A Lucky Encounter
A new installation specially commissioned by Rosewood becomes a catalyst for discovery, connection and a deeper connection with place
- rw video
There are moments on the cultural calendar when a city seems to see itself more clearly, and Hong Kong Art Week is one of them. In this charged atmosphere, Rosewood steps forward not simply as a host, but as a cultural catalyst, using art to ask what discovery, belief and belonging can look like today.
This year, the interpretation of Dutch artist Frankey and the creation of Lucky Dragon was chosen, embodying his experience of Hong Kong when he visited the magical city for the first time.
There are few cities where the fantastical and the future coexist quite so seamlessly as Hong Kong, and Rosewood chooses to lean into that energy to celebrate with the community. As the city moves into its most electric cultural season, Rosewood introduces Lucky Dragon as a way to ask a simple question: “What do we still believe in?”
The work is equal parts whimsy and wonder – a towering creature lifted by the outstretched hand of a small child. Within Rosewood Hong Kong, it becomes more than an object on display, acting as a magnetic point in the hotel’s public spaces, drawing in guests and visitors into a shared moment of discovery.
Timed to coincide with Hong Kong Art Week, the installation is positioned as a living expression of Rosewood’s purpose-led approach to culture, using this moment to pave a new way of experiencing art – not as passive décor, but as a prompt for conversation.
The origin of the work began not in a studio, but in the city and the hotel themselves. During a recent visit, Frankey immersed himself in Hong Kong’s layered symbolism and in the visual language of Rosewood Hong Kong. One motif appeared constantly: the number 8, an auspicious figure in Chinese culture associated with prosperity and luck. Frankey noticed it in octagonal accents within the property, in objects around the neighborhood,and in the quiet repetition of form.
“And then I realized – 8 is also an age,” he recalls, pulling him back into a childhood populated by creatures from Where the Wild Things Are, The Muppets, and ‘80s-era films like E.T. and Ghostbusters.
In dialogue with Rosewood, this memory became the emotional anchor of the commission – a shared belief that imagination isn’t something we grow out of, but something we risk losing if we don’t protect it.
“I thought, wouldn’t it be beautiful if this dragon – this huge, lucky creature – was lifted by the imagination of an eight-year-old? That’s how this idea was born,” Frankey says.
The duality at the heart of the work – the power of the dragon and the innocence of the child – echoes Rosewood’s own philosophy of luxury. On one hand, there is scale, craft, and meticulous detail; on the other, an insistence on warmth, playfulness, and emotional truth.
Visitors are invited to give “Little Frankey” a high five, a gesture that transforms the sculpture from something observed into something experienced
“The dragon has a superpower, it can radiate love and luck at the same time”
Rosewood is committed to designing encounters that encourage people to see their surroundings, and themselves, differently. In Lucky Dragon, superstition, memory and place are woven together, just as they shape daily life in Hong Kong. Numbers, colors and motifs carry meanings that quietly influence choices, from architecture to everyday rituals. Through work that embraces these codes, Rosewood creates a direct connection to the city’s cultural fabric in a way that feels intimate.
“I hope people smile,” Frankey says. “But I also hope they leave a little more curious – about dragons, about the number 8, about the way different cultures hold on to luck.” Rosewood hopes to cultivate a childlike sense of wonder, beginning with a high five, and a smile, in a city that is in constant motion. Sparking curiosity that is carried into the streets, galleries and conversations that define Hong Kong Art Week.
The Lucky Dragon is on view at Rosewood Hong Kong from March 23 through April 22. To explore more of Rosewood’s cultural programming and immerse yourself in this world of discovery, visit rosewoodhotels.com/hong-kong.