iSee Tai Kwun

Heritage and contemporary art in a former prison

The complex was a one-stop-shop for justice –housing the Police Station, Magistracy and Victoria Prison all in one compound.

Heritage reborn

Newly opened Tai Kwun is an old police compound that has been revamped into a much-needed home for contemporary art. The complex was a one-stop-shop for justice –housing the Police Station, Magistracy and Victoria Prison all in one compound – was abandoned for years until the HK Jockey Club embarked on this massive and meticulously renovation project.

Art center

To make it fit for its new use, two new exhibition halls made of recycled aluminum bricks were built on top of the old courtyards making for a classy and dramatic departure from the past.

Book a prison tour!

The prison cells where Vietnamese revolutionary Ho Chi Minh was once held captive make for extraordinary exhibition spaces, the restaurants around the cobblestoned courtyards have quickly become some of the city’s most sought after al-fresco dining spots and it’s worth checking the programming for regular performances and open-air concerts.

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