If you want to experience artistic vibes in To Kwa Wan, Cattle Depot Artist Village is the right place. The red-brick historical building placed between the residential and industrial buildings, which is one of the important landmarks in To Kwa Wan, opens daily for free. Currently, the village is filled with different artists and art groups, including 1A space, Videotage, On & On, Zuni Icosahedron, H Queen, and Play Depot etc. Numerous exhibitions and workshops are offered.
Cattle Depot was originally a pre-war slaughterhouse built in 1908, named “Ma Tau Kok Animal Quarantine Depot”. Back then the cattle were shipped to the pier and herded into the slaughterhouse. Some industries have also emerged in the vicinity, including tanneries and cattle bone powder factories, and the stink was all over the neighborhood. It was until 1999, when a new slaughterhouse in Sheung Shui replaced it. The old cattle depot was renovated and developed into the present village in 2001 for an artist community originally occupying the former Government Supplies Department Headquarters at Oil Street, North Point. The place is then named Cattle Depot Artist Village. In 2009, the site was listed as a Grade II historical site.
