Galleri Magazine launch at Kee Club

When I arrived at the Galleri Magazine event at Kee Club on Wednesday, the place was already impressively packed. Located on Wellington Street, Kee Club is a two-story private membership club occupying the sixth and seventh floors above the famous restaurant Yung Kee (hence the name ‘Kee’ Club.) It’s also across the street from the more infamous Tsui Wah – a late night eatery that’s a favorite with Lan Kwai Fong’s inebriated throngs.

The lower level of Kee Club features a large open space with tables and private rooms on the sixth floor, and a dining room and bar on the seventh. Most large events take place on the lower level as it can be re-configured to suit different sized parties. For the night, the entire lower level was utilized.

Entering Kee Club, the walls displayed large prints from the magazine. The artists featured ranged from painters to photographers, illustrators, sculptors, and graphic designers. Based on briefly flipping through the first issue, Galleri magazine holds great potential as a venue for new artists to be seen and discovered. The magazine has an international feel to it. It’s advertisement-free and printed in a book-like format. Each artist has two pages to showcase their work. The premier issue was limited to a run of 3000, with each individually numbered on the back.

The night’s excellent turn-out included notable Hong Kong artists ranging from Simon Birch, to the magazine’s lesser known contributors.

At times Kee Club was so crowded it was difficult to weave your way from one end of the room to the other. Local artists, creative heads, and Kee Club members literally bumped elbows while browsing the work and taking in the scene.

The creators of Galleri – Red Dog Studio and China Stylus, gave a short introductory speech and thank you address to the crowd.

Vinnie, Kee Club’s music coordinator and resident d.j., provided the sounds.