Guest lecture / Workshop with Karen Yu

SM2722 Sound Objects, 13 November 2025

Karen Yu answered questions about her artistic and curatorial practice, especially in relation to her recent publication:

• Yu Karen & Lindborg PerMagnus (2025/05). “Push the ENVELOPE: A Program to Develop Creative Engagement between Emerging Artists and Audiences in Hong Kong”. Arts & Communication, ACC Publishing.

Together with the students, the discussion covered topics such art vs. science, pedagogy, sound art in Hong Kong, relationship between performers and audiences, participatory performace, and her own practice. Karen outlined her career and current work, especially with Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong.

Then, the students showcased the ‘sound objects’ they brought to class. They discussed the story behind each object – personal, technical, representative of x. Karen then proposed a set of nine rules for performer engagement and explained them. Students self-organised in groups of four, and were tasked to adopt one or a few of the rules and use them to explore all the ‘sound objects’, over a given time period of two minutes for each group. (If you want to see the results, DM the students or PerMagnus!).

Here are some snapshots from the session (used by permission, photos by PerMagnus).