultural venue, or a cultural oasis, that blends the old and the new, where everyone in Hong Kong can re-live the olden days of the State Theatre. Its history may have faded through time, but thanks to New World, its story is far from over. With our conservation project, the State Theatre will return once again as a culture and arts landmark with more riveting stories to tell.”

Agency team:
Alexis Chiu, Group Managing Director
Miuson Chi, Director
Ian Yung, Account Service
Christopher Lee, Group Creative Director
Francis Wong, Associate Creative Director
Pelie Kwok, Head of Creative Services