What to see in West Kowloon?
The residents of West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is having special guests recently. A family of curvy, smiley, brightly-colored “FriendsWithYou” giant characters has landed in Hong Kong and make a stop at the nearby Art Park. These mega-sized FriendsWithYou characters' art installations will stay for 3 weeks and complementing the beautiful skyline and charming night view of West Kowloon.
Credit: HKTB
FriendsWithYou is a series of art characters created by the international pop art duo Samuel Borkson (Florida, USA) and
Arturo Sandoval III (Cuba). These giants came in colorful characters and set to bring positive vibes to the city they live in.
Giant art installations
Credit: HKTB
These 12 giant inflatables pieces of art will greet the public of West Kowloon for three weeks, starting from 22 September onwards.
Unlike other art installations, taking selfies with these giants FriendsWithYou characters is highly encouraged. The venue is open public until 14 October 2021 and is open daily from 11 AM to 9.30 PM. You don't have to make a reservation before visiting, but you need to check the Traffic Light indicator on the website to check the situation update of the venue.
Credit: HKTB
Another selfie spot that FriendWithYou occupies is the Smiling Hong Kong Space Museum. The museum's egg-shaped wall has a smiling face and cheers up whoever saw it. This time-limited photo spot is available for the visitor during the same period with the giant characters at the Art Park.
Credit: HKTB
Although you may take a selfie with these characters, visitors are required to treat them as a piece of art. Touching, climbing, and vandalizing the FriendsWithYou characters are prohibited. Visitors are also encouraged to keep a safe social distance from each other at all times.
FriendsWithYou characters
Borkson and Sandoval III created 10 characters in the bunch. The Little Cloud is the largest and most remarkable with 15 meters wide and 10 meters tall, a size of a three-story building.
As there is a rainbow after the cloud, The Rainbow character follows as the second-largest installation with 9 meters wide and 4,6 meters tall, larger than a minibus!
Other than those two characters, you can find Rainbow Worm and Jelly, Peanut Butter, Hug Bug, Little Mushi, Magic, Rainbow Kid, and Lil Flower at the art venue.
This art installation is brought to the ground by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) as a part of the Hong Kong Neighbourhoods program. This exhibition is an addition to the themed walking routes to promote West Kowloon as well as encouraging the public to rediscover their local neighborhood.
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