Page 25 - Accelerating Research and Impact - Issue 6

The research has identified significant historical sites of film exhibition in Hong Kong from 1897 to the early 1920s. Although most theatres in the historic cinema district were demolished, the walking tours led by the noteworthy film guide will connect contemporary Central with the past through historical narratives illustrated by the materials collected by the research team.
To bridge the past and the present, the historical narratives about early cinema are supplemented by contemporary Hong Kong film history, which involves history of the theatres and the development of film exhibition and reception in Hong Kong. Filming locations in the district and the corresponding films are introduced during the walk.
After completing her research in India, Prof Niranjana wondered if, in other parts of Asia, the same connection between modernity and a reclaiming of a cultural tradition was happening. What she’s now doing in her work with Chinese musicians, both in Hong Kong and on the mainland, is test whether some of the same propositions hold in a very different context.
As a singer, rather than a musicologist, herself, the inspiration for Prof Niranjana's approach came from witnessing a jamming session between Indian musicians she had brought to Shanghai for the Biennale, and their Chinese counterparts. The Saath-Saath Project, which she subsequently created, involves a series of cross-cultural collaborations between musicians, composers and scholars, which aim to prompt an examination of cultural practice in China and India.
New Life to Arts of Age
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