The Indra and Harry Banga Gallery presents “The Power of Play”, exploring the inter-disciplinary dialogue between games, art and technology

Games are often seen as a form of entertainment, but they are more than just a way to kill time. Across different eras, games have served both as cultural expressions and as a means through which people make sense of the world. “The Power of Play”, the latest exhibition at the City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, invites visitors to explore the many connections between games, art and technology, while uncovering lesser-known perspectives on the role of games in society and culture.

Curated by Professor Espen Aarseth, Dean and Chair Professor of the School of Creative Media (SCM) and a renowned scholar in game studies, “The Power of Play” features six major sections. In addition to showcasing historically significant games, the exhibition examines the meaning and impact of games from various theoretical perspectives. It also highlights creative works and research developed in the SCM.

One of the featured exhibits, titled Buckets of Fun, is a real-time collaborative robotic game co-designed by Professor Aarseth and Professor Victor Leung Pok-yin, Assistant Professor in the SCM. Each robotic arm consists of six joints, and each participant controls only one joint at a time. Working together, the players must manoeuvre the arm to collect plastic balls from a ball pit and place them into scoring buckets within a limited time. This challenging gameplay provides a hands-on demonstration of the importance of teamwork and coordination.

The section titled Reimagining Senet presents a reconstructed version of the world’s oldest known board game, alongside three contemporary reinterpretations created by students from the SCM’s postgraduate course, Art and Activism Game Workshop. Each work preserves the game’s defining characteristic—the need to progress through an uncertain system of judgement and chance.

In the section titled Good, Bad, or Innocent Fun?, through discussions of concepts such as game violence, gaming addiction and gambling systems, the display encourages visitors to examine the real value of games and their impact on society.

The exhibition also features Minecraft — A one-of-a-kind game, presenting parts of Hong Kong recreated within the iconic sandbox game Minecraft by the Build The Earth Hong Kong and Macau team, invited as a guest exhibitor. A particular highlight is the newly completed digital reconstruction of the CityUHK campus. Using game controllers, visitors can explore familiar landmarks, including University Circle, the Yeung Kin Man Academic Building and the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre on Tat Hong Avenue. The virtual tour even allows visitors to “visit” CityUHK’s canteens.

The opening ceremony of “The Power of Play” exhibition was recently officiated by The Honourable Mr Bernard Charnwut Chan, Chairman of the Our Hong Kong Foundation, Miss Yvonne Ip Man-yee, Assistant Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and Professor Chun-Sing Lee, Acting President of CityUHK.

In his remarks, Mr Chan thanked CityUHK for organising this exhibition, which connected various disciplines, such as history, science and the arts. He noted that this kind of connection is important for not only our city, but also the world.

Professor Lee added, “At CityUHK, interdisciplinary collaboration is a key mission. This exhibition connects research on history, creativity and technology, promoting game studies both as a knowledge domain and as a strong part of our cultural and creative industries. As the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery celebrates its 10th anniversary, we look forward to further fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthening CityUHK’s engagement with industry and the wider community.”

Since its establishment in 2016, the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery has served as a dynamic platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, translational research, cultural innovation and deep community engagement. Over the past decade, the Gallery has presented influential exhibitions, including “Zodiac Heads from the Yuanmingyuan and Important Treasures”, “Leonardo da Vinci: Art & Science, Then & Now” and “Prototyping:”.

“The Power of Play” exhibition details: