This limited edition sleeve was designed by local design collective Graphic Airlines

There’s currently a creative buzz around HK that didn’t exist a few years ago. New art spaces and galleries are springing up at a rapid rate, from big names like New York’s Gagosian to London’s White Cube, which chose to debut Gilbert & George’s ‘London Pictures’ in the city a few months ago. At a grass roots level, things are happening too: Artist Residence HK, a creative hub for local artists, is set to open at the end of the month in Sai Ying Pun, while Chai Wan’s Platform China also aims to raise the profile of local talent. In a broader creative sense, cool concept stores and hip cafes provide a welcome respite from HK’s designer malls – and pull in a creative crowd – around Tai Ping Shan and Tung Street behind Hollywood Road.

Forget standard maps and find hidden HK gems with Creative City instead

Recognising HK’s growing cool, creative entrepreneurs Danielle Huthart of design consultancy White Space and Louise Wong of communications agency Lancashire Road launched a map, ‘Creative City’ last year, which was recently updated with new sightseeing, shopping and eating options under the headlines ‘See’, ‘Stash’ and ‘Savour’. From Central and Sheung Wan to Sham Shui Po & Shek Kip Mei, the map zooms in on six key districts, each curated by creatives local to the area. It also includes a spread on the best places to hone creativity over a cuppa. “We noted that a lot of indie coffee shops had sprung up since we last did the map, and where there’s coffee, there’s creativity. It’s that idea of having a third place beyond home and the office, somewhere else you can hang out and have meetings,” says Huthart.

Mapping out creativity: Wong and Huthart

Huthart and Wong had previously teamed up to produce a map and guidebook for Business of Design Week and Huthart was further inspired to act after a friend pulled out a standard HK map and asked her ‘what else is going on?’ She is confident about HK’s creative future. “There are more young designers coming through, and they don’t feel like they have to move to Europe or the US anymore.”

Creative City retails for HK$68 and is available at Bookazine (Canton House, Ocean Terminal, IFC Mall, Prince’s Building, Shui On), Dymocks (Harbour Centre), Island Shangri-La Hotel, Cosmos Books (Wan Chai), Kapok, Loveramics and K11 Design Store