

What is a Keileon?

What is Hidden Keileon CIC?
Keileon (麒麟) is neither a dragon nor a tiger, neither phoenix nor peacock; It is a chimaera of mythical creatures, the impossible combinations of animals born to this beautifully chaotic world. You have probably not heard of this word before, because there are plenty of spellings out there from different East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) heritages (กิเลน, kỳ lân, 기린). However this time, it is from a London-based, Hongkongese narrative - Keileon. The old Hakka saying: Keileon hides as the people are troubled. Keileon dances as the world is at peace. (百姓愁,麒麟走;天下和,麒麟舞。)
No one has ever seen Keileon as turmoils constantly appear in corners of our world. Until the day the voiceless are heard, the suppressed are freed, and justice prevails, Hidden Keileon perseveres in presenting works liberating minds, bodies and spirits.
Hidden Keileon is an artist-led collective, with multidisciplinary artists, strategists, thinkers, researchers and curators. We take this to signify our practice of understanding this world through art-making. We emphasise the importance of having a safe creative space for each other to soar through the artistic world. We stress the idea of imaginary power to think about new possibilities beyond the existing realities.
We urge the urgency of collaboration which we extend to the audiences, venues, academics, institutes, etc. Collaboration in the arts scene is as much or more important than ever.
We are Angela Wai Nok Hui, Bonnie Chan, Sandra Lam, Ghost Chan, John Chan, and Jeffrey Choy.


What do we do?
As Hidden Keileon CIC, we bring you the yet-to-exist and hard-to-imagine.
We are a cultural enterprise that believes in the power of collaboration and community-building for social change. We dream up and lead multidisciplinary collaborative projects, creating life-affirming infrastructures through arts and cultural programmes engaging communities, and driving new futures with justice and freedom for all.
We are luring the hidden Keileon (麒麟, กิเลน, kỳ lân, 기린) out of its cave as it hides from the troubles in the world. No one has seen a Keileon before as the world has never been at peace. We are fearful of the changes it would bring but are also longing for the joy of discovering the unknown.
Hidden Keileon brings new methods of dealing with old impasses in radical and revolutionary creative forms and new ways of thinking and being.
As a community of migrant and queer people, we work on capacity building constantly. Every day we dream of futures where we are free from facilities and structures that have limited our potential. We are enabling our rebellious selves to experiment and devise new materials for a better, fairer, braver and more inclusive world.
The work we do has to nurture our relationship with ourselves, people and nature. Capacity building begins with the individuals and works up to the community. As we are leading a life that encourages innovation and creativity, space for one to think, research, write and draw is essential. This builds resources for us to go through challenges in the future and strengthen our bond with acts of love and kindness.
People we gather around us form the vibe we are. The energy we give and bounce across forms our community identity and fertilises the ground for us to thrive. We are building infrastructures for imagination. Hence, the top priority of this pipeline is to develop meaningful and joyful relationships with people in our community.
As an experimental art collective, we are constantly demonstrating and wildly imagining ways for us to examine collective trauma resulting from socio-political events. We are imagination activists. This allows us to empathise with each other's lived experiences and support each another’s fight for justice and freedom.
Our programmes are presented hand-in-hand with venues, organisations and festivals. We dive into conversations and research regarding social justice, as well as migrant welfare and borders. Our cultural and art projects open up space for knowledge exchange and to address difficult socio-political circumstances. In turn, we are surfacing the collective struggles of our community and pushing policymakers to address the issues.
As a creative event and production agency, we are working with businesses and corporates to organise, coordinate and manage sensorial events and productions of all scales. This may include annual parties, product launches, entertainment evenings, and more.
Working with practising artists and leaders in the cultural industry, the events we present are one-of-a-kind, not-to-be-found-anywhere-else. We bring performers, caterers, entertainers and more of the highest quality, promising an event to remember.
Press Coverage
Review: Paradoxical Gasp, The Crypt Gallery (Review), Bethany Chandler, Everything Theatre, 21 Nov 2022
https://everything-theatre.co.uk/2022/11/review-paradoxical-gasp-the-crypt-gallery/
‘I thought about Bruce Lee’: how Hong Kong artists in Britain struggled to feel from afar the pulse of their home city, and to represent it (Feature), Ethan Paul, South China Morning Post, 27 Mar 2021
Aberfeldy Street celebrates Poplarism with art installation (Feature), Ruby Flanagan, Poplar LDN, 2 May 2021
https://poplarlondon.co.uk/art-aberfeldy-street-poplarism-shumghostjohn/
Radio Neighbourhood on Bloomsbury Festival (Feature), Bloomsbury Radio, 22 October 2021
Togetherness, e-flux, 2020
https://www.e-flux.com/readers/362465/togetherness
Performing ‘Home’ - Hongkongese contemporary art duo Ghost and John, .ART, 2020
https://art.art/blog/performing-home-hongkongese-art-duo-ghost-and-john
Share your Story: ShumGhostJohn ‘Thousand Papers 千紙’ - Weaving Together the Stories of Resistance, .ART, 2020
Adopter Stories: Barter Archive – An archive of the people, by the people, for the people, .ART, 2020
https://art.art/blog/adopter-stories-barter-archive
https://boomkat.com/products/let-me-tell-you-something-c970fc85-d35b-4981-b126-8137a95120f2
Percussionist Angela Hui, The Works, RTHK, Aug 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OkDaCtzbOQ&t=31s
A Hongkong, la bataille mémorielle du mouvement pro-démocratie, Libération, Sep 2020
History reversed: Hong Kong book industry looks to Taiwan, combs through back catalogues amid fears over new national security law, SCMP, Aug 2020
Security Law: Hong Kong authors look for safety and freedom in Taiwan, Hong Kong Free Press, Aug 2020
Practicing Multilingual Identity: Interactive Children's Theatre, Encore: TEDx Royal Central School, Nov 2019
https://www.ted.com/talks/practicing_multilingual_identity_interactive_children_s_theatre
The UK’s only Cantonese children’s theatre is coming to Greenwich, Weekender, 19 Feb 2019
Snow in Midsummer: Interview with Bonnie Chan, Royal Shakespeare Company, 2017
https://www.rsc.org.uk/snow-in-midsummer/interview-with-bonnie-chan