

Who are we?

What is Hidden Keileon?
Hidden Keileon is a multidisciplinary art collective aiming at building inter-racial solidarity among global majority communities and addressing social issues related to migration and racism. Adopting a collaborative approach, we are telling ESEA stories in the UK by presenting new and original works.
We are musician Angela Wai Nok Hui, theatre-maker Bonnie Chan, multi-art duo Ghost and John, and spatial/visual artist Jeffrey Choy and curator Sandra Lam.

What do we do?
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 have 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 and curators. We take to signify our practice to understand 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 in which we extend to the audiences, venues, academics, institutes, etc. Collaboration in the arts scene is as much or more important than ever.
Hidden Keileon means new ways of thinking and being, new forms of creativity, new ways of dealing with old impasses in radical and revolutionary creative art forms.
As art-makers, we activate theatres, galleries and art spaces by constantly displaying, demonstrating and wildly imagining ways for us to examine collective trauma resulting from socio-political events. This allows us to empathise with each other's pain and support each other’s fight for justice and freedom. We recognise the inequalities in the current British society and bring a voice to the unheard narratives of the marginalised and underrepresented communities.
As a collective of artists across music, theatre, dance, design, film and performance, we are continuously expanding our expertise. We present a wide range of art and cultural activities ranging from family and children friendly outdoor events, community workshops, interactive exhibitions and performances, archival publications and so on.
These projects are presented hand-in-hand with organisations within the context of refugee and migrant welfare, as well as racial and social justice. This opens up space for knowledge exchange and to address difficult socio-political circumstances. We work with a fluid structure and create the yet-to-exist and hard-to-imagine.
Hidden Keileon does not shy away from telling stories needed to be heard, creating experiences to trigger empathy across the communities and venture into new possibilities for art presentations.
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