Gender advocates urge Hong Kong’s art scene to tackle image-based violence

A group of gender equality advocates have sought to raise awareness about image-based sexual violence in Hong Kong, calling on the city’s art community to improve their ethical practices during a three-day campaign at a local book fair.

About 20 members of the group walked silently around the 6th BOOKED art book fair held from Friday to Sunday at Tai Kwun, an art venue in Central managed by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Some carried signs reading: “Exploitation is not art,” “You can own the photos, but you don’t own her body,” and “Would you still buy them if you knew the images were not consensual?”

Participants included people from the arts and culture sector, gender and sexuality advocates, and people associated with the sexual violence shelter RainLily.

20 stalls register

Organiser Sonia Wong, from the Gender Studies Programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told HKFP that they wanted to start a conversation about image-based sexual violence. “Initially, we wanted it to be a protest, but… we ended up having a consultation (with Tai Kwun),” she said.

In her conversation with Tai Kwun, Wong said she wanted to “encourage them to implement some protocol by asking or requiring artists to work in a much more ethical and regulated way.”

The group also sought to “raise awareness within the artistic community about the problem of exploitation, about the lack of recognition of the importance of consent, about the failure to promote best practices that emphasize ethical art production,” Wong said, adding that there are still legal gaps on the issue.

“If animal abuse, sweatshops, and blood diamonds can be accepted, consensual, and responsible, then so should artmaking,” Wong said. “Especially when such discussions already exist in other parts of the world.”

During the three-day fair, Wong said, the group recruited about 20 stalls to join the campaign, displaying stickers and slogans, sharing details on social media and distributing related pamphlets and materials.

The move came after RainLily wrote to Tai Kwun urging him to ensure that an artist participating in the book fair – who HKFP learned was the subject of a police complaint – did not display sexualised images that were allegedly taken without the full consent of the woman depicted.

In a response to HKFP last Friday, a spokesperson for Tai Kwun said: “Tai Kwun has acknowledged and addressed the concerns raised by RainLily regarding such content. Tai Kwun has proactively contacted the exhibitor to ensure compliance and assures that such content will not be presented by the exhibitor.”

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