From January 10th to 11th, 2026, the Octone Foundation, in partnership with the Eastern Kowloon Residents’ Committee, hosted the second “Youth Dream-Chasing · Dream as Horse” Charity Carnival at the Tang Shiu Kin Victoria Government Secondary School Gymnasium of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. The event centered on Chinese culture, attracting over 1,500 underprivileged children to participate through games, art, and traditional experiences, empowering youth to pursue their dreams. Octone Foundation Chairman He Fan emphasized that the initiative aims to promote cultural confidence, give back to society, and foster social harmony.
Spotlight: The “Weaving Qi” Public Art Project
The carnival’s highlight was the public art program “Weaving Qi” initiated by the Octone Foundation, led by artist Yang Beiya and curator Luo Jiahao (Karl Law). Participants wove red, gold, blue, and green ribbons into a pattern of “Qi” (symbolizing a fine steed), representing elegance, speed, and exceptional vitality, echoing the Year of the Horse spirit and the “Dream as Horse” theme. Drawing inspiration from international weaving arts, such as El Anatsui’s bottle cap tapestries and Ernesto Neto’s interactive installations, the project highlights handmade crafts to counter urban alienation and build interpersonal emotional bonds.
The weaving process symbolizes “organic solidarity”: children’s small hands thread ribbons, pull tight, and knot, transforming scattered threads into fabric, metaphorically illustrating how individual dreams weave into community strength. Yang Beiya focuses on community building, having led similar projects in Shenzhen’s Nanyou Ancient City and Pingshan Art Museum; Luo Jiahao emphasizes “symbiosis” philosophy, translating personal dreams into collective momentum.
Established in 2022, the Octone Foundation specializes in art-based philanthropy to enhance social mobility, sponsoring exhibitions like “Cloud Walking” at Tai Kwun. With Hong Kong’s child poverty rate at 27%—one in every four children living in poverty—the foundation uses the carnival to provide cultural inclusivity, nurturing the next generation’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) cultural identity.
The event featured varied booths: government agencies offered “Customs Mission,” “Escape GO!,” and “Anti-Fraud Challenge”; corporations hosted fun competitions; cultural brands provided milk tea workshops, pitch-pot, cuju (ancient football), and “Han字 Quest”; intangible cultural heritage zones included spring couplet writing, dreamcatcher making, and “Art Vitamin” workshops. Deputy Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, Leung Wang-chung, praised the platform for blending education with fun, uniting government, businesses, and citizens to embody youth development policies.
The carnival showcased a “government + enterprise + charity + community” co-governance model, with participation from the Hong Kong Police Force, Customs, Fire Services Department, and corporations like BOC International, China Unicom, and China Life (Overseas). “Weaving Qi” served as a “soft connection,” fostering emotional exchanges and aligning with the GBA’s “contemporary expression of Chinese culture” plan, balancing cultural warmth with modern pace.
Yang Beiya and Luo Jiahao represent the new generation of GBA artists—cross-border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, multimedia-savvy—capturing collisions of Cantonese, Hakka, and diverse cultures to advance public art’s role in social issues. This approach lowers barriers to traditional culture, enabling underprivileged children to build confidence and belonging through hands-on activities, seeding humanistic landscapes for the GBA.
The Octone Foundation pledges to deepen philanthropy, safeguard youth dreams, expand art education, and infuse vitality into GBA development. Chairman He Fan stated that art offers emotional solace and innovative drive, aiding the co-building of a prosperous Bay Area.