Open seven days a week, the former Ex-Ma Tau Kok Animal Quarantine Depot, now known as the Cattle Depot, is the only surviving pre-war cattle slaughterhouse in Hong Kong. It was constructed in 1908 and served as an abattoir and quarantine base until mid-1999.
Renovation and conversion work took place in 2001 to convert the depot into a pioneering Arts Village for local artists relocated from the Oil Street Arts Village in North Point. Found in To Kwa Wan, a neighborhood in the rapidly developing East Kowloon area, the depot is free to enter and is home to approximately 20 art organizations or individual artists. Arguably the most prominent is Videotage, a UNESCO-listed media art organization that focuses on new media.
A range of activities are held at the Cattle Depot Artist Village including drama performances, concerts, small-scale fashion shows, film screenings, art seminars and workshops, book fairs and art festivals.
