Hong Kong Heritage Museum to mark 50th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s death with pop-up exhibition on kung fu legend
- Pop-up show will feature items from popular culture related to the star while a day camp will be held for 30 lucky primary school pupils
- Exhibition ‘Bruce Lee: a Timeless Classic’ opens at the Sha Tin museum on Wednesday
The five-day camp will form part of the “Bruce Lee: a Timeless Classic” exhibition at the Sha Tin museum, which opens on Wednesday and pays tribute to the star who died on July 20, 1973 at the age of 32.
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Museum director Brian Lam Kwok-fai said Camp Bruce Lee, which runs from next Tuesday, was a great opportunity for young children to find out more about the legend’s life and philosophy, and to build lifelong friendships with other participants.
“Camp Bruce Lee usually takes place in different cities in the United States. We have been collaborating with the Bruce Lee Foundation and making the camp happen in Hong Kong for the first time,” Lam said on Tuesday.
“The foundation helped us to modify the programme to suit Hong Kong and provided us with Chinese course materials.”
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How Bruce Lee’s powerful ‘be water’ philosophy was central to his life and work
The camp will feature workshops on the star’s legacy, drama, and mindfulness in Chinese tea culture, exploring Lee’s philosophy of “be water, my friend” through sensory experience with sand arts.
It also includes an introduction to jeet kune do, a martial arts philosophy Lee developed, including basic postures, punches and kicks, while participants will meet the star’s daughter Shannon Lee online to share what they have learned on the last day.
Lam said the museum had received about 100 applications in June and shortlisted 30 Primary Four to Six students to take part.
“We set a small quota because it will be the first time Hong Kong hosts the camp. We will conclude it and share our experience with the foundation and intend to host more through collaboration in the future,” Lam added.
The director said the biggest challenge over the pop-up display was not to duplicate “A Man Beyond the Ordinary: Bruce Lee”, a showcase of 400 exhibits already in another museum gallery.
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The pop-up display, which runs until January 1 next year, focuses on popular culture inspired by Lee from films, comics, animation to action figures, including a life-size bust of the star holding nunchucks.
The 1950 film The Kid, in which Lee played a delinquent orphan, will be screened at 2pm on July 22 at the museum and a talk held afterwards from around 3.30pm to 5pm on a first-come, first-served basis for 300 people.
Lee paired up with seasoned actor Yee Chau-shui in The Kid, creating an interesting contrast between youth and experience in the film and showing that kindness could exist in a harsh and dangerous world.
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Veteran actress Alice Fung So-bor and film critic Sam Ho Sze-wing will host an in-depth discussion on the movie’s casting, plot and historical background and share their stories and views on 1950s filmmaking techniques, Lee’s early acting career and the social and cultural context of post-war Hong Kong.
All events in the programme are free of charge.
