LCSD Annual Report 2007-08 - Cultural Services

Performing Arts

In 2007-08, the Department continued to fulfil its commitment to providing quality cultural performances commensurate with Hong Kong's status as Asia's world city. Throughout the year, we presented a rich, diverse and innovative range of programmes featuring local and internationally renowned artists, from thematic traditional festival events for mass participation to audience-building activities at the community and school levels. The Department also manages quality cultural performance facilities, such as the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, which are the cultural foci of locals and serve as vibrant centres that facilitate cultural tourism.

The dedicated Hong Kong Cultural Centre provides our community and visitors with an extraordinary cultural experience.

Committee on Performing Arts

The Department gave its full support to the Committee on Performing Arts and its three working groups on programme promotion and audience development policies, arts education and venue hiring policies by providing professional input and relevant information for discussion at meetings and public consultations. To follow up on the Recommendation Report (I) of the Committee, the Department transferred subvention for the four major performing arts companies and funding support for the six performing arts groups that received Hong Kong Arts Development Council
three-year grants to the Home Affairs Bureau; established the Committee on Venue Partnership to implement the Venue Partnership Scheme; and continued to work with the Programme and Development Committee and six Art Form Panels to formulate strategies for programme presentation and promotion, to identify and support the development of local budding and small-scale performing arts groups, and to review programme planning and resource allocation policies.

Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Situated on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront and conceived as the premier arts centre in the territory, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre since its opening in 1989 has been the main performance venue for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Ballet.

Catering for a wide variety of performing arts activities, the Centre comprises a
2 019-seat Concert Hall, a 1 734-seat Grand Theatre and a versatile Studio Theatre with a maximum capacity of 496. A total of 891 performances that attracted more than 849 000 patrons were staged in 2007-08. Major highlights of the year included four large-scale festivals — the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the International Arts Carnival and the Mediterranean Arts Festival. The Hong Kong Cultural Centre was also a major venue for programmes in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR, including performances by the famous Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, the London Symphony Orchestra and the National Ballet of China. Other memorable performances included recitals by James Galway and Maria João Pires, the musical Le Petit Prince, the Western operas Roméo et Juliette and Aïda, and concerts of the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra with Yundi Li.

The Mediterranean Arts Festival showcasing Spanish Flamenco, Portuguese Fado, Italian commedia dell'arte, Venetian carnivals, Greek tragedy, Egyptian oriental dance, the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey, Byzantine secular music and North African Gnawa and Sufi music.

The Centre's outdoor piazza is an equally popular spot for spectacular functions, including the International Museum Day, Cantonese Opera Day and Chinese New Year Night Parade.

In addition to a new production, White, the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan staged at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre's Grand Theatre excerpts from its masterpieces over the past three decades.

Cantonese Opera Day 2007 providing an array of free programmes, including Cantonese opera performances, Cantonese Operatic Aria Karaoke and games stalls, and attracting thousands of people.

Regular meetings were organised with the Centre's patrons to gauge their views as part of the Department's ongoing commitment to the provision of quality services. The encouraging feedback from patrons in 2007-08 indicated a high level of satisfaction with the Centre's various services.

Hong Kong City Hall

Hong Kong City Hall plays host to thousands of outstanding local and overseas arts groups and provides opportunities for the audiences to appreciate the performance of a variety of art forms.

Opened in March 1962, Hong Kong City Hall was the first multi-purpose cultural centre built for the Hong Kong community. Its typical Bauhaus architecture has become a Central District landmark.

City Hall houses a 1 434-seat Concert Hall, a 463-seat Theatre, a 111-seat Recital Hall, a 590-square metre Exhibition Hall and a
260-square metre Exhibition Gallery. In 2007-08, 416 000 patrons attended 697 performances. Distinguished artists and arts groups visiting the venue in 2007-08 included the Alban Berg Quartet, the Roy Hargrove Quintet, U-Theatre, the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the National Theatre of Greece, Yuan Chenye, Fou Ts'ong, Pascal Rogé, Eriko Ishihara, Carol Kidd, Jacques Loussier and the Liuzi Operatic Troupe of Shandong. City Hall was also one of the main venues for major arts festivals.

Community Arts Facilities

A range of arts facilities is provided throughout Hong Kong, and these serve as focal points for cultural activities in individual communities. They include larger venues, such as Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun town halls and the Kwai Tsing, Yuen Long and Ko Shan theatres, and smaller venues, such as the Sai Wan Ho, Sheung Wan, Ngau Chi Wan and Tai Po civic centres and the North District Town Hall.

To promote and encourage the arts at the grassroots level, district arts bodies that organise cultural activities for the local community can enjoy the free use of these facilities through venue sponsorship. In 2007-08, around 100 community arts groups were offered sponsorship for a total of 432 activities that served more than 121 000 people. Various independent organisations also frequently hire the ancillary facilities to organise arts-related activities.

Support for Cantonese Opera

It is the Government's policy to support the development of Cantonese opera in Hong Kong. To address the concerns of the Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee, which was established by the Home Affairs Bureau in 2004, in regard to the high level of demand from the Cantonese opera sector for performing venues, the Department introduced a series of booking measures for Cantonese opera troupes. These measures include special advance booking at the Ko Shan Theatre and priority booking for specific periods at major performing venues and other performing arts venues in the New Territories.

The Theatrical Legacy of the Tang Dynasty by the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong.

To address the concerns of the sector over the shortage of venues for performances, training and practising, the Department is now planning to convert the Yau Ma Tei Theatre and the Red Brick Building into a Xiqu Activity Centre and to construct an Annex Building for the Ko Shan Theatre.

Venue Partnership Scheme

The Venue Partnership Scheme to be introduced at LCSD's performing arts venues reflects the Department's long-term commitment to providing a supportive environment for the sustainable development of the performing arts. The Scheme, which is recommended in the Committee on Performing Arts Recommendation Report (I) issued in 2006, aims to foster a partnership between venues and performing arts groups with the primary objectives of building up the artistic image and character of the venues, enlarging the audience base, optimising facility usage, encouraging community involvement in the development of the arts and contributing to the healthy development of the performing arts scene. A Committee on Venue Partnership was formed in November 2006 to advise the Department on the implementation of the Scheme.

The three-year Scheme offers venue support to venue partners in the form of the priority booking of performance space, and a fee may also be given to cover part of the programme expenditure. Although some venue partners are anticipated to commence their activities in autumn of 2008, the Scheme will be fully launched in 2009-10 in 10 venues managed by the LCSD.