We all are installed in a life that is determined by cultural, social and political conditions. At the same time we try to critically reflect these circumstances with the imagination to change them, to give our life (and those of others) a different shape, to develop and improve it. But the idea that we as subjects with an autonomous and free will are able to change these conditions often only leads to (superficial) promises of happiness like those in fashion magazines, cosmetic surgery or astrology. Taking in hand one’s own life rather means to experiment with a daily practice and experiences in the field of obstacles, boarders, heteronomy, opportunities, crossing boarders and empowerment. Life has to be constantly formed, individually and collectively. A good or a better life therefore means a dedicated and active play with possible forms of life, driven by a the desire of freedom.
The practice of the arts provides strategies and stages for these experiments, as art is a way of dedicated disputing with different lifestyles. The meeting between cultures offers the occasion of to observe, experience and exchange between different cultural and social ways of living. The workshop allows the students to communicate in detail about their individual everyday lives (living, jobs, art, etc.) and thematise them in practical artistic and creative experiments. Hong Kong, a city that offers a wide range of forms and strategies of living or surviving, serves as the context and stimulation to this dispute.