Mathias Woo
Encyclopedia
Mathias Woo Yan Wai is a cultural worker in the cross-media discipline in Hong Kong
, with creative work
s ranging from theatre
and multi-media
design, to cultural policy research and analysis, art education
, architectural design and screenplay
writing.
Woo was born in Hong Kong, and studied architecture
at The University of Hong Kong
and Architectural Association, London
.
Woo joined the arts collective Zuni Icosahedron in 1988, and is now the Executive Director
and Co-Artistic Director of the group. Since the 1980s, he has been actively involving in the areas of politics, cultural policy, urban development
and social welfare.
In 1996, Woo founded the Hong Kong Development and Strategic Research Centre (HKDSRC), and is also the chairperson of the organisation. Over the past years, He has initiated a series of studies on arts and cultural policies, including both the 1991 & 1993 edition of "In Search of Cultural Policy", "In Search of Film Policy 97" and "In Search of Information Policy 97".
Woo has been writing regularly for newspapers and magazines on architecture, arts, culture, and the media since the 1990s. His writings could be seen in publications like Yazhou Zhoukan
, HK Economic Times, Ming Pao
and CUP Magazine.
In 2006, Woo was appointed by the government of the HKSAR as a member of Public Service Broadcasting
Review Committee, and also a member of the Advisory Groups (Performing Arts
and Tourism) of the Consultative Committee on the Core Arts and Cultural Facilities of the West Kowloon Cultural District; in 2009, Woo was appointed member of the Task Force on Economic Challenges by the Chief Executive.
● Woo pioneered the “multimedia architecture music theatre
series”, including The Life and Times of Louis I. Kahn, Looking for Mies and Corbu. He also created multimedia performances, such as Hua-yen Sutra, integrating Buddhist doctrines with interactive multimedia and elements of contemporary arts. They were great successes merging theatre spaces and the multi media together, exploring the potentials of these features to the fullest. They infuse new dynamic into Hong Kong performing arts, and are vanguards in the history of Chinese theatre
.
● East Wing West Wing, a political comedy series exploring and discussing the political situation in Hong Kong, is very popular among the public and top government officials. Together with “the social theatre series”- The Agent and All You Want to Complain about Hong Kong TV, a Three-letter Opera which discusses the education policy
of Hong Kong, reflecting his critical views and comments on various social issues
and my passion in promoting civil education
● In 2008, Woo collaborated with the Jiangsu Kunqu Opera Troupe, and produced the innovative performance of Tang Xianzu’s Dream on Dreams, which is a work aiming at preserving the heritage of traditional Chinese performing arts
.
Student Activity Centre Phase I project and won the Hong Kong Institute of Architects’ 2004 Award for Members’ Work Outside of Hong Kong.
● In 2001, Woo worked with Mr Rocco Sen Kee YIM, and was awarded an Honorable Mention in the West Kowloon Reclamation Concept Proposal Competition.
● In 2008, Woo participated in the 11th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia 2008, as the Guest Exhibitor with the multimedia installation “Hong Kong Odyssey”.
● In 2006, Woo participated in the “4 x Home” Exhibition, a showcase of four imaginary homes (other exhibitors include Douglas Young, Eric Kot, Wing Shya and Chip Tsao
[To Kit]), presented by the LCSD, in the Heritage Museum.
● In 2004, Woo was invited by Eslite Book Store of Taipei to create a multi-media sound installation
Migrating Birds.
, was nominated as the Best Screenplay in the 28th Hong Kong Films Award.
● In 2007, Happy Birthday, the screenplay Woo co-wrote with Sylvia Chang, was nominated as the Best Screenplay in the 26th Hong Kong Films Award.
● HK Style, 2005, Editor in Chief
, published by CUP.
● HK Style 2 – Destroy HK, 2006, Editor in Chief, published by E+E Zuni Icosahedron.
● HK Style 3 –A City should be Built This Way, 2007, Editor in Chief,published by E+E Zuni Icosahedron.
● Cultural Opportunities in Economic Crisis?, 2009
● Mathias Woo Hong Kong Odyssey, 2009
● West Kowloon Blueprint, 2007
● Good Wind Like Water, 2008
● East Wing West Wing Comic, 2008 (Collaborated with comic artist, Lai Tat-tat Wing)
● Hong Kong Odyssey, 2001
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, with creative work
Creative work
A creative work is a tangible manifestation of creative effort such as literature, music, paintings, and software. Creative works have in common a degree of arbitrariness, such that it is improbable that two people would independently create the same work. Creative works are part of property...
s ranging from theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and multi-media
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
design, to cultural policy research and analysis, art education
Art education
Art education is the area of learning that is based upon the visual, tangible arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practical fields such as commercial graphics and home furnishings...
, architectural design and screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
writing.
Woo was born in Hong Kong, and studied architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
at The University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. Its motto is "Sapientia et Virtus" in Latin, meaning "wisdom and virtue", and "" in Chinese...
and Architectural Association, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Woo joined the arts collective Zuni Icosahedron in 1988, and is now the Executive Director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
and Co-Artistic Director of the group. Since the 1980s, he has been actively involving in the areas of politics, cultural policy, urban development
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
and social welfare.
In 1996, Woo founded the Hong Kong Development and Strategic Research Centre (HKDSRC), and is also the chairperson of the organisation. Over the past years, He has initiated a series of studies on arts and cultural policies, including both the 1991 & 1993 edition of "In Search of Cultural Policy", "In Search of Film Policy 97" and "In Search of Information Policy 97".
Woo has been writing regularly for newspapers and magazines on architecture, arts, culture, and the media since the 1990s. His writings could be seen in publications like Yazhou Zhoukan
Yazhou Zhoukan
Yazhou Zhoukan , literally as "Asia Weekly", is the only Chinese language international affairs newsweekly which has been published for over 20 years...
, HK Economic Times, Ming Pao
Ming Pao
Ming Pao is a Chinese language newspaper published by Ming Pao Group in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, Ming Pao established four overseas branches in North America, each provides independent reporting on local news and collect local advertisements. Currently, only the two Canadian editions remain: Ming...
and CUP Magazine.
In 2006, Woo was appointed by the government of the HKSAR as a member of Public Service Broadcasting
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
Review Committee, and also a member of the Advisory Groups (Performing Arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
and Tourism) of the Consultative Committee on the Core Arts and Cultural Facilities of the West Kowloon Cultural District; in 2009, Woo was appointed member of the Task Force on Economic Challenges by the Chief Executive.
Theatre Works
● Woo has produced and directed more than 50 theatre works. His theatre works cover a wide range of topics, such as literature, history, politics, current affairs, architecture and religion, and they were performed around the globe in cities like Beijing, Tokyo, Nanjing, Taipei, Singapore, Berlin, etc.● Woo pioneered the “multimedia architecture music theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
series”, including The Life and Times of Louis I. Kahn, Looking for Mies and Corbu. He also created multimedia performances, such as Hua-yen Sutra, integrating Buddhist doctrines with interactive multimedia and elements of contemporary arts. They were great successes merging theatre spaces and the multi media together, exploring the potentials of these features to the fullest. They infuse new dynamic into Hong Kong performing arts, and are vanguards in the history of Chinese theatre
Chinese theatre
Theatre of China has a long and complex history. Today it is often called Chinese opera although this normally refers specifically to the more well-known forms such as Beijing Opera and Cantonese Opera, there have been many other forms of theatre in China.-Classical Chinese theatre:There are...
.
● East Wing West Wing, a political comedy series exploring and discussing the political situation in Hong Kong, is very popular among the public and top government officials. Together with “the social theatre series”- The Agent and All You Want to Complain about Hong Kong TV, a Three-letter Opera which discusses the education policy
Education policy
Education policy refers to the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems.Education occurs in many forms for many purposes through many institutions. Examples include early childhood education, kindergarten through to 12th grade, two and four year colleges or...
of Hong Kong, reflecting his critical views and comments on various social issues
Social issues
Social issues are controversial issues which relate to people's personal lives and interactions. Social issues are distinguished from economic issues...
and my passion in promoting civil education
● In 2008, Woo collaborated with the Jiangsu Kunqu Opera Troupe, and produced the innovative performance of Tang Xianzu’s Dream on Dreams, which is a work aiming at preserving the heritage of traditional Chinese performing arts
Chinese art
Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art...
.
Architecture and Designs
● In 2004, in association with Arch Design Architects Ltd., Woo designed the Shantou UniversityShantou University
Shantou University is a provincial level University in the Guangdong city of Shantou. It was authorised and established in 1981 by the State Council and Guangdong Government under the “Project 211” program. Mr. Li Ka-shing, a global businessman and philanthropist, contributed HK $3.1 billion to...
Student Activity Centre Phase I project and won the Hong Kong Institute of Architects’ 2004 Award for Members’ Work Outside of Hong Kong.
● In 2001, Woo worked with Mr Rocco Sen Kee YIM, and was awarded an Honorable Mention in the West Kowloon Reclamation Concept Proposal Competition.
● In 2008, Woo participated in the 11th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia 2008, as the Guest Exhibitor with the multimedia installation “Hong Kong Odyssey”.
● In 2006, Woo participated in the “4 x Home” Exhibition, a showcase of four imaginary homes (other exhibitors include Douglas Young, Eric Kot, Wing Shya and Chip Tsao
To Kit
Chip Tsao , also known by his pen name To Kit and epithet First Wit of Hong Kong, is a multilingual Hong Kong-based columnist, broadcaster, and writer. He is well-known for his sarcasm and wry sense of humour....
[To Kit]), presented by the LCSD, in the Heritage Museum.
● In 2004, Woo was invited by Eslite Book Store of Taipei to create a multi-media sound installation
Sound sculpture
Sound sculpture is an intermedia and time based art form in which sculpture or any kind of art object produces sound, or the reverse...
Migrating Birds.
Screenplays
● In 2008, Run Papa Run, the screenplay Woo co-wrote with Chan Suk Yin and Sylvia ChangSylvia Chang
Sylvia Chang is a Taiwanese actress, writer, singer, producer and director. In 1992, she was a member of the jury at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.- Actress :...
, was nominated as the Best Screenplay in the 28th Hong Kong Films Award.
● In 2007, Happy Birthday, the screenplay Woo co-wrote with Sylvia Chang, was nominated as the Best Screenplay in the 26th Hong Kong Films Award.
Publications
“HK Style” series, a series of publications documenting the originality of the local architecture, and it was reprinted up to the 4th Edition and has sold near to 10,000 copies.● HK Style, 2005, Editor in Chief
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, published by CUP.
● HK Style 2 – Destroy HK, 2006, Editor in Chief, published by E+E Zuni Icosahedron.
● HK Style 3 –A City should be Built This Way, 2007, Editor in Chief,published by E+E Zuni Icosahedron.
● Cultural Opportunities in Economic Crisis?, 2009
● Mathias Woo Hong Kong Odyssey, 2009
● West Kowloon Blueprint, 2007
● Good Wind Like Water, 2008
● East Wing West Wing Comic, 2008 (Collaborated with comic artist, Lai Tat-tat Wing)
● Hong Kong Odyssey, 2001