The artspace on G/F, 404 Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei came out of a rental agreement between the Hong Kong Government and Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Its operation has been under the management of Centre For Community Cultural Development since 2016, which named the space “Green Wave Art.” In December 2018, ADC informed Green Wave Art that as there had not been any valid “Places of Public Entertainment Licence” associated with the location, G/F, 404 Shanghai Street would be closed by the end of April 2019.

An exhibition is the occasion where artworks and the audience meet. The quantity and mode of operation of exhibition venues more or less reflect the actuality of art creation and exchange, and the trend of art media choices. Notwithstanding art forms come before exhibition venues, the latter’s availability and management have direct bearings on how artworks are circulated, hence the livelihood of artists. Hong Kong Visual Arts Yearbook has been compiling yearly tally of exhibition venues, among which data of 2013 to 2018 is graphically presented in this section to show the change of venue count. For the ease of comparison, exhibition venues are categorized into commercial art space, alternative art space and cultural institute.

The titles of newspaper articles give readers the first impression of what the article is about. Thus, the choice of words for a headline directly impacts on the newspaper readers. This study investigates high-frequency words that appear in the titles of visual arts news through an analysis of major local Chinese newspapers from 2016 to 2018. The purpose of this research is to identify the high-frequency words that appear in the titles of visual arts news in major local Chinese newspapers, with the aim to map out the public’s initial impression of local visual arts news. In addition, this research investigates how the newspapers concerned handle the titles of visual-arts-related news and if any differences prevail across newspapers. The focus of the research is on revealing the phenomenon, rather than providing an explanation or interpretation. Further discussion and research on this topic is recommended.

Born in Guangzhou, Zhao Shao’ang (1905-1998) moved to Hong Kong in 1948, devoting his life to art education and inspiring countless students through his lessons and his art. Although he is internationally known for the colorful Lingnan style that captures both the form and the spirit and his work is collected by museums and individuals in Europe, the Americas and Asia, he was determined to put down roots in just Hong Kong and Guangzhou. By reviewing his life’s journey and artistic experience, this essay reveals how the Lingnan artists preserved and explored Chinese painting in the 20th century when the old met the new, and when the blending of east and west was prevalent, and helps to provide valuable information to the study of Hong Kong art history. Zhao created with his brush an enchanting spring garden full of the singing of birds and floral fragrance. He metaphorically introduced himself as a cicada because the insect perched on the highest branch of a tree and symbolised moral integrity. He transferred the amazing scenery he had seen in the north and the south of China onto his paintings that would attract attention. He captured not only the forms but also the spiritual charm of the animals so as to make his objects lifelike. As for his style, he aspired to modernise Chinese painting as he followed the revolutionary idea of the Lingnan School, weaving the strands of western ideas and techniques into the traditional Six Principles of Chinese painting and creating works with his own experiences and understanding of life.

The 79-day “Umbrella Movement” began in September 2014. The civil disobedience actions in the movement, which were never seen in Hong Kong before, started in a most unexpected way. A large number of citizens and political leaders started the long struggle by occupying the streets, which delivered an unpredictable outcome in such a mass movement, and which gave rise to this essay’s main focus: the role of the arts in the Umbrella Movement. The arts (especially visual arts) has occupied a central position in the event that will go down in history, and will be an important case study in art history for the understanding of the relationship between the arts and politics. This essay is a presentation of the perspective from an active participant and some first-hand material, which could serve as reference for other researchers. I happened to position myself in multiple roles in relation to the overlap between the Umbrella Movement and the arts, and the development of an eighteen-month long post-Umbrella Movement. Therefore, by reviewing my personal experience and thinking process, this essay gives a brief but reflexive account of the political movement.

Transcript of a dialogue between Cheung Ping-kuen, Chairman of International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong), and Poon Wai-sum, Dean of the School of Drama, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

After ‘ART HK’ was acquired by the ‘Art Basel’ in 2012, its 2014 edition was staged in a new location right after the blockbuster first edition of ‘Art Basel Hong Kong’. Since then, the two large-scale art expos, accompanied by numerous other ‘art events’ around the same period, have been creating what looks like a vibrant cultural hub every March in Hong Kong. Previously, the active art market had been more or less segregated from the locals, but since 2014 ‘art’ quickly has become a popular leisure activity, evidenced by the bloom in printed media coverage completed with ‘exhibition-goers’ survival guides. Alongside Art Basel came the setting up of Hong Kong offices of many overseas galleries which regularly hold free public exhibitions. From 2014 to 2017, there were 1,095 to 1,391 visual arts exhibitions on record every year, averaging three to four per day. The sheer number of shows means that it became a priority for galleries to create buzz and draw eyeballs onto their exhibitions.

The first ‘City Contemporary Dance Festival’ (hereinafter referred to as CCDF) was organised by the ‘City Contemporary Dance Company’ (hereinafter referred to as CCDC) in 2017. In the ‘Artistic Director’s Message’ of the programme guide titled ‘The Feast of Asia Contemporary Dance’, Willy Tsao pointed out that many people’s perception and impression of art festivals were limited to associations with international art events in Europe and America, and ‘as the arts in Asia continue to flourish──from the development of industry professionals, allocation of resources, through to innovation of artistic creativity──the region has been gaining much in international recognition.’ With CCDC’s accumulated international network over the years, and the co-organisation of large-scale modern dance festivals with ‘Guangdong Modern Dance Company’ and ‘Beijing Dance/LDTX’ as foundation, CCDF aimed at ‘strengthening international exchanges’ and inter-sector networks, while providing a space for wider and further artistic developments for artists and audiences.

The Central Police Station Revitalisation Project, a collaboration between The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) and the Hong Kong government, has transformed the former Central Police Station, Central Magistracy and Victoria Prison into a complex for the city’s heritage and arts.[1] Unveiled in May 2018, Tai Kwun was selected by TIME as one of the world’s 100 greatest places of the year three months later. The magazine hailed Tai Kwun as ‘Hong Kong’s largest-ever restoration project’ where ‘visitors can have a drink in the former jail or watch a Shakespeare play in a onetime prison yard, among other activities.’[2] Apart from the repurposed complex that houses permanent exhibition galleries, restaurants, shops, offices, and multi-functional spaces, the heritage site also includes two new buildings — JC Contemporary and JC Cube — for visual and performing arts events.

As Hong Kong’s new landmark for performances and arts, Tai Kwun’s events are certainly not limited to the two buildings. The encompassing array of art programmes is held across outdoor squares and indoor venues. For instance, the 2018 seasonal calendar consisting of ‘Theatre Season’ ‘Dance Season’ and ‘Circus Play’ allowed performing arts to fill every corner of the heritage site, creating a pervasive artistic ambiance unlike any other arts festivals or dance/theatre seasons in town. Meanwhile, as learnt from the interviews with artists who have contributed to the Dance Season, Tai Kwun has dedicated much effort to attending to the needs of artists, in the hope to develop a more in-depth and long-term partnership besides seeing to the completion and effectiveness of productions.

In recent years, organisations tasked with the allocation of public cultural resources have been progressively promoting performing arts internationally. In the year of 2018, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) organised three industry delegations to Classical:NEXT in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the internationale tanzmesse nrw (tanzmesse) in Dusseldorf, Germany, and CINARS (Conférence internationale des arts de la scène/International Exchange for the Performing Arts) in Montreal, Canada. In addition, the Performing Arts Meeting held in Yokohama, Japan featured three Hong Kong performing units, while representatives from HKADC and the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) participated in the conference. Together with the Seoul International Dance Festival and Yokohama Dance Collection, the City Contemporary Dance Festival formed a programme exchange alliance and assigned two pieces to be performed in Seoul in 2018.

For a long time, seeking performance or creative opportunities overseas has been one way for dance practitioners to develop their individual artistic careers. It was not until 2013 when Mui Cheuk-yin was elected as a council member of HKADC that delegations began advertising in the art market. Seeing the lack of support for independent dance practitioners in the face of global competition, Mui Cheuk-yin promoted the use of delegations to increase the visibility of Hong Kong dance in the art market. In 2014, Chan Chun-ying Anna, the then Head of Dance (Performing Arts) of WKCDA, dedicated herself to promoting creative exchanges between Hong Kong and the international dance community, and ‘Going International’ ostensibly became part of the institutional blueprint. With the allocation of public resources, dance practitioners eagerly set out onto the world stage.