The Arts
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Hong Kong has a wide and enticing range of cultural and artistic
offerings. You can enjoy Broadway musicals or traditional Cantonese
operas, rock music and top-class classical performances; historical
Chinese and Western buildings juxtaposed with glimmering
skyscrapers; modern public artworks by famous international and
local artists coexisting alongside. Art collectibles valued in the millions
can be bought at an international auction, while a creative piece by a
budding designer may be snagged for a bargain. Here, you can see
the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival depicting the hustle and
bustle of Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song dynasty 900 years
ago, or marvel at Monet’s Water Lilies capturing the transcendental
atmosphere. Tradition and modernity, legacy and innovation; you can
always find them and will never tire of them in Hong Kong.
Artists, galleries, cultural institutes, exhibition organisers, curators,
commentators, connoisseurs and auction houses from around the
globe can all be found in this, Asia’s world city, helping to instil
innovation, vitality and dynamism into society.
Ranging from Chinese dance and ballet to contemporary dance and
experimental theatre, thousands of performing arts programmes
and arts exhibitions are held in Hong Kong every year, featuring the
creative works of local arts bodies as well as visiting arts troupes,
attracting audiences in the millions.
Art pervades society. In Hong Kong’s parks, street corners, shopping
malls, government office buildings, and even on staircases, you can
stop and appreciate a work of art.
Hong Kong is a leading global art market. Renowned galleries have
opened offices in Hong Kong to explore new markets and expand
business. Hong Kong has become the world’s third-largest art market
by auction sales, behind New York and London.
Hong Kong treasures culture and traditions, and attaches great
importance to heritage conservation. Revitalised historic buildings
now pulsate with new energy. For example, the former Police Married
Quarters on Hollywood Road has become a creative industries
landmark, “PMQ”, while a former explosive magazine of the Old
Victoria Barracks in Admiralty has been transformed into a gallery of
the Asia Society.
Cantonese opera in Hong Kong is a mix of traditional essence
and local features. It was officially inscribed onto the UNESCO
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
in 2009 – the first such item for Hong Kong.
In March each year, the renowned Art Basel Hong Kong attracts over
200 top-notch international art galleries. The 2017 edition, attracted
more than 70,000 visitors. It is complemented by Art Central, which
focuses on contemporary art and is staged in a purpose-built
marquee on the Central Harbourfront. Other major cultural events
include the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong International Film
Festival, Le French May, Chinese Opera Festival, New Vision Arts
Festival and World Cultures Festival.
To advance Hong Kong as an international, cosmopolitan centre
for culture and the arts, Hong Kong is pushing ahead with
development of the West Kowloon Cultural District. Backed by more
than $20 billion in funding, the West Kowloon Cultural District occupies
a prime 40-hectare site set against the beautiful backdrop of Victoria
Harbour. It is one of the world’s largest cultural projects and a major
commitment by the government to support Hong Kong’s long-term
cultural and arts development. Facilities under construction include
the Xiqu Centre, M+ – a museum for visual culture – Art Park including
Freespace, and the Lyric Theatre Complex. The Nursery Park – to
cultivate trees for the area – and the M+ Pavilion have opened while a
series of music and art activities and exhibitions are held regularly to
build audiences and encourage community participation.
As facilities of the West Kowloon Cultural District come on line
gradually, Hong Kong will continue to grow and emerge as a leading
global cultural hub with an asset for locals and visitors to relax,
draw inspiration and experience cultural and arts events in a worldclass setting.
Crowds flock to the Animated Version of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival displayed at AsiaWorld-Expo in November 2010. Inspired by
Zhang Zeduan’s Song Dynasty masterpiece, the animation was jointly presented by the HKSAR and Shanghai Municipal People’s Government.
The Arts
Hong Kong is a noted venue for auctions of Chinese and regional artworks
and artefacts, wines, artwork, jewellery and watches.
Far left: Wu Guanzhong’s 1997 oil on canvas The Zhou Village sold for $236
million (US$30,396 ,800) at the April 2016 Poly Auction.
Above left: Sotheby’s sales series each April and October draw keen
investors to Hong Kong.
Above: Art Basel attracts works, galleries and collectors from around the
globe and places Hong Kong at the heart of Asia’s international art scene.
Left: Art Central coincides with Art Basel Hong Kong and brings
contemporary artworks from 20 countries to the Central Harbourfront.
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Right: Oi! Art Space at 12 Oil Street,
North Point, aims to attract young artists
and promote community arts in the historic
former clubhouse of the Royal Hong Kong
Yacht Club, built in 1908 in the Arts and
Crafts style.
The Arts
Below: Glowing installations light up the
courtyard at PMQ, the former Police Married
Quarters in Aberdeen Street, Central, given
new life as a hub for creative industries.
Below right: Comix Home Base in Mallory
Street, Wan Chai, is a collaborative project
by the Hong Kong Arts Centre and the Urban
Renewal Authority. Ten pre-war Grade 2
historic buildings have been revitalised as a
venue for cultural and creative industries.
Far right: M+ Pavilion in the West Kowloon
Cultural District, which is one of the world’s
largest cultural projects. It will produce and
host world-class exhibitions, performances,
and cultural events in a complex of theatres,
performance spaces.
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Right: The Imperial Ice Stars perform Swan Lake on Ice at their
Hong Kong debut in the Cultural Centre, April 2016.
Below: Gorgeous costumes and elaborate gestures add meaning to
the classic Cantonese opera Tragedy of the Poet King.
The Arts
Below right: The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is one of Asia’s
leading orchestras and delights some 200,000 music lovers with more
than 150 performances annually.
Fans enjoy a spectacular harbour view at Clockenflap, Hong Kong’s largest,
longest-running outdoor music and arts festival and a highlight of the city’s cultural
calendar.
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Right: Students stretch during dance classes at the
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in Wan Chai.
Below: The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
opened in 2010 in the revitalised former North Kowloon
Magistracy, which earned an Honourable Mention in
the 2011 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Culture
Heritage Conservation.
The Arts
Below right: The Hong Kong Design Institute’s education
programmes and activities nurture students’ creativity
and decision-making skills, cultural sensitivity and
global perspectives.
Above: British sculptor Sir Antony Gormley, famed for his Angel of
the North in the UK, amazed Hong Kong with Event Horizon, the most
extensive public art installation seen in Hong Kong. Private landlords and
the HKSAR Government provided venues from street level to rooftops for
the 31 life-size sculptures in 2015-16.
Above right: This display of about 25,000 LED roses by a Korean creative
agency PANCOM, drew crowds to Central waterfront in 2016.
Right: Hong Kong’s annual street art festival HKwalls allows local
and international talent to share an ethos and passion for community
engagement. In 2016, it brought new life to Sham Shui Po.
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