detour 2025 takes over hong kong's PMQ uncovering meaning of everyday objects

The annual deTour design festival returns to Hong Kong from November 28 to December 7, 2025, transforming the creative hub of PMQ into a dynamic showcase of design and art. Curated by Adonian Chan and organized by PMQ with support from the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), this year's edition, titled 'The Shape of Yearning,' invites visitors to delve into the intricate relationship between desire and design. The festival is structured around a 'Design Trichotomy' framework, encouraging a multifaceted interpretation of objects based on their aesthetics and materiality, their sociocultural and historical contexts, and their speculative, value-driven meanings. The program features 17 installations and exhibits from designers across Hong Kong, Mainland China, and international participants, including a significant international commission by Switzerland’s Encor Studio. At its core, deTour functions as a platform for creative exchange, highlighting innovative ideas from both local and global design talents. PMQ, a former police married quarters revitalized into a creative hub in 2014, serves as the central venue, hosting over 100 emerging designers and fostering a vibrant environment for design, cultural, and artistic events. The 'Design Trichotomy' approach prompts a deeper inquiry into the significance of everyday objects, questioning how they reflect personal and collective aspirations. Curator Adonian Chan emphasizes that despite being constantly surrounded by design, there's often a lack of introspection regarding its deeper implications and how it shapes our lives. A key highlight of deTour 2025 is the debut of Swiss collective Encor Studio in Hong Kong. Renowned for their kinetic sculptures and sound visualization, Encor Studio's commissioned installation, 'ALCOVE IN SITU,' will transform the Qube space into an immersive and responsive environment. This installation utilizes light, electrochromic films, and resonant sound compositions to explore themes of presence, absence, memory, and perception, creating a sensory choreography where visitors become integral to the experience. Beyond this major commission, four feature exhibitions further explore 'The Shape of Yearning' through diverse material and conceptual lenses. Among these exhibitions, Hong Kong art furniture studio TOUN (Renee Neoh and Samuel Choi) presents 'Home Ecology – The Philo Modular System,' an adaptable aluminum home ecosystem designed to meet the demands of urban living. Graphic designer Shunta Sakamoto offers a multisensory experience with 'Instrument.Play.Graphics,' a modular graphic synthesizer that merges physical gestures with visual and sonic compositions. Italian designer Lucia Massari reinterprets Venetian glass traditions in her 'primavera' series, drawing inspiration from Arcimboldo’s floral portraits to craft lamps that redefine memory and heritage through ornamentation. Additionally, London/Hong Kong studio Nopqrst showcases 'Trueform,' an installation of graphics and sand-cast aluminum sculptures that fossilize glue traces from removed street posters, extending these urban artifacts into an interactive augmented reality environment where digital and material forms converge. The festival also incorporates 12 selected entries from an open call, chosen from over 200 submissions. These exhibits explore various themes through robotics, 3D printing, innovative materials, and identity explorations. Notable entries include GROOVIDO’s 'A Battle of Beasts,' which uses ceramic-printed bricks for Chinese board games, blending tradition with play; Architecture and All | AAA’s 'Becoming: Aerated Identities,' a participatory installation of inflated PVC masks exploring performative identity; and Embracefloral × Arfalization’s 'BloomDentity,' which translates MBTI personality data into bespoke 3D-printed vases. The festival extends its reach through public programs, offering over 10 workshops and 40 sessions covering art-tech, craft, sound, and wellness, including an AI design workshop and a visual diary workshop. Guided tours, Creative Voices talks, and live performances by artists like Encor Studio and Hector Chan's Design Club further enrich the experience. deTour Kids, in collaboration with birdintree, also returns with hands-on parent-child design activities, aiming to foster creativity and imagination in young visitors and highlight design's role in early development. #deTour2025 #HongKongDesignFestival #PMQ #DesignTrichotomy #EncorStudio #HomeEcology #InteractiveInstallations #UrbanLiving #CreativeExchange #deTour2025 #HongKongDesignFestival #PMQ #DesignTrichotomy #EncorStudio #HomeEcology #InteractiveInstallations #UrbanLiving #CreativeExchange