The building and courtyard of CACHe on Western Street, Sai Yun Pun

In recent years, an influx of international art galleries and art fairs has somehow transformed Hong Kong – the infamous cultural desert – into Asia's glossy art hub. To be honest, I am not sure if this has had much impact on the general public, but at least art is longer seen as totally inaccessible.

Yet these art galleries focus mostly on the commercial aspect and target at wealthy collectors locally or from Mainland China; it is seldom to come across a gallery that dedicates to Hong Kong's unique heritage, arts and culture.

Luckily, the non-profit conservation group CACHe based in Sai Yun Pun is a here to fill the gap. It is a hidden gem that is rarely mentioned in guidebooks, and not even many locals are aware of its existence.

"Typography and the sea of words" exhibition at CACHe's gallery

Located in a Grade II historic building, which is formerly the Western Plague Hospital and Western Public Dispensary, the Conservancy Association Centre for Heritage (CACHe) was established in 2005 to promote the conservation of history, cultures and heritages in Hong Kong. It regularly organises community heritage workshops, thematic talks, excursion to historic architectures, heritage cultural tours, exhibitions and oral history workshops for the public, schools, organisations and corporations.

In the last few years, I have paid several visits to CACHe when I was in the city, and I have always enjoyed their exhibitions that resolve around the local heritage and culture. Their last exhibition “Typography and the Sea of Words – The Study of Hong Kong Urban Landscape” was one of my favourites as it focused on the often neglected aesthetics of the city: urban Chinese typography.

Hong Kong's unique calligraphic signage

The exhibition showcased various calligraphic styles that used to dominate the city's landscape (before the international chained shops and glossy shopping malls took over), and the importance of preserving the techniques and the dying art of handwritten signage.

It also included interviews with several handwriting artisans in the city – from inscribing shop signs, letterpress printing, neon sign making, stencil making, acrylic and wood sign making to computer font design.

Interesting typography is all around us if we pay more attention to it

There was a free catalogue that accompanied the exhibition, but unfortunately, there was none left by the time I visited. I begged the staff to give me display copy and she was quite reluctant, but later, she went into her office and found me a last copy for me to take home. I think the informative catalogue is priceless as it documents the vanishing art form and heritage of Hong Kong. The loss of an important craftsmanship and city identity saddens me a great deal, but it also makes me become more aware and appreciative of the preserved sights and aesthetics that are still around that make this city special.

Another wonderful past exhibition: "Unfinished Old textbook" displaying old textbooks and teaching materials that evoked old classroom memories, and the cultures and values of life advocated by the community.