Hong Kong Arts Centre
- HKGCC Membership No. :
- HKH0515
HKAC: Cultural Ambassador
HKAC: Cultural Ambassador
Hong Kong Arts Centre flies the flag for the city’s artists and helps them turn their talent into commercial success, reports the Chamber’s staff writer Lafee Lo
Hong Kong was once known as a “cultural desert.” The establishment of the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) in 1977 – and the organization’s work over the years since then – has made a significant contribution to helping the city get rid of this reputation.
HKAC is a self-financed non-profit multi-arts organization which aims to promote contemporary art and culture in Hong Kong, with a special focus on engaging the general public.
Over the past four decades, it has endeavored to nurture local artists, cultivate mature audiences, and foster cross-disciplinary collaborations among different art forms including performing arts, visual arts, and film and video arts.
Spreading the word
HKAC also has a global view. It is committed to fostering cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and the rest of the world to enhance the city’s cultural profile and to showcase homegrown talent to overseas audiences. Serving as the city’s cultural ambassador, it introduces Hong Kong’s art and culture to other parts of the world by collaborating with international arts organizations on exhibitions, galleries and workshops. So far, HKAC has helped local artists reach a global audience in countries including Germany, France, Japan, Belgium and the Chinese Mainland.
Connie Lam, Executive Director of HKAC, said that the centre has taken on the responsibility of proactively marketing the city’s range of cultural aspects to the world.
“We want the world to know that Hong Kong is not only known for its achievements as a financial centre, it is also a culturally vibrant city with unique arts and culture.”
Apart from serving as the city’s cultural ambassador, HKAC is also an arts and culture incubator in Hong Kong. It has played a particularly vital role in fostering the development of the city’s cultural and creative industries (CCI) on the education front.
The centre’s education arm, the Hong Kong Art School, is an accredited institute that nurtures talent by offering award-bearing curriculums from diploma to master’s degree level. Students can choose from courses in four key areas – Fine Art, Applied Art, Media Art, and Applied Theatre and Drama Education.
While the artistic sphere may in some respects be poles apart from the business world, in fact the creative industries make up a significant proportion of the city’s economy.
“According to the latest government statistics, CCI represents around 5% of Hong Kong’s GDP, and this number is projected to grow in the future,” Lam said. “Ensuring talent supply is particularly essential for the sustainable development of CCI.”
Talent incubation is only the first step. In order for CCI to thrive in the long run, post-school support is also important. Taking advantage of being both an arts venue and an arts hub, HKAC organizes various events to help local artists to enhance their public exposure and raise their profile. These events also provide valuable experience to artists, as well as to behind-the-scenes workers, in the areas of production, presentation and publicity.
HKAC is also an essential facilitator of Hong Kong’s local comics and animation development. Since 2006, it has been striving to promote Hong Kong comics to the world by encouraging local artists to take part in different events, including the Angouleme International Comics Festival in France, to reach international audiences.
Where art meets business
Merchandising artworks is also an important route for local artists to become better known by the public and to establish a source of income to sustain their creative work.
“Turning the art pieces into commodities – for example, shopping bags, plastic folders and other art-related items – will not only help art become a part of our daily life but also help create an industry chain which tangibly contributes to the economy in terms of production and consumption,” Lam explained.
She added that a wide range of affordable art pieces created by local artists can be found at the HKAC art shop, which provides a way for people in Hong Kong to support local artists when they are searching for gift ideas.
HKAC actively collaborates with the business sector to engage the public with art. Apart from organizing competitions, exhibitions, and art projects in public spaces with companies in Hong Kong, HKAC also provides other options for the business sector to interact with the centre. For example, companies can rent venues to hold cultural events such as movie screenings or cocktail receptions. It also offers various art workshops, such as pottery, to companies as team-building activities.
Looking ahead, HKAC will continue its efforts to engage the public and foster cross-disciplinary collaborations to promote contemporary art and culture in Hong Kong.
Company: Hong Kong Arts Centre
HKGCC Membership No.: HKH0515
Established: 1977
Website: www.hkac.org.hk
