Ear Plug-In
When sound is no longer the only medium of perception, how do we listen?
In this lecture-performance, artists Cheng Nga Yan and Larry Shuen explore shared experiences of listening among hearing impaired and hearing communities. Through vibration, movement, language, and embodied perception, they investigate diverse modes of listening that emerge through the interplay of different senses.
The program includes two participatory workshops and a lecture-performance. The lecture-performance examines alternative representations of sound, including sound-related vocabulary in Hong Kong Sign Language and the expressive gestures of musicians. By engaging with non-traditional modes of perception, participants are invited to equip their bodies with a kind of listening “plug-in”—an extension that enables listening beyond hearing.
Ear Plug-In: Workshop
Session 1
In this workshop, led by sound artist Cheng Nga Yan, participants will explore sound through their hands and multiple senses. Participants will assemble simple electronic components—combining oscillators and contact microphones—and experiment with everyday materials such as paper, metal, and glass to create unique rhythmic sounds. Lights and vibrations will be incorporated to allow participants to directly see and feel sound in new ways. Yan will also share her experience in sound art and creative practice, inspiring participants to notice subtle sonic details in daily life—such as traffic signals or rhythmic footsteps—and to rethink approaches to listening.
Date: 19 July 2026 (Sun)
Time: 2:30 – 4:00 pm
Venue: Eric Hotung Studio, LB/F, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Artist: Cheng Nga Yan
Fee: $50
* This session will be conducted in Cantonese.
Registration: Click here
Session 2
Sound is not perceived by the ears alone. In this workshop, Larry Shuen will lead participants on a “sound walk” through staircases, footbridges, and other spaces inside and around the Hong Kong Arts Centre, where participants will experience the sounds and vibrations of the environment first-hand. Participants will alternate between wearing and removing earplugs, switching modes of perception, and learning how bone conduction and bodily senses can be used to ‘listen’. The session includes playback of outdoor field recordings and sound-related imagery to encourage participants to imagine and understand a diversity of soundscapes. The workshop concludes with an open discussion where participants are invited to share how space, direction, and the body influence their listening experiences.
Date: 19 July 2026 (Sun)
Time: 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Venue: Eric Hotung Studio, LB/F, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Artist: Larry Shuen
Fee: $50
* This session will be conducted in Cantonese.
* It will include guided field recording excursions in the Wan Chai neighborhood.
Registration: Click here
Ear Plug-In: Lecture Performance
| Date | Time | Artists | Venue |
| 30 July 2026 (Thu) |
8:00 – 9:30 pm |
Cheng Nga Yan and Larry Shuen
|
Tomorrow Maybe, Eaton HK |
Fee: $80 (includes one drink at Eaton HK)
* Lecture Performance will be conducted in Cantonese and Hong Kong Sign Language.
Registration: Click here
About Artists
Hong Kong media artists Cheng Nga Yan and Larry Shuen blend their distinct backgrounds in technology and music to create multidisciplinary performances. Shuen explores sound, listening, and musical gestures, while Cheng focuses on interactive audience experiences and the performing body. Both are active in the local arts scene as theatre designers and educators, alongside running the independent art collective “Goin Goin Studio”.
Ear Plug-In is a part of the UNHEARD Sound & Music Festival 2026 collection.
More "Cross-disciplinary Artful Experiences" programmes at Hong Kong Arts Centre
For more information, please refer to the HKAC website and social media platforms (Facebook / Instagram)
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The content of these activities do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
