esea contemporary and Liverpool Biennial are pleased to co-present an engaging public programme featuring the Aroma Cantonese Opera Troupe in collaboration with artist Karen Tam, as part of the Liverpool Biennial’s official programme. This collaboration highlights the cultural heritage of Cantonese opera and its connections to diasporic Chinese communities, explored through Karen Tam’s immersive installation, Scent of Thunderbolts (2024).
The collaboration launches with a workshop led by the Aroma Cantonese Opera Troupe on Saturday, 7 June 2025 at esea contemporary in Manchester, coinciding with the opening week of the Liverpool Biennial. Artist Karen Tam will deliver a talk during the workshop, engaging directly with participants.
This initial event will be followed by a public presentation in July 2025, featuring a participatory performance by the troupe in dialogue with Tam’s Liverpool installation. The installation incorporates photographic portraits of the Aroma Cantonese Opera Troupe members, creating a powerful visual engagement that explores themes of tradition, cultural migration, and diasporic identity.
Established in 1994 by Kamling Fung and Yuen Wah Leung—renowned Cantonese opera practitioners from Hong Kong—the Aroma Cantonese Opera Troupe has developed a significant portfolio of on-stage performances. Kamling and Yuen Wah also lead Cantonese opera workshops as part of esea contemporary’s Artclub initiative, which engages East and Southeast Asian residents of Greater Manchester aged 50 and over. This collaboration connects the troupe with Karen Tam, who was an artist-in-residence at esea contemporary (formerly known as the Chinese Arts Centre) in 2007.
Karen Tam 譚嘉文 is a Tiohtià:ke/Montreal-based artist and curator whose research focuses on the constructions and imaginations of cultures and communities. In her installations, she recreates Chinese restaurants, karaoke lounges, opium dens, curio shops and other sites of cultural encounters. Since 2000, she has exhibited her work and participated in residencies in North America, Europe, and China, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, He Xiangning Art Museum, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Deutsche Börse Residency at the Frankfurter Kunstverein, and the Toronto Biennial of Art. Tam’s exhibition, Swallowing Mountains, presented by the McCord Stewart Museum, received an Honourable Mention at the 2024 Canadian Museums Association Awards. The collaboration between esea contemporary and Liverpool Biennial offers an opportunity to engage with the artistry of Cantonese opera and the conceptual depth of Karen Tam’s installation, fostering a dialogue between tradition and contemporary practice.
This programme is realised with the generous support of the North West Regional Strategic Migration Partnership (RSMP).
Kamling Fung and Yuen Wah Leung are Cantonese opera practitioners from Hong Kong. They established the ‘Aroma Cantonese Opera Troupe’ in 1994 and have since initiated annual performances, accumulating a rich portfolio of on-stage experience over the years. In 2004, they enrolled in the School of Chinese Opera at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and were awarded the ‘Performing Arts Training Certificate (Cantonese Opera) – Evening Part-time Course.’
Karen Tam 譚嘉文 is a Tiohtià:ke/Montreal-based artist and curator whose research focuses on the constructions and imaginations of cultures and communities. In her installations, she recreates Chinese restaurants, karaoke lounges, opium dens, curio shops and other sites of cultural encounters. Since 2000, she has exhibited her work and participated in residencies in North America, Europe, and China, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, He Xiangning Art Museum, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Deutsche Börse Residency at the Frankfurter Kunstverein, and the Toronto Biennial of Art. Tam’s exhibition, Swallowing Mountains, presented by the McCord Stewart Museum, received an Honourable Mention at the 2024 Canadian Museums Association Awards. The collaboration between esea contemporary and Liverpool Biennial offers an opportunity to engage with the artistry of Cantonese opera and the conceptual depth of Karen Tam’s installation, fostering a dialogue between tradition and contemporary practice.
