Cattle Depot Artist Village

Repurposed by the government to accommodate artists and organisations displaced from the short-lived but influential Oil Street Art Village, Cattle Depot now hosts around a dozen to twenty groups and individuals. Tenants range from avant-garde video organisation Videotage and non-profit exhibition venue 1a space to various theatre, sound and community-art initiatives, giving the site an unusually dense mix of experimental practices.

Space, Tenants and Atmosphere

Spread across roughly 15,000–17,000 square metres, the village consists of low-rise red-brick sheds, yards and courtyards that retain original details such as tiled roofs, water troughs and metal rings once used to secure cattle. This intact industrial fabric gives tenants relatively generous studio volumes and a distinctive sense of history compared with newer multi-storey complexes.

Cattle Depot functions less as a formal institution than as a loose community of tenants whose activities include exhibitions, performances, open studios, book fairs and festivals. Its mix of experimental practices, modest infrastructure and neighbourhood setting has made it an important platform for alternative theatre, independent media art and other non-commercial projects in Hong Kong since the early 2000s.

Visiting Information

Cattle Depot Artist Village is open to the public, with access to common areas and many studios during events and open days. The site sits next to Cattle Depot Art Park, a small heritage park completed in 2019 that explains the abattoir’s history through plaques and preserved architectural features. Visitors should check the websites or social channels of individual tenants such as 1a space or Videotage for current exhibition times, screenings and festivals.

Cattle Depot Artist Village FAQs