Hong Kong’s authorities on Tuesday introduced the formation of the Mega Arts and Cultural Occasions Committee to be chaired by Adrian Cheng Chi-kong.
Cheng, together with eight different committee members from completely different industries together with famend architect Eric Yim, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority board member Yolanda Ng and former CEO of Emperor Leisure Group Ng Yu, will advise the fund, the federal government mentioned.
The fund, designed to advertise worldwide cultural exchanges, will supply subsidies value a complete of HK$60 million (US$7.68 million) annually. Giant-scale cultural occasions resembling Artwork Basel and Artwork Central will likely be allowed to use for a most subsidy of HK$15 million, in line with the federal government’s plan.
“Specializing in the artistic economic system, we’ll work throughout completely different sectors to deliver extra world-class arts and cultural occasions to Hong Kong, driving business exercise and offering alternatives for native artistic industries,” mentioned Cheng.
He mentioned the town is trying ahead to reinforcing its standing as a global arts and cultural hub after the three-year lengthy pandemic. The committee hopes to realize this by facilitating cultural exchanges between mainland China and the remainder of the world and supporting the event of Hong Kong’s arts and tradition scene.
The committee will oversee the operations of the fund, set its targets, and attempt to entice mega occasions to Hong Kong.
Business observers welcomed the formation of the fund and Cheng’s appointment.
“I’m very comfortable to see the federal government launch the fund, and Cheng is the fitting particular person given his community and efforts to advertise arts and tradition,” mentioned professor Anthony Fung Ying-him, director of Chinese language College of Hong Kong’s college of journalism and communication.
Fung, whose experience consists of Hong Kong and China’s popular culture and leisure, believes extra huge occasions from abroad and the mainland will come to Hong Kong.
The competitors to host large-scale arts and cultural occasions may be very intense amongst Asian international locations resembling South Korea and Singapore, as a result of the occasions deliver vacationers and assist to advertise native tradition, mentioned Paul Chan Chi-yuen, a co-founder of Stroll in Hong Kong that encourages native tradition by organising small-group strolling excursions round outdated neighbourhoods resembling Sheung Wan and Kowloon Metropolis.
“The power of the committee is that its members come from completely different industries who can promote the occasions extra successfully,” he mentioned.
It’s prone to take time for the Hong Kong’s cultural occasions to get again to pre-pandemic ranges by way of measurement and scope.
However it’s nonetheless a far cry from the 242 galleries on show in 2019, earlier than the coronavirus first struck.
Dane Cheng, govt director of the Tourism Board, mentioned on Sunday the easing of Covid-19 restrictions supplied gentle on the finish of the tunnel, however the days of a median of 180,000 vacationer arrivals per day had been a good distance off.
He was assured {that a} collection of large-scale occasions in March, together with the Clockenflap music pageant and Artwork Basel, will deliver vacationers again to the town.
