HKBU is the only Hong Kong institution winning the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2021. “Space to Breathe”, a transdisciplinary research and knowledge transfer project which has attracted great praise from audiences and reviewers alike, won the Award in the Excellence and Innovation in the Arts category.

Conceived by HKBU researchers including Dr Eugene Alexander Birman (Department of Music), Dr Li Chen (Department of Computer Science), Mr Kingsley Ng (Academy of Visual Arts), and Prof Johnny Poon (Department of Music), “Space to Breathe” unifies art and science to dramatise and bring the genuine affliction of air pollution to the forefront of the cultural sphere.

Praised by the Award judges as “strikingly original, highly topical, creative, collaborative and hugely ambitious… the articulation of the concept around air is very strong. It is collective in its spirit and personalised in its interaction”. The project has created international collaborations. It is set to be experienced by tens of thousands of people at various events over the coming years, including the Manchester International Festival and the Macao International Music Festival.

“Space to Breathe” was the first transdisciplinary research project to receive support from HKBU’s Augmented Creativity Laboratory. It was also supported by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the University’s Research Impact Support and Enhancement (RISE) fund, and was the winner of HKBU Knowledge Transfer Award 2021.

For details of the project and the Award please click here.
To watch the 360° Virtual Journey and interviews of the artists, please click here.

“Space to Breathe” wins the THE Awards Asia 2021 Excellence and Innovation in the Arts

Dr Eugene Alexander Birman (Principal Investigator)