From January to April in 2020, I interviewed seven emerging local theatre companies: Littlebreath Creative Workshop, Poor Guy Diary, Théâtre de la Feuille, Artocrite Theater, Rooftop Productions, Fiesta Space, and Heteroglossia. (Please refer to Appendix I for company profiles and information about the members) These theatre companies have been active for six to ten years. They can be regarded as a promising generation of theatre artists in Hong Kong, as they have produced acclaimed works on a consistent basis over the past four to five years. While they attempt to build on their accomplishments and establish themselves further in the theatre scene, they have to find ways to keep their companies running. One of the options is to acquire long-term funding from funding bodies. For small-sized theatre companies, the most apparent option would be applying for the Year Grant Scheme run by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC).

According to the latest statistics from the Census and Statistics Department, as of the end of 2018, there were 1,155,900 people under 19 years of age in Hong Kong, which constituted approximately 15.4 per cent of the total population of Hong Kong. Children and teenagers make up about one-sixth of the total population of Hong Kong. How are adults going to equip them for an uncertain future? What role will art and culture play in their upbringing? Children’s and youth theatre can foster the development of the senses, broaden the imagination and inspire thinking, and nurture future audiences for the arts. In this light, the development of children’s and youth theatre is one of the cornerstones of a city’s overall development. According to the performance data collected in the Hong Kong Theatre Yearbook 2016, there are around 40 local arts groups mainly catering to children and youth. We selected four local arts organisations targeting different age groups, interviewed them, and wrote up the case studies included in this article. These four groups were established between five to 27 years ago; they differ in size, funding sources and production modes, and are representative in their respective fields of expertise. The interviews focus on the arts programmes of the four arts groups during 2017 and 2018. Using their experiences as a starting point, the interviews explore the current situation and challenges in the development of children’s and youth theatre in Hong Kong, as well as visions and recommendations for the future.

Transcript of a discussion among Alex Tam, Artistic Director of Theatre Ronin, Tang Shu-wing, Artistic Director of Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio, Marble Leung, Executive Director of Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and Brenda Lam, a Hong Kong independent producer.

To accommodate “six industries where Hong Kong has enjoyed clear advantages” (namely, educational services, medical services, testing and certification, environmental industry, innovation and technology, and cultural and creative industries) a package of measures to facilitate change of use, redevelopment and wholesale conversion of industrial buildings was announced by the Chief Executive in his 2009-10 Policy Address, which includes a three-year “Revitalising Industrial Buildings” scheme.
On 31 January, 2007, a motion on assisting in the transformation of factory buildings was debated in the Legislative Council.
On 14 Oct 2009, plans to revitalise industrial buildings to accommodate the six industries were announced in the Policy Address. Details include:
1, Lower the threshold for compulsory sale for redevelopment of industrial buildings in non-industrial areas to facilitate the consolidation of fragmented ownership; 2, Enable owners to pay additional premiums according to the actual development density after redevelopment based on a “pay for what you build” approach; 3, Allow owners who modify the lease for redevelopment to opt to pay additional premiums by instalments over a period of five years at a fixed interest rate if the premiums payable exceed $20 million; and 4, Exempt owners who opt for the wholesale conversion of a building instead of redevelopment from paying the waiver fee for change of land use, provided that the requirement on age of property is met and planning permission is obtained.
On 1 April, 2010, the “Revitalisation of Industrial Buildings” plan was launched.

Acknowledgement: Revitalization Independence Partnership, Factory Artists Concern Group, Leung Po-shan, Lin Chiu-fai Terence
Information: (For more detail please refer to the footnote of Chinese version): Local newspapers/- Press releases from the Information Services Department, HKSAR Government/2009-10 Policy Address/ 2010-2011 The Budget/Revitalising Industrial Buildings official website/Revitalization Independence Partnership (RIP)/Facebook page of SPK Artists & Friends/Factory Artists Concern Group/Hong Kong Inmedia

Teaching art when art is everywhere, what happens in art education when “anything goes” ?

In the context of higher art education, the knowledge of the developments in art making over the last fifty years, and in remarkably vast geographical and cultural areas, has allowed students in fine arts departments to experiment in directions that are so varied that they have become nearly impossible to map efficiently when it comes to grading. Although it is not often acknowledged, as we always like to believe that what happens in the studios and classrooms of art departments is already art, but there is a real difference between a professional art practice and an educational art practice. The most visible difference is made explicit at the end of the semester when studio art teachers have to grade their students’ works. How can one grade an artwork, when all the old criteria of aesthetic quality – like composition, colour, etc. – are increasingly often irrelevant in an evaluation?

I am not a studio art teacher and, in spite of the kindness of my colleagues who are not opposed to me giving an opinion on the work of our students, I am not involved in the marking process of students’ works in the studio. I understand that it is possible to teach art making without any art history courses (or with just the bare minimum, which is to say almost nothing), but it is my opinion that studio art and art history are living together in a marriage of convenience, but that this arranged marriage is also the proverbial “match made in heaven.” My job description is that I teach “courses on the History of Western Art, the theories of Modernism and Postmodernism, and on Chinese and Western Comparative Aesthetics.” And, of course, that is what I do – the description was in fact provided by me. But there might be some misunderstandings on what is meant by History of Western Art.

As far as I am concerned, it is not really “Western art history” fine arts students have to study. Although it is not possible to do so as it would not only require far too many hours of lecturing but also many more lecturers than it is possible to hire; ideally, the study of art history in the context of a studio art course should be about how art is being made around the world today. Of course, in the Fine Arts Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, we still study European and Chinese art and its theory at least from the 15th to the 21st century, but in my mind the knowledge of this history is only a preparation to better understand contemporary art. Whether they specialize in studio art or art history, our students are all part of this world and the only thing we can do to make them understand it better is to provide them with knowledge of the past, or at least facilitate their access to that vast reserve of information, and in fact, an understanding of the present or the future is something they can only do for themselves.

Frank Vigneron was Associate Professor, Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2011).

In his 1999 publication, British scholar John Tomlinson described the relationship between globalisation and culture as, ‘Globalisation lies at the heart of modern culture; cultural practices lie at the heart of globalisation.’ As a matter of fact, globalisation has developed out of local culture where globalisation begins only for the seepage of its immense influence. Prominent and much-discussed examples are McDonaldisation and Starbuckisation, among others. Subsequently, due to commercisalisation, capitalism and cultural specificity, globalisation fuses with local culture and engenders ‘glocalisation’. ‘In the marketing context, glocalisation means the creation of products or services for hte global market by adapting them to local cultures.’ There is a shift to emphasise the heterogeneity in homogeneity, and to innovate out of hybridity. While the impact of globalisation has lasted in many parts of the world, glocalisation is gradually taking over as the new trend of contemporary culture, drawing considerable attention. Apart from the international, large-scale integrated art festivals (Hong Kong example being the Hong Kong Arts Festival), there is a rising trend is for festivals to underline their heterogeneity by focusing on the promotion of local artists and their works, which are inevitably being graded and compared with those taking place in nearby countries and cities. Comparison and competition are not necessarily negative. It would be beneficial if we learn and put one to the test through exchanges, from which practitioners discover space for multi-dimensional thinking and innovation and development opportunities.

Throughout 2017, one needed not to be a regular ballet-goer to be once amazed by the Hong Kong Ballet’s promotional campaign in the form of MTR lightbox advertisements and huge posters in public spaces. Flipping through the Hong Kong Ballet’s Annual Report 2017/18, we get a glimpse of some of the images used in the posters; stylish with vibrant colours, and they highlight the contrast and fusion of graceful bodies and the local cityscape. The cityscape itself as the backdrop highlights ‘characteristics’ such as ‘the East meeting the West’, ‘blending of the traditional and the modern’, that are strongly orientalist, exotic, almost cliché (Plate 1). For Hong Kong, a commercial city that is particular to publicity and packaging with world-class designs, the images used in the Hong Kong Ballet’s new campaign were somewhat mediocre. But if we dial back the clock to 2013/14 and compare the styling in 2013/14 and 2017/18 Annual Reports, it becomes obvious that the ‘ugly duckling’ had changed its skin in just four years. Gone was the humble appearance, and she is now quite a looker.

It is an important responsibility of the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong (CAAHK) to collect and compile the oral history of Cantonese opera artists and practitioners, since it is one of the strategic objectives of the CAAHK’s Cantonese Opera Heritage Plan. The year 2009 was a pivotal year in the CAAHK’s history. In addition to being successfully registered as a charitable organisation, the association submitted its proposal to the government for the revitalisation of a historic building, the North Kowloon Magistracy, as The CAAHK Cantonese Opera Culture Centre. It also announced the Cantonese Opera Heritage Plan in the same year. The plan outlines an overall plan of action for Cantonese opera heritage preservation in Hong Kong, with the CAAHK being one of the various stakeholders. The comprehensive implementation of Cantonese opera heritage preservation requires more than the efforts of the Cantonese opera circle; it also requires support from different organisations and individuals in Hong Kong, and can only be brought to fruition with sufficient resources and ongoing planning and enactment over time.

Presented by the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong, subvented by the Cantonese Opera Development Fund, and venue sponsored by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Yau Ma Tei Theatre Venue Partnership Scheme – Cantonese Opera Young Talent Showcase was launched in 2012. Upon the scheme’s inception, five seasoned maestros were placed at the helm as artistic directors: Danny Li Chi-kei, Law Ka-ying, Yuen Siu-fai, Sun Kim-long, and Lung Koontin. They were later joined by two famed actresses, Wan Fai-yin and Wong Chiu-kwan. Through hands-on coaching by the master, the Showcase sets out to pass down the artistic riches of Cantonese opera to a new generation of actors. Since 2012, I have had the privilege of being a part of this big family. Under the nurturing hand of the artistic directors, I have grown considerably as an actor, and gained more recognition and support from the audience.

Emily NgClaustrophobia (2017) is an intermedia work that takes its point of departure in the joining of three different media: visual arts, sonic arts and performing arts. It began with a proposition raised by creative producer Orlean Lai: Is it possible for artists to employ media other than their usual ones to conceive of and create a work of art, and to work together in doing so?