As philanthropy season goes into full swing, First Initiative Foundation founder Michelle Ong and the organisation’s fundraising committee discuss the charity’s annual gala event, a yearly spectacle that brings out the best of the city’s gastronomy, art and entertainment.
Photography FEICIEN FENG
Styling ALEX LOONG
Hair MARCO LI
Make-Up KAE LI
Photography Assistant LAI TSZ CHUNG
I’m meeting Michelle Ong at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, where she’s hosting a media preview of the First Initiative Foundation’s fundraising gala. She’s fine-tuning the night’s gastronomic feast and, alongside a few other media friends, we’re there to partake – and get a glimpse of how the evening on September 23 will pan out. Food is an important part of any culture and heritage: it brings people together and brings them joy – and, as always, it’s at the heart of the annual event. On arrival we’re given Taiwanese teahouse Chun Shui Tang’s bubble milk tea and lemon jasmine tea with fig jelly to sip on. A way to one’s stomach is a sure-fire way to winning someone’s heart. And for Ong – and more importantly for the FIF – that’s exactly what they want to do.
For this year’s gala, the FIF is partnering with several of Hong Kong’s most talented chefs – Akira Ito from Hanare, Steve Lee and Seunghun Park from Hansik Goo, Barry Quek from Whey, DoBee Lam from Sêp and Ringo Chan, executive pastry chef of Four Seasons Hotel – to create a one-of-a-kind degustation. The menu brings together four distinct Asian flavours in a harmonious way, with each chef preparing two small bites and a main course. At the tasting, we sample mouth-watering morsels of Japanese black beef tartare topped with Hokkaido sea urchin, bite into crispy, umami-rich shrimp rolls, slurp down heart-warming and brothy samgye tang, and sigh over a pungent and spicy laksa topped with a plump abalone upon a bed of konjac grains. At the end of the meal, Chan brings out a delightful sugar-ring dessert, similar to that once made by his grandmother. Throughout the tasting, Ong consults with each chef, changing as she sees fit anything from the order of the food to the portion sizes, to the presentation. Each chef listens intently and takes in the feedback with grace. The night has to be perfect.
Later, over a phone call, I mention to Ong that it must be quite a challenge to get four of Hong Kong’s top chefs, working with different cuisines, to collaborate on a menu. “You missed our event last year when we did the Big Eight – Dinosaur Revelation gala,” Ong replies. “We had eight chefs back then.”
This year’s fundraiser is called Paper Poems: An Ode to Hong Kong Heritage. The night’s feast is an ode to Hong Kong and the flavours of each chef’s home. But apart from the eating, the gala event is also about the celebration of Hong Kong’s legacy in the art of paper craft. Table centrepieces are designed by paper artists Stickyline, there’ll be works by renowned digital artist Victor Wong on display and, not to be missed (or rather, you can’t miss it), is a large-scale paper archway created by master paper cutting artist Li Yun Xia. Rather than have the archway dismantled after the event, Ong is looking for a venue to display it to the public afterwards. After all, the FIF is all about promoting the arts and pursuing cultural and educational endeavours within the community.
Beyond the gala dinner, the FIF is also conducting community-outreach programmes aimed at preserving the heritage of traditional Chinese paper art. Workshops led by local masters will provide opportunities to participants young and old to immerse themselves in the craft. Artist Nick Tsao will be teaching a workshop on traditional paper-cutting at the Blue House, where adults can learn how to create a sea animal-inspired masterpiece. For families with children, Stickyline’s Soilworm Lai will explore the culture behind lantern-making and teach participants how to create one shaped like a rabbit or a rocket ship. For a fun and indulgent afternoon, master paper craftsman Au Yeung Ping Chi will host a workshop on creating fish lanterns using traditional techniques and materials. There’s also a vinyl music appreciation session.
It’s been 13 years since Ong set up her charitable organisation, which has grown steadily since, perpetuating her vision to build a bridge that will connect local arts and heritage with an international stage, and vice versa. Ong’s daughter, Amanda Cheung, has followed in her mother’s footsteps and, since 2018, has taken on the role of managing director and it’s she who’s responsible for this year’s outreach-programme activities. She’s also overseeing the production of a documentary to showcase this year’s heritage theme and the various collaborations.
Michelle Ma, wearing Carnet jewellery Andrew Yuen
Aside from protecting Hong Kong’s heritage, FIF also has made great strides in promulgating Hong Kong’s artists and musicians and putting them on the world stage. “Our young people in Hong Kong are truly remarkable,” exclaims Ong, who’s supported extensive scholarship programmes through the FIF to enable our local talent.
“We’re deeply committed to providing a unique platform for Hong Kong talents, both local and overseas,” she says. “Nurturing the younger generation through exceptional arts and educational experiences lies at the very core of our foundation’s mission. We believe in cultivating their talents, fostering their growth and equipping them with the necessary skills to excel in their respective fields.”
During the past decade, the FIF has supported more than 80 scholars through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation scholarship programme, at the Manhattan School of Music, the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The FIF and its members have also discovered many exciting artists and musicians along the way.
Kenny Wong, a legal consultant who’s on the FIF’s fundraising committee, tells me piano prodigy Niu Niu was someone he discovered whose talent bowled him over. “Many of the FIF’s artists and musicians are already well-known in their respective fields when they work with the foundation,” he says. “At its inaugural function, the FIF presented the then-13-year-old Nu Niu, who has since remained a FIF Trailblazer and is now not only performing but composing music. It’s part of our mission to nurture and promote our local artists.”
For Wong, this also means young talents who aren’t necessarily in the conventional arts. “In 2020, Ophelia Liu won the BBC’s Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star competition,” he tells me. “Last year, Eric Yip, a first-year Cambridge student, won the UK 2021 National Poetry Competition. Seventeen-year-old Hong Kong student Kenny Lau’s won many drawing competitions and has already started a platform to arouse young people’s interest in architecture.” This city is rife with hidden potential, and there are countless opportunities for them to share and inspire our students and young adults, a job for the FIF that Wong’s excited about.
Maggie Tang, another fundraising committee member who also runs her own Contemporary Charitable Foundation Limited, became involved with FIF after attending the foundation’s Dinosaurs Unleashed charity gala in 2022 and bonding with Ong. She hopes her own fundraising experience can benefit the FIF, whose work she believes is important for the city.
“Arts education is important for the community because it provides numerous benefits,” she says. “It helps individuals develop creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaborative skills. It also promotes cultural awareness and appreciation, and can serve as a means of personal expression and emotional wellbeing.
“The FIF’s efforts in supporting arts education have helped to increase access and opportunities for gifted children and youth, not only locally but internationally, providing them a chance to go abroad, to promote cultural exchange and appreciation, and foster creativity and innovation in the community.”
Denise Lo, wearing Safiyaa from Net-a-Porter Johnny Hon
Tang is most excited about dipping her toes into the world of paper art craftsmanship. “I’m especially interested in the Love and Light workshop curated by Au Yeung Ping Chi,” she tells me.
Wong shares her excitement. “Michelle and the FIF never repeat themselves,” he enthuses. “They set and achieve impossible projects, year after year. In 2018, they brought one T-rex fossil to Hong Kong – and last year they brought eight! They manifest the daring and high-achieving spirit of Hong Kong.”
An incredible evening of culture and feasting isn’t complete with some music. The evening’s performances are by local musicians (and Prestige cover stars) Hins Cheung and Karen Mok.
No single project of the FIF has been more important than the others, according to Ong. “As chairwoman, I see our initiatives as a multi-level cultural engagement of minds and hearts. When you start with that goal, it’s not really about topping any project as it’s about adding to the impact and continuing benefit of our initiatives. The FIF creates important, memorable and enjoyable cultural and educational events for our community, from bringing Italian art to Hong Kong in conjunction with Uffizi, the first-ever T-Rex fossil in 2018, to last year’s Big Eight – Dinosaur Revelation event, we did them so everyone in Hong Kong can experience the majesty of the world.”