Appropriating Public Space: The Case of Hong Kong’s Foreign Domestic Workers

Appropriating Public Space: The Case of Hong Kong’s Foreign Domestic Workers

In January 2018, eighteen students representing eight different degree programs across The New School (Design and Urban Ecologies, Theories of Urban Practice, Urban and Public Policy, Architecture, Interior Design, Lighting Design, Fine Arts, and Communication Design) traveled to Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen as part of the Global Studio Intensive course. Between 14-19 January 2018, we worked with students from the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, as well as from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Shenzhen University, within a workshop organized by Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The workshop focused on different modes and modalities of appropriating public space in the Hong Kong Central Business District specifically by female, foreign domestic workers. Our preliminary research conducted before the workshop, revealed complexities and contradictions involved in global flows of migr ant labor, and in particular over 300,000 women from the Philippines and Indonesia to Hong Kong. Strong ethical dimensions (and potential risks) of this work became apparent to us early on, and only exponentially grew when we faced culturally- and geographically-determined notions of social and spatial justice, labor and immigration policies, and gender rights that differed from our own. Working in the face of such comple xity has been a challenging journey but also a rewarding learning pursuit.