A Laugh at the World: James Wong

Free Admission

Thematic Galleries 1 & 2, 1/F, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum
17 July 2024 – 10 February 2025

Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Organised by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum

James Wong, a renowned cultural figure in Hong Kong, was good at writing lyrics, composing music, writing columns, making movies, advertising creations and stage performances. His life coincided with several important stages in the development of Hong Kong after the war, and had a significant impact on the formation of and changes in Hong Kong’s popular culture. The exhibition link various chapters of James Wong’s life with four of his songs: from the beginning of his journey "Below the Lion Rock" to the heyday of Hong Kong’s pop culture epitomised in "It’s him, you and me". Selected museum collections from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department as well as loan exhibits illustrate his contributions to music, movie, television, advertising, literature and more, as well as demonstrate the cultural integration of James Wong's works, how he translated traditional contents into contemporary pop culture creations.

The exhibition is one of the programmes of the "Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2024". The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) presented the first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival last year to great acclaim. This year, the second edition features "Arts & Action" as its theme, taking audiences on a journey through time to explore the charm of Hong Kong's pop culture. It encompasses both "Arts" (creative works) and "Action" (martial arts), an attempt to show the dynamic inheritance, diffusion, integration and breakthroughs within Hong Kong's pop culture. The event lineup offers a diverse range of formats including thematic exhibitions, film screenings, stage performances and outreach activities, and its rich content spans across literature, various art forms and martial arts, clearly showcasing how Hong Kong's vibrant and diverse pop culture stands out from the rest. For more information, please visit www.pcf.gov.hk/en.

Special Programmes for "A Laugh at the World: James Wong" Exhibition

Exhibit Highlights

"Voco" orthotonic harmonica designed and produced by Leung Yat-chiu 1970s Leung Yat-chiu was always James Wong’s greatest enlightenment teacher. They met in junior secondary school, and James began to learn the harmonica with him. Soon Mr Leung was taking him to radio stations and music studios, where he became engaged in broadcasting and music composition thereafter. Collection of the Hong Kong Museum of History

Painting of Joseph Koo and James Wong Painted by Joseph Koo c. 2010s James Wong said, "Everyone thinks Joseph is a person of few words, but when he is with his close friends, he can absolutely talk non-stop and he is also very humorous." Joseph Koo was very fond of this painting, which was based on a photograph of the pair laughing heartily. Courtesy of Joseph Koo’s Family

Introductory leaflet: "James Wong, A Master of Cantopop Lyrics, CASH Hall of Fame Award 2000" 20 October 2000 In 2000, James Wong was given the CASH Hall of Fame Award by the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong. Donated by Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd. Collection of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum