French artist DJ Snake will headline at the Central Harbourfront on 8 May as part of this year’s French May Arts Festival, themed “Re/naissance.” DJ Snake is a globally celebrated DJ and producer who first gained international recognition with his Grammy-nominated platinum single “Turn Down for What” in 2013.
The French May Arts Festival will run from April to July with more than 100 events across the city, organisers announced yesterday. The four-month program features artists from Hong Kong, France, and beyond, showcasing visual art, music, dance, theatre, immersive experiences, and film.
Apart from DJ Snake’s performance, another major highlight of the festival is Meet Mona Lisa & Portraying the Renaissance (1 May – 27 July), a major exhibition blending digital art with Renaissance masterpieces.
The performing arts lineup meanwhile spans classical and jazz music, contemporary dance, theatre, and circus.
[See more: This week in the Greater Bay Area: Vision and Colour Festival, Hong Kong Sevens and more]
Shows include a jazz concert featuring Korean vocalist Youn Sun Nah with Franco-Balkan pianist Bojan Z (1 May); the contemporary circus work VOÛTE by Cirque du Corbak (8-17 May), blending acrobatics and Chinese pole; and an East-meets-West chamber programme by pianist Yekwon Sunwoo and the Quatuor Elmire (12 May), performing Beethoven, Debussy, Ravel, and Franck.
Cross-disciplinary dance is represented by In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey (22–24 May), which turns the artist’s dots, lines, and planes into movement and light. Immersive theatre fans can see The Sutherland Test (22–25 May), a piece blending performance and digital art that reflects on technology and perception, followed by the short immersive performance Alliance Cosmique (30–31 May), which mixes electronic music, visual art, and interactive technology.
Later in the season, Belgian choreographer Jan Martens’ The Dog Days Are Over 2.0 runs from 26 to 28 June.
Alongside the performances, French GourMay Food & Wine Festival spotlights the alpine wine region of Savoie across over 150 restaurants and retailers from 1 to 31 May, while new additions to the festival include “Happy French Wednesday” events at the Hong Kong Jockey Club racecourse which also take place across May.
