6 November 2009: Support the Design Revolution in HK!

It's coming up to some exciting design-related events. First up is the Ambassadors of Design's annual Ambassador's Ball on 6 November 2009. If you've already got dinner plans but still want to join in on the fun and support Hong Kong's young, up-and-coming designers, get your ticket to the After Party. The party starts at 11pm in W Hotel's Living Room. And since it's all for a good cause, the ticket also serves as a tax-deductible receipt!

Towards the end of November, check out AoD's DETOUR (26 November - 9 December 2009). This year, local designers will takeover the old Married Police Quarters on Hollywood Road. It's going the be a lively venue full of interesting exhibitions (my fave is a student design project to "pimp a pushcart", the kind that little old ladies use to push enormous amounts of stuff with around HK's streets) and  fun-filled events such as AoD's signature Pecha Kucha night set on an urban beach setting underneath a stunning, site-specific suspended bamboo bridge by William Lim of CL3 architects. DETOUR is a companion event of Hong Kong Design Centre's Business of Design Week (30 November - 5 December 2009).

And just as BoDW and DETOUR wrap-up, the 2009 Hong Kong/Shenzhen Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture opens on 4 December 2009. For the first time, in all the talk about developing West Kowloon into a viable cultural district, we're going to be able to see the site's true potential to bring out the local community's creativity. Its theme, in fact, sets the challenge: BYOB, or Bring Your Own Biennale. Expect lots of interactive exhibits and events set amidst a Shigeru Ban-designed pavillion and Diller+Scofidio forest of "joyful trees". The curatorial team needs all the help they can get to make this monumental event a true success. So if you would like to be a part of Hong Kong's creative community, volunteer with the Biennale team or submit your ideas (see the website for the two Open Call for submissions with a deadline of 2 November 2009).

CNNGo.com is Live!

It's always exciting watching new projects come to life. I first met the CNNGo.com team seven months ago during ArtsFest when we when to see a dance performance with Juliet Binoche with a set designed by Anish Kapoor. They had just rolled into town and were building up their regional editorial presence. Initial launch date had been set for May. But as is the norm with start-ups, launch dates get postponed once, twice, even three times as technical kinks get ironed out, editorial vision comes into focus and the website finds its voice.

As a freelance contributor, it's been nothing but fun for me; I get to write about fun stuff that I'm interested in, I can hardly call it work. But for the producers and editors -- Kim, Andrew, Chris and Zoe -- it's been months of 7-day weeks, epoch caffeine-fueled nights and days (i've contributed the odd sugar fix from Saffron Bakery too) as well as many a long conference calls. It's no easy task unifying the tone of a website that presents the local life of six vastly divergent Asian cities -- Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

CNNGo.com's ambition is to speak local, to track the pulse and vibe of each city. The editorial team's job is to manage the platform and facilitate the flow of conversation. But ultimately, it's the people who live in the cities and their contributions that will breathe life into the site, taking it from live to alive. Hope you'll enjoy browsing the site, but more importantly, please join the fun! Comment, critique and contribute.

Check-out this brilliantly produced video: