Benny Chia

A window into the life of an influential figure in Hong Kong’s arts and theater world.

Benny Chia’s memoir of life on the fringe is a vivacious slice of Hong Kong’s life and cultural development at a time of minimal institutional support. His colorful and anecdotal story will interest culture practitioners as well as the general reader curious about the Fringe Club and its role as a seedbed for local artists and as a venue for international ones, both functions championed by Benny at the helm of this small but important institution housed in a distinctive former icehouse in Central.

Born in Singapore and educated in Hong Kong, Paris, and Louvain-la-Neuve, Benny Chia Chun Heng started the Fringe Festival in 1983, founded the Fringe Club in 1984, and steered the Fringe Club as managing director and artistic director through to 2022--almost forty years. He has scripted six stage shows, written three English readers published by Oxford University Press, and contributed articles for the South China Morning Post and several magazines. Chia was a founding member of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association.