The past 10 years have seen Hong Kong’s homegrown art scene begin to flourish, with public museums, collectives, and art projects celebrating the creativity that exists here. Artists, like muralist and illustrator Rebecca T. Lin, have benefited from the increasing focus on native art, finding an ever-growing audience for her large-scale wall paintings that draw on nature and old Hong Kong.

Hailing from a creative family — her mother is a choreographer, her father a sound engineer — Lin was encouraged from a young age to find her creative outlet and choose a medium that best suited her. It’s a story that’s unusual in Hong Kong, where jobs such as medicine, law or finance are held in such high regard. But Lin adds, with a laugh, “none of us have ever worked in an office before.”

Born in the UK to Chinese-British parents, Lin moved to Hong Kong at just a few weeks old. She was raised in Sai Kung, a peninsula in the New Territories known for its fishing villages, beaches and vibrant forestry, heading back to London for university before returning to her hometown. “When I came back to Hong Kong, I kind of believed that it was a bad choice, thinking the arts were dying. But it was actually getting better, more acceptable with places like PMQ and Tai Kwun popping up.”

In 2017, she established the #creativehustlers with Carol Mui, taking on commission work to design large scale murals for big corporations, restaurants and shops. They met at co-working space The Hive, where Mui was working as a manager, and Lin was a graphic designer, and found a homogeneity in their styles and ideas. A year later, they joined HK Walls, a non-profit arts organisation that creates opportunities for local and international artists to showcase their talents through street art.

Since they began in 2014, HK Walls has hosted a street art festival during Hong Kong’s art month in March, for which, over two weekends, they invite artists to design murals for a series of walls on buildings they’ve scouted in a specific neighbourhood. “Art has become more accessible,” Lin says. “With things like HK Walls and YAF (the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation) that create paintings on shutters, it’s not as necessary to go into high-end galleries to see art. Before 2011, I wouldn’t see street art being put up that was aesthetically pleasing. Now, it beautifies the city and kind of unifies it.” Lin and Mui painted a mural in Sheung Wan, honing their style with a nature-inspired look that has become increasingly in demand with clients.