Hong Kong Martial Arts Living Archive (HKMALA) initiated in 2012 is an on-going collaboration between the International Guoshu Association, led by Hing Chao; the Center of Applied Computing and Interactive Media, School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong, led by Richard Allen; the Visualization Research Center at Hong Kong Baptist University, led by Jeffrey Shaw (who was previously at CityUHK); and the Laboratory for Experimental Museology (eM+) at the Digital Humanities Institute, EPFL, led by Professor Sarah Kenderdine.

HKMALA encompasses the first comprehensive digital humanities project that archives, annotates, and presents a living kung fu tradition using state-of-the-art motion capture and visualization. Intangible cultural expressions are defined by their reliance on embodied knowledge. The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage (2003) was founded to preserve these social practices, oral traditions and performances, which are increasingly at risk worldwide.

In mainland China, a significant portion of traditional martial arts have already vanished. Hong Kong remains a centre for Southern Chinese kung fu and is home to some of the most prominent martial artists in the world. However, the social and cultural changes caused by rapid urban development, population growth, migration, the transformation of leisure culture, and aging populations are endangering the continued existence of these practices as a living tradition.

The rendering of a living tradition into digital representations through motion capture technology poses significant conceptual and technical challenges. The Hong Kong Martial Arts Living Archive brings together cultural historians, curators, artists, computer scientists and kung fu communities to develop the right methods for sustaining and enlivening these cultural traditions in new media formats.

HKMALA has supported several public digital exhibitions in which ACIM has collaborated with the Guoshu Association. Previous exhibitions include: 300 Years of Hakka Kung Fu, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, 2016, and CityUHK Exhibition Gallery, 2017; Lingnan Hung Kuen: Across the Century Kung Fu Narratives in Hong Kong and Community, CityUHK Exhibition Gallery 2017; and Safeguarding the Community – An Intangible Cultural Heritage New Media Exhibition, Hong Kong, City Hall, 2018. Further exhibitions are planned for the future.