Cattle Shed Art Village

Cattle Shed Art Village

The Cattle Shed Art Village is located at 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, Ma Tau Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, adjacent to the cluster of old buildings on Thirteen Streets. It is a venue offering rental spaces for art studios. The site was formerly a central slaughterhouse for cattle, built in 1908. It ceased operations in August 1999, was renovated, and divided into multiple units rented to local artists for studio use, gradually evolving into the Cattle Shed Art Village. Covering an area of 1.7 hectares, it consists of single-story red-brick flat-roofed buildings with tiled gables.

Currently, over twenty artists and art groups are based there, including Zuni Icosahedron, Art Commune, Cattle Depot Bookstore & Café, 1A Space, CUTANDTRY, and Frog King, most of which are open to the public for visits and appreciation.

History

The Cattle Shed Art Village was formerly the Ma Tau Kok Livestock Quarantine Station (also known as the Government Livestock Quarantine Station or Ma Tau Kok Cattle Shed), built in 1908. Originally located in Hung Hom, it was called the Kowloon Abattoir and Livestock Compound, covering approximately 1.7 hectares. It featured a large slaughterhouse, three livestock sheds, and other related facilities, capable of accommodating nearly 120 cattle, 200 sheep, and 400 pigs. It was later relocated to Ma Tau Kok Road, To Kwa Wan, due to the construction of the Kowloon-Canton Railway on the original site.

In mid-1999, due to environmental concerns and urban development, the urban slaughterhouse faced frequent hygiene issues that disturbed nearby residents, leading to its closure and relocation to the newly built Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse. By July 2001, the former livestock quarantine station at No. Ma Tau Kok Road was renovated and converted into an art village.

Architecture

The Ma Tau Kok Cattle Shed, constructed with red bricks, features an architectural layout reminiscent of early 20th-century Western market designs and is the only remaining century-old slaughterhouse building in Hong Kong. The several red-brick structures of the “cattle shed” are quite distinctive. Facing the entrance is a courtyard, an approximately 40-square-meter open space enclosed by low red-brick walls. Surrounding the courtyard are five red-brick flat-roofed buildings, each about 50 meters long. The wooden ceiling beams inside the brick buildings, the tiled gabled roofs, the decorative wrought-iron grilles on doors and windows, the iron chains and rings installed at the base of the walls, and the stone feed troughs outside all contribute to the unique character of each building. The exteriors of the buildings also feature cast-iron supports, the original purpose of which is unknown but are now all painted black, adding a strong decorative effect. The long cement feeding troughs, once used to feed cattle, are still preserved in front of the buildings, along with the stone pillars used to tether cattle, forming unique landmarks of this artist village. The overall architectural style still retains the original features of the quarantine station.

Transportation Guide

Address: 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, Kowloon City District, Hong Kong

Getting There: Take Kowloon minibuses routes 28M or 49