‘Harbour Exchange Fellowship Programme’ Announces Inaugural Artists

Introducing ‘Harbour Exchange Fellowship Programme’ – a new reciprocal residency connecting artists from the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, launching Summer 2026 to foster cross‑regional artistic dialogue and research.

Cheng‑Lan Foundation, Delfina Foundation, and Para Site are proud to announce the two participating artists of the ‘Harbour Exchange Fellowship Programme’, a pioneering residency exchange initiative for arts professionals from Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, unfolding as a special commitment within ‘Para Site: 30 Years’, a year‑long series of anniversary programmes.

Selected for this inaugural cycle are Hong Kong‑based new media artist Vvzela Kook and UK‑based multidisciplinary artist Shiraz Bayjoo. The programme will offer each artist a two‑month residency – Kook at Delfina Foundation in London, and Bayjoo at Para Site in Hong Kong – supported by the Cheng‑Lan Foundation. The residencies are designed to cultivate long‑term critical dialogues and artistic exchange between the two art communities, opening new opportunities for future shared projects.

An Exchange for Deepened Dialogue

The ‘Harbour Exchange Fellowship Programme’ responds directly to feedback from artists in both Hong Kong and the UK, who have expressed a strong interest in more structured cross‑regional, cross‑cultural engagement – especially between two places with deep historical ties.

Para Site will nominate one arts professional from Hong Kong to join Delfina’s residency cohort in London, where 8‑12 international practitioners come together for 6 to 12 weeks. In exchange, Delfina Foundation will nominate one UK‑based professional with a strong research focus on Asian contexts and contemporary issues to Para Site’s International Residency Programme in Hong Kong for up to 8 weeks.

The programme includes a structured series of activities – networking events, studio visits, and introductions to local institutions – administered by the host organisation. Upon completion of the Hong Kong residency, the two fellows will co-present a public event in Hong Kong,  sharing their research and experience with the local arts community.

About the Selected Artists

Vvzela Kook (Hong Kong) is a new media artist working across computer graphics, drawing, performance, and theatre. Her practice investigates the architectural and human narratives embedded within complex systems – with a sustained fascination for the by‑products and outcasts of modernity. For her residency at Delfina, Kook will develop a transdisciplinary project tracing the transoceanic movement of ‘exotic animals’ following European maritime expansion. The research examines how these animals functioned as cultural symbols and diplomatic instruments; how their display was intertwined with the rise of modern zoos, prisons, museums, and botanical gardens; and how these histories relate to Indigenous philosophies of interspecies coexistence.

Shiraz Bayjoo (UK) is a contemporary multidisciplinary artist working with film, painting, photography, performance, and installation. Originally from Mauritius, his research‑based practice focuses on personal and public archives, addressing cultural memory and postcolonial nationhood in the Indian Ocean region. His current research explores the intersection of colonial extraction and ecological erasure within enslaved and plantation landscapes. Bayjoo has worked with Indigenous groups in Australia and the US, observing narratives of ecological reparation and personal healing, positioning land and ecological activism as central methodologies within decolonial discourse.

Shared Vision for Transnational Collaboration

“Harbour Exchange Fellowship Programme solidifies our shared commitment to facilitate dialogue between contemporary art and society, and to nurture long‑standing global communities of artists and creative practices across borders. By co-creating reciprocal residencies, we hope to create a platform for ongoing conversations based on our common interest in connecting visual art with critical thought. What this effort exemplifies is a small step in creating more formal avenues of collaboration, co-creation, and shared support of contemporary artists. We hope that this will be a new form of connection between two artistic, as well as professional, communities”— joint quote from Cheng-Lan Foundation, Delfina Foundation, and Para Site.

This initiative by Cheng-Lan Foundation is groundbreaking, as it enables both Delfina Foundation and Para Site to offer alumni artists from our programme continued support at another key moment in their development. By investing in ongoing relationships, this initiative helps artists deepen their practices, build international networks, and navigate the precarity they often face in their careers.

At the same time, it highlights the shared synergies between the three institutions, allowing them to learn from the dialogues of each champion. Ultimately, the programme will not only benefit individual practitioners but also contribute to broader cultural understanding and creative innovation across borders.

About Cheng-Lan Foundation

Cheng-Lan Foundation is a Hong Kong based arts organisation, dedicated to supporting artists from the global majority and diaspora communities. Through collecting, exhibitions, commissions and institutional partnerships, the foundation works to amplify artistic practices that expand and reimagine the global story. Operating as a collaborative platform, the Foundation supports artists, emerging curators, writers, and practitioners, offering opportunities to develop ideas through institutional collaborations and resource sharing. Its activities range from commissioning work and facilitating artist research trips to supporting new institutional projects, guided by the long-term commitment to amplify marginalised voices, foster critical cultural dialogue, and build a collection that will serve as a publicly accessible resource for future generations.

About Delfina Foundation

Founded in 2007, Delfina Foundation is the UK’s largest international residency programme, hosting artists and creative practitioners from around the world. From our home in central London, we provide essential space and support for experimentation, research, and development; facilitate vital networks and dialogue across the art world and society; present new artists, art, and ideas to local and global audiences; and nurture long-standing global communities of artists and creative practitioners. Delfina’s residency programme is structured around the four seasons of the year. Each season we bring a cohort of around 8-12 international artists together for residencies of between 6 and 12 weeks. Throughout each season we support peer-to-peer conversations between participants through programmed activities, as well as providing an encouraging environment for informal exchange to take place.

About Para Site

Para Site champions original developments in contemporary art by centering artistic voices and innovations. Collaborating closely with practitioners from both local and international contexts, Para Site enables new works, initiatives, and ideas to come into being. Placing an emphasis on inclusiveness and independent thought, Para Site has developed a strong reputation for giving milestone opportunities to a myriad of artists and curators, many of whom go on to develop significant careers in contemporary art. Through producing benchmark exhibitions, commissioning transformative works, and cultivating new talent, we emphasise contemporary art’s ability to reshape our understanding of society. Since its founding in 1996 by seven Hong Kong-based artists as an alternative space, Para Site has mounted over 300 exhibitions locally and globally, hosted over 80 international residents, and delivered over 1,000 public programmes.