Want to be a DJ? Hong Kong’s Moth Foundation is music school and LGBTQ safe space in one

Those who take a stroll along the tranquil streets near the post office in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, are likely to hear a curious mixture of sounds – the rhythmic taps of hammers and whirring of electric drills punctuated by the muted thump of electronic music tracks being seamlessly blended. The cacophony is coming from the new space of Moth Foundation, where something special is being built. “We were planning to take a six-month break and do some fundraising and then launch our new space somewhere, but we saw this space, and we were like, ‘It’s perfect,’” says Ahura Mazda, one of the three co-founders of the non-profit organisation that has been touching an increasing number of lives in Hong Kong in recent months. The organisation originally launched in 2024 as Moth Agency, a DJ collective formed from a shared mission to provide safe LGBTQ nightlife events in the city. Following a series of successful events and establishing themselves as a prominent force in Hong Kong’s LGBTQ party scene, the collective established Moth Radio, a not-for-profit community radio that continues to give DJs from all walks of life a platform to express themselves. The organisation operated for much of its existence out of the attic of an architecture firm, but in February, it moved into its own space for the first time. And while the shop, at the intersection of Pok Fu Lam Road and Third Street, may be small by some measures, Moth’s plans are anything but. “We were just looking at the state of the world and were like, ‘How can we help?’” says Yaz Gooch, a Moth Foundation co-founder who was born and raised in Hong Kong and also works as a performing arts teacher. “We literally had a meeting and asked ourselves, ‘What can we do that will actually be beneficial to our local society?’ “We can keep doing these parties, but then, at the end of the day, how are we actually helping under-resourced communities to integrate, or to be able to learn a new craft, or to experience music and dance?” Mazda, who was born in Iran and moved to Hong Kong as an undergraduate student, where he stayed to pursue his PhD, adds: “Music brought us all together, and we felt that we had even more to say … we had this drive in us; we felt like something was missing in Hong Kong.” The result is Moth Foundation, an expansion of the original project which, while still dedicated to providing safe spaces for the LGBTQ community, aims to help Hong Kong’s under-represented communities at large. “We realised that we could serve more people: underprivileged people, domestic helpers, refugees, and it just became a much bigger thing,” Mazda says. “It became more of a community foundation.” Moth, which is run by the co-founders and their family of 15 volunteers, has set up a DJ school to teach those from under-represented communities, and it operates with an innovative funding model. From the courses it offers – which promise to help students “become a fully independent DJ and gain the confidence to play for small crowds of friends, all the way up to bigger stages” – 40 per cent of the fees go towards funding free lessons for those who cannot afford to pay. “Hong Kong is a very word of mouth city, so we want to put the word out that we offer free lessons to anyone who messages us,” Mazda says. “We’ve allocated time slots for them in our weekly schedule. There have been people requesting [paid] classes in those times, and we say, ‘Sorry, that’s blocked out.’” As well as DJ lesson fees, Moth’s revenue streams include sales of its merch – from T-shirts to caps and socks to stickers – which can be bought at the Sai Ying Pun space, and donations, which can be made via the foundation’s Patreon. Moth also recently launched “Sundays of Joy”, a programme providing free DJ lessons for domestic helpers on the only day of the week most have off. Spaces are on a first-come, first-served basis, with registration available online. “We want to open our doors to a community that is often rejected,” Mazda says. “[Domestic helpers] are some of the nicest, most compassionate people, and they have an incredible sense of rhythm and a good curation of music, too … they are learning the fastest out of all my students. “I feel like when you get on decks and you play a set, you feel dignity. You’re not sidelined. You are the DJ. I want them to feel like this is their place. This is their home.” Talking about why the organisation continues to use music as a tool to level the playing field and bring people together, Paige Deayton, Moth Foundation co-founder, fundraising manager and volunteer coordinator, says: “The thing about music is that, when you’re on the dance floor, no one knows where you’re from, how much your parents earn or what school you went to. When the lights are down, that’s it. Music provides a space where every sector of society can interact. “On top of that, the main thing is that people learning things and overcoming challenges together is really powerful,” she says. “And I think that’s the basis of our community.” The future looks bright for Moth, with DJ course time slots – both paid and free – filling up fast, a growing Instagram following and various initiatives planned, from music production classes to a partnership to provide musical education for Hong Kong’s Christian Action Centre for Refugees. And then there is the Sai Ying Pun space itself, which is currently a hive of activity as DJ tutors teach students on the foundation’s professional-grade equipment and the co-founders and volunteers make cosmetic changes and fixes to the space, nail by nail, screw by screw. “We’re gonna carpet the floor soon and get floor lights,” Mazda says, beaming with pride about what Moth Foundation has achieved so far. “We want to make it feel like a living room that people are welcome to come into and not have to pay to enter. “They can come in, they can sit down and they can have a chat with us.” Moth Foundation is at 138 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun. To register for a DJ course, or to inquire about free lessons, WhatsApp on +852 6266 0416.

Want to be a DJ? Hong Kong’s Moth Foundation is music school and LGBTQ safe space in one

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Moth Foundation’s new Sai Ying Pun space plays host to a DJ school that will bring people together in Hong Kong, no matter who they are

Moth Foundation’s new Sai Ying Pun space plays host to a DJ school that will bring people together in Hong Kong, no matter who they are