For more than a decade, freedom and human rights in Hong Kong have been steadily eroded, and civic space has kept shrinking, from freedom of speech and publication to freedom of assembly. More worrying still, the authoritarian government’s repression is no longer confined within its borders: through transnational repression it tries to intimidate dissidents overseas and to spread fear into other democratic societies.
In the face of expanding authoritarianism and retreating freedom, we cannot choose silence. Only by continuing to record history and pass on the truth, so that more people understand the oppression and resistance the people of Hong Kong have lived through, can we protect hard-won democracy and freedom.
To remember this history, the 3rd Hong Kong Human Rights Art Exhibition (Kaohsiung) is opening! The exhibition is held across two venues and uses different media and perspectives to present the collective memory of Hong Kong’s protests and the personal stories of the people who lived through them.
The Kaohsiung Museum of History shows works by invited artists and award winners from the open call, tracing through art how Hong Kong society has changed. Mingde New Village shows letters written in prison by Hong Kong political prisoners and wood carvings by the first-prize winner, bringing visitors closer to the inner world of the protesters and to a will that has never died out even with freedom restricted.
The exhibition also presents valuable historical works, including portraits of politicians drawn on the pages of Apple Daily and a number of books banned in Hong Kong, so that visitors can see from different angles how freedom of speech and publication is being suppressed in Hong Kong.
Exhibition details:
Venue 1 | Kaohsiung Museum of History (No. 272, Zhongzheng 4th Rd., Yancheng Dist., Kaohsiung)
Dates: 15 November 2026 (Sunday) to 10 January 2027 (Sunday)
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00–17:00
Venue 2 | Corner 121, Mingde New Village (No. 12-1, Mingde New Village, Zuoying Dist., Kaohsiung)
Dates: 8 November 2026 (Sunday) to 10 January 2027 (Sunday)
Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11:00–17:00; Saturday and Sunday 10:00–18:00
Co-organised by Hong Kong Human Rights Front and New School for Democracy
Through this exhibition, we hope the public will see the unyielding will and perseverance of the people of Hong Kong, and that the stories that have happened, and are still happening, will continue to be seen by the world.
Freedom has never been something to take for granted, and memory should never be erased. New School for Democracy invites everyone to visit the exhibition, pay attention to the human rights situation in Hong Kong, and help protect hard-won democracy and freedom.