The Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo is back with an enhanced, more fine-tuned, and public-focused program. Mariella Radaelli reports.

The second Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo (HKPAX) officially opens today, not counting the Opening Showcase staged Thursday, and the four-day Open Prologue series of free performances at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza, which has been running since Tuesday.

The event’s return is the result of popular demand raised by participants, talent scouts and audience members who attended the inaugural edition in 2024, with “many expressing interest in returning for future editions,” says Pheon Tsang Suk-yee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council — organizer of the event.  

HKPAX 2024 “brought together more than 1,600 arts leaders and practitioners from over 60 countries and regions and attracted more than 32,000 participants and audience members”. The goal was — and still is — to create a major international marketplace and networking platform that connects global performing arts professionals through showcases, pitching, and industry exchanges.

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“Artists and arts groups at different stages of development participate in the event, showcasing fully realized productions or introducing new concepts and works-in-progress while seeking creative partners,” Tsang explains.

However, she hastens to add that the event’s true significance perhaps lies in the collective energy of human connection and lingering emotional resonance that it has generated in its wake.

As if in response to those positive vibes, HKPAX 2026 has “a stronger public-facing dimension”. The Open Prologue series of free shows features local and international artists performing contemporary dance, Cantonese Opera and choir singing. “Audience members can enjoy sunset showcases while taking in the spectacular views of Victoria Harbour,” Tsang says.

City Reverie, with music by Lam Fung, digital art by Vvzela Kook, and stage design by Silver Cheung, is presented as the festival’s Opening Showcase. Piano music meets digital visualization in the show, which also involves application of emotional tracking technology. The International Showcase will see the Asia premieres of the drama An Isolated Case by Arte un rato from Chile and the Hungarian circus-dance production Paradisum, co-produced by Müpa Budapest and Liszt Fest.

Meeting of minds

The 2024 event led to a number of international partnerships and touring opportunities for Hong Kong’s homegrown productions. For instance, HKPAX 2024 brought together the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) and Poland’s National Forum of Music. The result of their collaboration is a cross-cultural program called Rendezvous, featuring the HKCO string quintet, eco-gehu and eco-bass gehu ensembles, and a Polish cello quartet. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Dance Company has teamed up with Singapore’s The TENG Company to create Voyage of the Eight Graces, an interdisciplinary dance-theater work inspired by the eight classical Chinese art forms. The piece is on show at HKPAX 2026.

The HKPAX 2024 platform enabled some of the small and midsize arts organizations in Hong Kong to expand their networks. In July 2025, the all-male performance art group TS Crew was invited to perform No Sugar No Milk, a mix of physical theater, martial arts, dance, street art, and circus, at the Hat Fair in Winchester, England. The production returned to the United Kingdom this year for a monthlong, five-city tour. Legend of Hao Hao, a dance-based comedy created by Yang Hao, secured a six-city tour across the Chinese mainland last year. The a capella cabaret production LauZone, created by the Yat Po Singers, has received invitations from the OzAsia Festival in Adelaide, Australia, and the Singaporean art space Esplanade.

Tsang says that these and similar tie-ups show that Hong Kong arts groups are capable of building collaborative relationships with overseas cultural institutions, as well as the fact that there is a growing interest in Hong Kong’s artistic output from abroad.

Homegrown offerings

Over 80 countries and regions — against 60 in the inaugural edition — are represented in HKPAX 2026. All eyes are on the Hong Kong Chapter — a dedicated platform to showcase the unique artistic visions and practices of local artists.

“The feedback from overseas and regional performing arts professionals indicated a desire for a more systematic understanding of contemporary creation in Hong Kong and the directions local artists pursue,” Tsang says. The result is a showcase featuring a series of 20-minute presentations, as well as excerpts from 10 local independent artists and small to midsize arts groups. “The Hong Kong Chapter covers both emerging creative ideas and mature works, providing international industry professionals with a window into Hong Kong’s performing arts ecosystem,” says Tsang.

Jennifer Dautermann, one of the six international advisers to HKPAX, has helped the Hong Kong Chapter artists tailor their pitches for overseas markets. “I’m really looking forward to seeing each of those pitches on-site soon,” she says.

The lineup includes Boom Boom: Battle of the Big Bad Bosses, an a cappella performance by the Yat Po Singers; and History Play, Rooftop Productions’ new musical theater piece based on Shakespeare’s Richard II, with elements of Cantonese Opera, metal, madrigals, and rap thrown into the mix.

Composer Fung is introducing Nocturnes: A Dialogue Between Music and Cinematic Art, created together with photographer Wing Shya. The piece invites audience members to reflect on their relationship with Hong Kong and appreciate its beauty.

TS Crew is presenting an excerpt from No Sugar No Milk. “HKPAX builds trust between artists and major presenters,” says company manager Andy Lo. “It also provides better global resources.”

The company intends to present a catalog of its works, including upcoming projects, at HKPAX 2026. These include Heros, a collaboration with Company Chameleon from Manchester; and Monkey King, a pan-Pacific project inspired by the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, and involving the participation of South Australian Circus Centre and the Adelaide Baroque Orchestra. They are partnering with the Yat Po Singers for a circus-a capella theater project and will discuss the possibility of co-creating a new show titled Under One Umbrella with SAtheCollective in Singapore.

Gateway to Asia

Video Phase, a creative duo from Montreal, Canada, attended HKPAX 2024 and is back in the city for more. Artist, composer, and artistic director Julien-Robert Legault Salvail says that the first HKPAX helped the collective build meaningful connections with organizations across Asia. “Some of those conversations directly led to performances at the East Kowloon Cultural Center in Hong Kong, a tour of the Chinese mainland, and ongoing discussions about future opportunities in the region,” he says. “HKPAX played a significant role in Video Phase’s international development.”

This time, Video Phase is pitching Alt-Escape, which seeks to blur the lines between concert, digital art, and interactive performance. “It can be difficult to convey what Alt-Escape is all about because there’s no clear comparison that fully captures what the audience experiences,” says the show’s artistic director. “The goal is to give presenters a taste of the experience, spark their curiosity, and make them want to discover the full performance. If you see me walking around with a pair of headphones in my hands, there is a good chance that I’m about to make someone listen to Alt-Escape!”

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Maja Bonde Holtze, a producer at Uppercut Dance Theater, a pioneering Danish modern dance company, is also an HKPAX 2024 alum. She says that some of the presenters who watched her presentation of Benched at HKPAX 2024 continued their conversations all the way to the CINARS biennale in Montreal in November, and then into the new year. “It took nearly two years for some opportunities to materialize, but boy, it was definitely worth the wait,” says Holtze.

At HKPAX 2026, Holtze is offering SHĀH MĀT, a co-production between Uppercut Dance Theater and Holstebro Dance Company, and featuring 17 performers. The stage is designed like a giant chessboard. “The main issue is effectively communicating the technical requirements to ensure the performance maintains the same high quality on an international tour as it does at home,” she says.

Dautermann says that HKPAX not only fulfills typical business-to-business networking in the performing arts market but also connects East and West. “HKPAX provides a unique opportunity to explore artistic works, perspectives, and practices that I might never encounter otherwise. It’s a genuinely enriching and humbling experience.”

If you go

WestK Cabaret Festival 2026

Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo 2026

Dates: Through Oct 13

Various venues

www.hkpax.org.hk

The writer is a freelance contributor to China Daily.