"Riding a Melodic Tide - The Development of Cantopop in Hong Kong" Exhibition

The School of Journalism and Communication at The Chinese University of Hong Kong is glad to be able to cooperate with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong Heritage Museum and Radio Television Hong Kong to organize an exhibition with the theme on "Riding a Melodic Tide: The Development of Cantopop in Hong Kong", which is the first local large-scale Cantopop exhibition. Detail

Cantonese popular music, or Cantopop, is indispensable in our lives. It plays a part in the formation of Hong Kong's identity and culture. From Samuel Hui and Roman Tam, the early fathers of Cantopop in the 1970s; the unforgettable idols Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui in the 1980s; the era of the "Four Heavenly Kings" in the 1990s, to the diffusion of Cantopop in various forms in our daily life nowadays, Cantopop is everywhere around us. It is on television, cell phone, public transport, in the theatre, karaoke bars, games and the Internet. 

Cantopop and popular stars are embedded in the collective memory of the local population and our precious cultural heritage. It has become a very influential and unique popular culture that cuts across and jazzes up all Hong Kong media, enlightening them with attractiveness, vibrancy and gaiety.

This Exhibition goes in tandem with the agenda of the government to promote the local creative industries. It also finds an echo in our school's recent development of the creative media and new media curriculum. In addition to highlighting the aesthetic and cultural values of Hong Kong popular music, we would like to pay tribute to all musicians, artists and media professionals who have made tremendous contributions to the development of Cantopop. We also hope to arouse the public's interest and awareness of local popular music through this event.

Group photo: (From Left) Mr. Tang Ho-man, Prof. LIN 
Mei-yi, Angel, Mr. CHOW Yiu-fai, Mr. NG Yu, Ms. Belinda
WONG, Mr. WONG Chi-wah, Dr. LIEW Kai-khiun, Ms. Eva
LEUNG, Prof. CHU Yiu-wai and Prof. Anthony FUNG.

Mr. NG Yu, Executive Director of Emperor Entertainment,
shared his insights in Cantopop's rise and decline.

Cantopop Historian Mr. WONG Chi-wah and Prof. 
Anthony FUNG from CUHK discussed Cantopop's
development via perspectives of film songs and media
technologies respectively.

Prof. CHU Yiu-wah from Baptist University and Ms Eva
LEUNG Ph.D. Candidate from University of London
brought issues of Cantopop lyrics and globalization of
music industry into discussion.

Mr. CHOW Yiu-fai lyrics and Ph.D. Candidate from
University of Amsterdam and Dr. LIEW Kai-khiun,
Postdoctoral Fellow of National University of Singapore
addressed issues of music consumption, production 
and its internationalization.

Prof. LIN Mei-yi, Angel from City University of Hong Kong
and Mr. TANG Ho-man put emphasis on the fusion of
Hong Kong and western music and Cantopop's genre
Hybridity.