A Dialog with Hong Kong Arts: 1842-1960

The essay is an attempt to delineate chronologically the development of Hong Kong arts between 1842 and 1960. The writer proposes different phases as: before and after the 1911 Revolution when the late Qing revolutionaries and Manchu adherents introduced calligraphy art to Hong Kong; after the establishment of the Republic of China, many overseas-educated calligraphy and painting masters came from Guangdong and settled in Hong Kong. They pushed forward art activities by forming art groups, establishing art institutes, publishing and holding exhibitions; during the Sino-Japanese War in the 1940s when popular media such as comics and woodcut were employed to spread anti-Japanese propaganda; between 1948 and 1949, art groups spreading United Front propaganda emerged; in the 1950s came the revival of community-organized art education alongside the government’s promotion of art education; and the introduction of undergraduate fine arts curriculum in the 50s and 60s. The writer also reviews the political, economic and social factors that affected the development of Hong Kong arts in the focus period.