The eighth edition of No Limits brings the world’s first professional inclusive orchestra to Hong Kong alongside 11 boundary-crossing productions
No Limits 2026: A Festival That Refuses to Define What Art Can Be
Hong Kong’s commitment to inclusive excellence in the performing arts was on vivid display on the evening of 28 February, when the eighth edition of the No Limits festival opened at the Auditorium of Kwai Tsing Theatre. The event, co-presented by the Hong Kong Arts Festival and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, launched with a performance by Paraorchestra, the world’s first professional inclusive orchestra, in a production titled The Nature of Why, inspired by the life and ideas of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman.
What is No Limits?
Launched in 2019, No Limits has built a reputation as one of the most creatively adventurous strands of any arts festival in Asia. Under this year’s theme of All of Us, All Ways, the programme is dedicated to revealing the richness of diverse values and connecting people through the arts. What makes the 2026 edition especially significant is a set of historic new collaborations with two of Hong Kong’s most storied flagship companies: the Hong Kong Dance Company and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. For the first time, these institutions have co-produced multidisciplinary inclusive programmes with the No Limits team, a development that speaks to the mainstreaming of inclusive arts in the city’s cultural life.
The full programme spans 11 productions across music, theatre, dance, and film, delivered across 29 performances. In addition to the Paraorchestra opening, highlights include Wayfaring Beyond, a large-scale outdoor dance work co-produced with the Hong Kong Dance Company and the award-winning China Hong Kong Para Dance Sport Association, performed in the spectacular Parade Ground at Tai Kwun; and Light and Shadow on Strings, a concert featuring visually impaired rising star erhu player Yang Enhua, co-produced with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and blending traditional and contemporary Chinese music.
International Voices, Local Resonance
No Limits 2026 features several world-class international commissions making their Asia premieres in Hong Kong. Harmonia, created by Theatre Bremen and Hungarian choreographer Adrienn Hod, challenges established assumptions about the value of the body in dance. Precarious Moves, a semi-autobiographical solo by Vienna-based artist Michael Turinsky, confronts social frameworks surrounding disabled bodies with raw honesty. Zer-Brech-Lich by Swiss-based choreographer Alessandro Schiattarella, created and performed with three disabled performers, offers a playful and sensorial journey through musical dance theatre.
Renowned director Kuro Tanino contributes a newly commissioned Asia work, Two Blind Women in the Snowy Tokugawa Nights, Sleeping Fires, adding depth and literary texture to the programme.
Vivian Sum, Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, praised the festival at its opening ceremony. The government’s continued support for No Limits reflects an understanding that inclusive arts are not a niche concern but a measure of the health of a civilised society. A city that invests in giving every citizen access to the arts, regardless of ability, is a city that takes its democratic and human values seriously.
Community and Education at the Core
No Limits does not end when the curtain falls. The Jockey Club No Limits Education and Community Outreach Programme extends the festival’s reach into schools, community centres, and beyond. Initiatives include the inclusive dance project VISION, the International Symposium The Way Forward: A Humanistic-Tech Framework for Inclusive Innovation, and the No Limits Creative Training Programme and Community Showcases. These programmes pair local artists with individuals of diverse abilities to co-create new work, generating research that will be presented publicly during the festival’s run.
Online screening programmes are also available free of charge on the official No Limits website from 30 March to 25 May 2026, including documentaries and films that explore disability, memory, and community in deeply human ways. Titles include A Space in Time, Away from Her, Lapse, and Fujiyama Cottonton.
Why Inclusive Art Matters for a Free Society
The inclusive arts movement, as championed by No Limits, carries significance that extends well beyond the stage. In free, open societies, art is one of the most powerful expressions of shared humanity. When artists with disabilities are given not just access to the arts but leadership within the arts, the entire culture is enriched. The growing international movement toward disability arts and inclusion documented by institutions like the British Council demonstrates that inclusive practices strengthen rather than diminish artistic excellence.
For Hong Kong, which has seen significant constraints on civic life and political expression since 2020, spaces like No Limits carry particular weight. They represent the best of what the city can offer: cosmopolitan, humane, generous, and genuinely open to all. The festival’s insistence that art belongs to everyone, and that diverse abilities generate diverse forms of brilliance, is itself a quiet but powerful statement about the kind of society worth fighting for.
Sebastian Man, Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society, expressed pride in the festival’s evolution and thanked the Jockey Club Charities Trust for its long-standing support. “We sincerely thank The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, co-presenter of No Limits, for its long-standing support,” he said. “We also thank our Strategic Supporting Partner, Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong, for providing comprehensive accessibility services.” Tickets for live performances are available via URBTIX, with concessionary rates for students, people with disabilities, and CSSA recipients. More information is available at www.nolimits.hk. For context on global inclusive arts practice, the Kennedy Center’s VSA programme offers a valuable international perspective on how arts organisations champion disability inclusion at scale.
Yuen Ting
Data, Research & Investigative Support Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: yuenting@appledaily.uk
Yuen Ting is a data and research journalist with expertise in data verification, investigative support, and evidence-based reporting. She completed her journalism training at a leading UK journalism school, focusing on data journalism, statistical literacy, and investigative methodologies.
Her professional experience includes work with Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese publications, where she supports and authors reporting on public records, demographic trends, election data, and institutional accountability. Yuen Ting’s work emphasizes accuracy, reproducibility, and transparent methodology.
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Yuen Ting’s authority stems from her technical expertise and consistent application of verification standards within reputable news organizations. At Apple Daily UK, she delivers trustworthy data-driven journalism that enhances transparency, credibility, and institutional reliability.
