The Hong Kong Tourism Board brought together 18 diverse artists across Southeast Asia (S.E.A) to create artworks inspired by Hong Kong's timeless icons. The “Arts in HK with S.E.A Artist” initiative was a year-long extension of “Arts in Hong Kong” by raising awareness of the city's ever-active and diverse artistic and cultural experience and making Hong Kong a center for international art and cultural exchange.

The “Arts in HK with S.E.A Artists” campaign featured artists from Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Their art collection covered a wide range of genres from painting to digital illustration, pottery, embroidery, sand art and more.

“As an international arts and cultural center, Hong Kong is passionate about engaging, nurturing and developing the next generation of local artists across the region, while providing them with a platform to showcase their talents to the world. By strengthening the potential of artists through this initiative, we hope to positively shape and empower artists within the local art community in the region,” said Raymond Chan, Regional Director of Southeast Asia Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Arts are showing clues about the past and present life. By looking at the symbolism of a work of art, we can learn, turn back time and experience a culture that is different from ours today. The art works made by 18 Southeast Asian artists are exploring different aspects of old and new Hong Kong – some artists reminisce on traditional crafts such as Mahjong carving and sandal embroidery, while others look to the future with the modern M+ museum and West Kowloon Cultural District.

One of the artists invited to be part of this project was Vina Candrawati, a sand painter from Indonesia. Vina was famous when she won as a runner-up in "Indonesia Mencari Bakat 3", a popular program that was broadcast live on one of Indonesia's private television channels.

“The inspiration for my paintings comes from childhood memories such as watching the series “Return of the Condor Heroes” starring Andy Lau and Idy Chan. I enjoyed many Andy Lau films and through these shows, I learned about the culture, lifestyle and popular cuisine of Hong Kong. Not only that, but the Hong Kong TV series also showed me the incredible sights and skyline of Hong Kong. From those nostalgic memories, I became increasingly curious about art and culture in Hong Kong and was ready to discover everything new in Hong Kong,” said Vina Candrawati.

“Collaborating with the Hong Kong Tourism Board is an exciting opportunity for me because I love Hong Kong culture and Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities in the world. Apart from that, being selected for this campaign has been a truly rewarding experience as it proves all the hard work I have put in to perfect my craft,” said Kent, an illustrator from Malaysia.

Mela Gonzales, an embroidery artist from Philippines has never been part of a big project. “It's been a while since I was last in Hong Kong, and I can't wait to visit again. It is heartwarming to see so many Southeast Asian artists come together, bringing expertise from different artistic expressions to celebrate Hong Kong. I hope that one day we can all gather in Hong Kong to see its iconic sights once again.”