The LCSD manages seven major museums: the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Museum of History, Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, Hong Kong Science Museum, Hong Kong Space Museum, Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum. They acquire, conserve, research, exhibit and interpret Hong Kong’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
The department also manages the Hong Kong Film Archive, Art Promotion Office, Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre, Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery cum Heritage Trail Visitors Centre and seven smaller museums, namely Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum, Law Uk Folk Museum, Sheung Yiu Folk Museum, Sam Tung Uk Museum, Hong Kong Railway Museum and the Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery.
In 2011-12, over 5.1 million visitors patronised LCSD’s museums. We will continue to roll out inspiring and enjoyable exhibitions and programmes for different audiences. To boost publicity of museum programmes and to increase our audience base, the department set up a new Marketing and Business Development Section. It works to strengthen branding and promotion work and cultivate partnerships with external entities.
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Young participants enjoy their handmade interactive games at the MuseKids summer camp. |
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The Hong Kong Public Museums portal was launched in February 2012 as a one-stop-shop for programmes and activities offered by the 14 museums, two heritage centres, one film archive and one visual arts centre under LCSD management.
The Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum joined the Google Art Project in April 2012 to showcase 187 artworks, among which most are works of renowned Hong Kong artists. With this project, Hong Kong art can be shared with global audience in close detail through a virtual wall-less museum, anywhere, anytime.
Three Museum Advisory Panels (Art, History and Science) were set up in October 2010 to enhance the management and operation of the museums and to increase professional and community involvement in the subject. In the year under review, they continued to advise the department on positioning, business development, promotion and management of the different museums. The panels comprise professionals, academics, museum experts, artists, collectors, art promoters, entrepreneurs, marketing and public relations experts, and community leaders with expertise relevant to various museums.
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee was set up in July 2008 to monitor and advise on the first territory-wide survey of Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage. The committee, which comprises local academics, experts and community personalities, commenced its second term on January 1, 2011, with an expanded membership of a wider spectrum of experts. Its terms of reference were also widened to cover safeguarding, as well as research, promotion, enhancement, transmission and revitalisation of our intangible cultural heritage.
A Museum Trainee Programme started in 2010 to develop museum professionals. Ten graduates from local and overseas universities in disciplines such as the Fine Arts, History of Arts, Communication Studies, Conservation, Cultural Management and Architecture were recruited and trained for two years. They were attached to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Museum of History, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Film Archive, Art Promotion Office and the Central Conservation Section.
Guided by their supervisors, the trainees learnt how to manage museum services and organise education programmes. They also got hands-on experience in curating exhibitions and projects. The second phase of the Museum Trainee Programme will start in late 2012 for 15 trainees.
The Hong Kong Museum of Art offers a multicultural vision of world art and culture through exhibitions and programmes with an international perspective. The Hong Kong Museum of Art collaborated with the British Museum to present the Fantastic Creatures from the British Museum exhibition as the kick-off event of the museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2012. The exhibition presented a colourful menagerie of fantastic creatures from around the world and across time.
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Officiating guests are entranced by a mythical dragon exhibited at the Fantastic Creatures from the British Museum exhibition. |
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To present the unique nature of the museum’s collection of Chinese export paintings, we presented Artistic Inclusion of the East and West: Apprentice to Master, an exhibition about the role of Western art traditions in Chinese export painting. In 2011, the museum restaged the Legacy and Creations － Ink Art vs Ink Art and Art vs Art exhibition, which premiered at Shanghai to coincide with the World Expo in 2010. The public got the opportunity to understand ink painting traditions and developments in Hong Kong, as well as creations of contemporary Hong Kong art.
From Common to Uncommon － the Legend of Ha Bik-chuen, a retrospective exhibition paid tribute to the renowned local artist Ha Bik-chuen. Education corner and lecture series were organised to enhance the visitors’ understanding of and interest in the artworks.
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The From Common to Uncommon – the Legend of Ha Bik-chuen exhibition paid tribute to this famous local artist. |
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Other major exhibitions organised in 2011-12 include: Wu Guanzhong: Painting‧Dance‧Music and Revitalising the Glorious Tradition: The Retrospective Exhibition of Pan Tianshou’s Art, a joint venture with the China Academy of Art and the Pan Tianshou Foundation.
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More than 30 paintings by Pan Tianshou, a prominent figure in modern Chinese painting, went on display at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. In the picture, officiating guests at the opening ceremony tour the exhibition. |
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The museum also offered a wide array of educational programmes to enhance public art appreciation. To tie in with the Fantastic Creatures from the British Museum exhibition, an education corner called Pow Wow Creatures Zone was specially designed to give interesting information about the exhibits, through computer games and origami. Audio guided tours and special lecture programmes to coincide with exhibitions were organised to enhance the visitors’ experience in the museum.
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Visitors to the Fantastic Creatures from the British Museum exhibition have fun using the interactive content at the education corner, the Pow Wow Creatures Zone. |
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Art accessibility programmes such as thematic tours with sign language interpretation were organised to enable differently abled people to appreciate art. During the Fantastic Creatures from the British Museum exhibition, an Adventurous Tour with Fantastic Animals was organised in partnership with the Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong.
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Visually-impaired visitors enjoy art appreciation at the Adventurous Tour with Fantastic Animals exhibition. |
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The Hong Kong Art from 1960 to 2010 lecture series was co-organised with the local art organisation Asian Art Archive to give a comprehensive overview on the art development in Hong Kong.
In 2011-12, the museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York jointly organised The Art of Dissent in 17th Century China: Masterpieces of Ming Loyalist Art from the Chih Lo Lou Collection with Chih Lo Lou Art Promotion (Non-profit making) Ltd. The exhibition featured more than 60 prized painting and calligraphy works.
The museum attracted 338 246 visitors during the year, while 2 426 education and extension programmes drew 73 400 people.
The Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware is a branch of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Its collection features tea ware and related implements from the collection of the late Dr K S Lo, as well as rare Chinese ceramics and seals donated by the K S Lo Foundation. The From Clay to Teapot: Tea Ware by Hong Kong Potters 1986-2010 exhibition showcases the collection of works of local potters, made over the past two decades. Over 84 000 people visited the exhibition. The museum, which also organised many activities to teach people the art of tea drinking and about tea ware, attracted 197 360 visitors during the year under review.
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Visitors admire the beauty of clay tea ware at the exhibition From Clay to Teapot: Tea Ware by Hong Kong Potters 1986-2010. |
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The mission of the Hong Kong Museum of History is to foster interest in history, enrich cultural life, strengthen social cohesion and nurture a national identity. It collects, preserves and displays cultural objects closely related to the history of Hong Kong, South China and overseas.
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A visitor learns about the significance of aloe (also know as agarwood) in the naming of Hong Kong, which in Chinese means 'Fragrant Harbour', at the exhibition Peace and Harmony - The Divine Spectra of China's Fragrant Harbour Exhibition. |
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In addition to its permanent exhibition, The Hong Kong Story, the museum presents various thematic exhibitions either on its own or in conjunction with other museums and cultural organisations in Hong Kong, overseas and the Mainland.
The Flavours of Everyday Life in China － Memories from the Past Half Century exhibition offered a different perspective on the changes that took place in ordinary people’s lives, from the founding of the People’s Republic of China to economic reforms and the country’s opening up, through the display of everyday necessities and consumer goods of the times.
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The Flavours of Everyday Life in China ─ Memories from the Past Half Century exhibition showcased a wide variety of images and everyday objects used by people in China between the 1950s and 1990s. |
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With over 100 sets of artefacts sourced from the collections of Shanghai Jiading Museum and locally, the Knowledge‧Power: The Imperial Examination System of the Qing Dynasty exhibition revisited China’s imperial examination system, its development, demise and legacy, to examine how it shaped Chinese society and culture over a period of 1 300 years. The Hong Kong Currency exhibition showcased Hong Kong coins and notes of different periods and related items such as trial coins, minting tools, circulated coins, plaster models of commemorative coins, design drawings of banknotes, trial notes, plates to print banknotes, uncut sheets of banknotes, and more. About 700 artefacts, along with fascinating historical images and videos, showed pictures of the eras during which different types of currency appeared in Hong Kong. The exhibits, intricately related to Hong Kong people’s everyday lives, showed how the purchasing power of currency has changed over the years.
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The Hong Kong Currency exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of History displayed a vast collection of coins and paper money, the largest exhibition of its kind in Hong Kong. |
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The museum also jointly organised The Evergreen Classic － Transformation of the Qipao exhibition with the Soong Ching Ling Residence Administration Center at the former Residence of Soong Ching Ling, Beijing, from April to May 2011. Four other exhibitions, A Partnership with the People: KAAA and Agricultural Post-war Hong Kong, Dockyards of Hong Kong: Pictorial Exhibition on Hong Kong’s Shipbuilding and Repair Industry, Hong Kong Prehistoric Waters and Chaozhou Food Culture in Hong Kong, were also held.
To foster public interest in local history and cultural heritage, the museum organised a rich variety of educational and extension activities, such as weekend lectures, handicraft workshops, field trips, film shows and outreach programmes throughout the year.
To complement the Centenary of China’s 1911 Revolution exhibition, local historians and experts were invited to speak at a lecture series on the subject, in April and May 2011. An international conference on the centenary of China’s 1911 Revolution was launched in May 2011, when 50 historians and experts from the Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and the United States shared their latest findings on the subject and re-interpreted, from a global perspective, the political, social and historical importance of the 1911 revolution.
In July 2011, a conference on Chinese Capital: History and Documents was jointly organised with the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong.
To tie in with the new senior secondary curriculum, a new competition, the 1st Inter-school Competition of Project Learning on Hong Kong’s History and Culture was launched in July 2011. Others included the fifth Competition on Historical Research on Photos and An Enlightening Encounter: Examinations and Life essay writing and sharing competition. To further promote local history and culture among primary school students, a total of 12 outreach drama performances were organised for 3 090 students, between October 2011 and February 2012.
The Hong Kong Museum of History attracted 655 403 visitors during the year. In addition to the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence and the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of History also manages three small branch museums － the Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery at Quarry Bay Park, Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum in Sham Shui Po and Law Uk Folk Museum in Chai Wan. They attracted
70 346, 38 861 and 13 532 visitors, respectively, during the year.
The old Lei Yue Mun Fort in Shau Kei Wan was transformed into the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, a branch of the Hong Kong Museum of History. Apart from its permanent exhibition, 600 Years of Coastal Defence in Hong Kong, the museum staged two thematic exhibitions, The Cultural Relics of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the To the Last Man: The Canadian Troops in the Battle of Hong Kong.
To complement the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Hong Kong, the museum staged the History Crossover Drama, a programme of interactive theatre. Co-organised with the Performing Arts Education Centre of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, about 50 pre-performance workshops and 14 interactive drama performances were enjoyed by more than 3 000 secondary school students, from November 2011 to February 2012.
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Students visiting Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence learn about the early days of Hong Kong through various programmes. |
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The museum attracted 127 129 visitors during this year.
Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum, housed in Kom Tong Hall, a declared monument, has two permanent exhibitions covering Dr Sun’s life and his close connection with Hong Kong. Besides two thematic exhibitions, the People Who Made History － A Philatelic Commemorative of Xinhai Revolutionaries and In Search of the Ideal Nation － Dr Sun Yat-sen and Guangzhou after the 1911 Revolution, were organised this year.
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Visitors to the In Search of the Ideal Nation - Dr Sun Yat-sen and Guangzhou After the 1911 Revolution exhibition learn about the three efforts that Dr Sun Yat-sen and his disciples made to build a government in Guangzhou. |
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To commemorate the Centenary of the 1911 Revolution, the museum staged the 1911 Revolution in China: Francis Stafford’s Photo Exhibition at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre; and jointly organised the Revolution Once More － Dr Sun Yat-sen from Xing Zhong Hui to the Governments in Guangzhou exhibition, with the Guangzhou Museum and Jinan City Museum at Jinan City Museum in October 2011. The Second Revolution and Nanyang exhibition, jointly organised with the Guangzhou Museum and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall at the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, was staged from October 2011 to February 2012.
This museum attracted 97 920 visitors during the year.
The mission of the Hong Kong Science Museum is to promote public interest in science and technology through world-class services and facilities. The museum continually adds to its impressive collection of science and technology-related artefacts for research, education and public appreciation.
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Science Museum, the museum jointly organised the Albert Einstein (1879-1955) exhibition, from April 18 to August 31, 2011, in cooperation with the Consulate General of Switzerland in Hong Kong. This biographical and scientific exhibition, made possible through the courtesy of the Historisches Museum Bern, introduced the life of the genius and his important contributions, through hundreds of objects, replicas, documents, animations and movies. A series of educational activities, such as lectures by Nobel Prize laureates and other eminent scientists, an academic conference on cosmology, a music workshop and a concert were organised together with The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology under the Einstein in Hong Kong programme. The exhibition drew 259 700 visitors.
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The Mirror Hall which creates a sense of infinite space, also screened a video about the life of physicist Albert Einstein. |
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It’s a Tasty World － Food Science Now! exhibition, from October 14, 2011 to February 1, 2012, enabled visitors to understand food science and its myths and facts. Supplied by the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan), Japan, the exhibition comprised more than 60 interactive exhibits and videos on food science from different perspectives. They showed how our sense of taste works, how food is packaged and preserved and how food waste is recycled, and also looked at the food crisis and its effects. The museum enriched the exhibition with local elements with four interactive exhibits on food labelling, production processes and recycling of food waste. A total of 122 000 visitors attended this exhibition.
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Visitors to the It’s a Tasty World Food Science Now! exhibition learned about the myths and facts about food. |
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The museum jointly organised the Amazing Vaccines exhibition with the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences. It covered a wide range of topics, including the history and production of vaccines, the importance of vaccination to prevent infections and chronic diseases, and the future of vaccines. The museum specially developed a number of interactive exhibits for this exhibition, which began in September 2011 and will run until mid-2013.
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The Amazing Vaccines exhibition illustrated the dramatic impact of vaccines on human beings and their development in the future. |
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The museum also organised two exhibitions with the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department, from November 2011 to February 2012. The former introduced the special volcanic columns in the Hong Kong Global Geopark of China, while the latter introduced the migratory birds and wetlands of Hong Kong.
During the year, the museum acquired 11 collections of electrical instruments and neurosurgical instruments. It also designed and fabricated two new interactive exhibits, Colour Shadow and Cloud Ring for its permanent galleries. The Children’s Zone was revamped and opened in May 2011, with a newly-designed, larger gallery to provide small children with a better learning environment.
The Science News Corner relocated in June 2011 had its exhibition area expanded to provide richer material on the scientific and technological achievements of local universities. Three thematic exhibitions, namely, Cardio Sentinel: A 24-hour Health Care and Monitoring System, Nanotechnology and Technologies Enhancing Patient Care were presented. The first two were organised jointly with The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the other with The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
In October 2011, four leading scientists from the Mainland and Hong Kong delivered lectures at the Distinguished Chinese Scientists Lecture Series organised jointly by the China Association for Science and Technology, Beijing-Hong Kong Academic Exchange Centre, the China Association (Hong Kong) for Science and Society and the Science Museum. Topics ranged from fundamental science to energy and materials. The lectures shed light on recent developments in science and technology and the contributions of Chinese scientists.
In March 2011, the museum organised the biennial Secondary School Science Quiz Competition 2011 in which 67 schools participated.
In November 2011, the museum jointly organised, with The University of Hong Kong’s faculties of engineering and science and IBM Corporation, A Night at the Science Museum to celebrate the centenary of The University of Hong Kong and IBM, as well as the 20th anniversary of the Science Museum. Six hundred students and teachers from 60 secondary schools participated in the innovative programme, talking with experts, watching film shows, attending workshops and exploring the galleries.
Science Alive 2011, sponsored by the Croucher Foundation and jointly presented with the British Council, the Education Bureau and the Hong Kong Education City Limited, offered a variety of educational activities, including a science communication contest, a debating competition, a lecture series, workshops, demonstrations and science walkabouts.
The museum also worked with academic institutions, professional bodies and government departments on a number of special programmes. They included: the Fun Science Competition; Primary Science Project Exhibition; Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition; 44th Joint School Science Exhibition; Robotic Olympiad; Research Grants Council Public Lectures and the Science in the Public Service campaign.
During the year, 1 157 764 people visited the exhibitions while 204 344 participants attended the education and extension activities.
The Hong Kong Space Museum, which opened in 1980, is the major local institution dedicated to popularising astronomy and space science. Its main facilities include the Stanley Ho Space Theatre and two exhibition halls － the Hall of Space Science and the Hall of Astronomy. The exhibition halls feature more than 50 groups of exhibits, predominantly interactive. The Space Theatre offers awe-inspiring and educational experiences with its OMNIMAX and Sky Shows.
From August to November 2011, the museum, in cooperation with the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Beijing-Hong Kong Academic Centre, organised a special exhibition entitled Xiuyan Impact Crater about the first confirmed meteorite impact crater in China.
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The Xiuyan Impact Crater exhibition organised by the Hong Kong Space Museum, described the formation of impact craters and introduced the Xiuyan Crater, China's first confirmed impact crater. |
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To celebrate China’s breakthrough in space docking, the museum staged a special exhibition titled Tiangong-1, from September 2011 to March 2012.
A tender to renovate the two exhibition halls was issued and new exhibits simulating the experience of space travel will be designed and displayed. The museum’s website (http://hk.space.museum), with its wealth of information and educational resources on astronomy and space science, remains very popular.
In the Young Astronaut Training Camp jointly organised by the Space Museum, Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, China Astronaut Research and Training Center and the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, 30 local secondary students were selected to participate in a space science and astronaut training study visit in Beijing and Xichang in August 2011.
During the year, the museum presented two Sky Shows, four OMNIMAX Shows and three School Shows, attracting a total of 315 109 visitors.
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Professional cyclists Hung Chung-yam and Ho Siu-lun share their experiences of training to win at the premiere of Hong Kong Space Museum’s OMNIMAX show, Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France. |
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403 253 people visited the Hall of Space Science, Hall of Astronomy and 12 special exhibitions, while 20 699 people participated in 170 extension activities.
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum continued to feature a variety of exhibitions with cultural and creative themes. The blockbuster Pixar: 25 Years of Animation exhibition, showcasing a substantial collection of creative work from Pixar Animation Studios, was staged from late March to July 2011. With over 400 exhibits, including traditional artworks in various mediums, maquettes, early animated short films, and one-of-a-kind media installations, the exhibition took visitors on a journey behind the scenes of Pixar’s famous computer-animated films. The exhibition drew a record attendance of over 435 000.
Other thematic exhibitions during the year included: Virtuosity and Innovation: The Masterful Legacy of Lam
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The Pixar: 25 Years of Animation exhibition included two must-see exhibitions, the Toy Story Zoetrope and Artscape. |
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Kar Sing about the life and career of Lam Kar Sing and Applauding to Hong Kong Pop Legend: Roman Tam, commemorating the performing artist’s versatile career and revisiting the development of popular music in Hong Kong.
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The Applauding to Hong Kong Pop Legend: Roman Tam exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum introduced visitors to special moments of Roman Tam’s career and also gave them insights into the development of pop music in Hong Kong. |
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To acknowledge a generous donation of cartoonist Louie Yu Tin’s works by his family, a display featuring 50 works showcased Louie’s Woo Lung Wong social commentary cartoons was held at the museum between February 22 and June 4, 2011.
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Visitors study the works of local cartoonist Louie Yu-tin at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. The collection which includes his most popular work Woo Lung Wong was generously donated by the cartoonist’s family. |
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Imprint of the Heart: Artistic Journey of Huang Xinbo, an exhibition of the artist's works donated by his family, illustrated his influence on the development of print art in Hong Kong and Mainland China in the 20th century. The Lingering Image: The Art of Ho Fung-lin concluded the second round of the museum’s Chao Shao-an Student Exhibition Series which showed the way Chao Shao-an’s students incorporate his style into their works.
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An exhibition of more than 200 works of Huang Xinbo gave visitors the opportunity to appreciate this influential 20th century print artist’s creative output. |
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A special touring exhibition Made in Britain: Contemporary Art from the British Council Collection 1980 － 2010, showcasing 37 prominent contemporary British artists such as Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas, offered a rare opportunity to see the interesting artistic developments in Britain.
The Fashion Visionaries exhibition, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association, featured exciting local fashion design.
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Talented local fashion designers showed off their creations at the Fashion Visionaries exhibition. |
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During the year, the museum offered a diverse range of educational programmes connected with the Pixar: 25 Years of Animation exhibition. In collaboration with the School of Creative Media of the City University of Hong Kong, the museum organised an international symposium, Animated Imaginary: Global Pioneers of Contemporary Art Animation: USA, Europe and Asia Symposium, which gave more insights into the world of animation.
The museum also offered the Around the World of Animation: A Fun with English Tour to give students an opportunity to appreciate, learn and create art works interactively.
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The interactive programme of the Pixar: 25 Years of Animation exhibition attracted large crowds. |
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Together with the Hong Kong Open Printshop, the museum organised a series of fringe activities to complement the Imprint of the Heart: Artistic Journey of Huang Xinbo exhibition. We invited tertiary and secondary school students to take part in the fourth-month Life Impression: A Printmaking Quartet which led up to the exhibition. A number of outstanding works by students, inspired by Huang’s masterpiece, were exhibited. A variety of educational activities were also organised to complement the exhibitions in 2011-12. These programmes included: the Musics of Hong Kong Talk Series, The Masterful Legacy of Lam Kar Sing － A Sharing Session on the Inheritance of Cantonese Opera, a series of talks on fashion, workshops, guided tours and special events for the general public, schools and the underprivileged.
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Renowned Cantonese opera master Lam Kar-sing inspires opera lovers by recounting experiences from his decades-long career on stage. |
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Commissioned by the LCSD, the South China Research Center of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology continued a territory-wide survey to document Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage.
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Children in traditional costume perform a dance at the Opening Ceremony of Genesis and Spirit: A Showcase of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. |
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To promote a better understanding of this aspect of culture, the Genesis and Spirit: A Showcase of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China exhibition was held in October 2011. Focusing on historical developments and measures on the Mainland to protect intangible cultural heritage, the exhibition also showed what Hong Kong has done in this regard since UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage came into effect in April 2006. Performances by eight representative bearers of items on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage roused interest in the event.
In late May 2011, the State Council of China approved the Third National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Four embodiments of indigenous Hong Kong culture － the Jiao Festival of Cheung Chau, the dragon boat water parade of Tai O, the Yu Lan Ghost Festival of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow community, and the fire dragon dance of Tai Hang were successfully inscribed on the list, thus confirming their historical and cultural value.
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum, which attracted 796 326 visitors during the year, also manages three branch museums: the Sam Tung Uk Museum, Hong Kong Railway Museum and the Sheung Yiu Folk Museum. These three branch museums attracted 95 407, 209 404 and 45 106 visitors, respectively.
The Art Promotion Office (APO), in co-operation with various partners, organised numerous activities to enrich cultural life and promote art appreciation among the public, through a series of community and public art projects in 2011-12.
Art@Government Buildings, a scheme launched in October 2010, featured, from June to November 2011, site-specific artworks by three local artists, at Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, Tsuen Wan Government Offices and Revenue Tower. A mentorship programme for tertiary students to learn from professional artists preceded this.
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Guests and student assistants pose at the opening ceremony of the Art @ Government Buildings exhibition at the Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices. |
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The Park Déco Scheme, which began in October 2010, aims to enrich our public parks with artistic elements. Three sets of park furniture and a signage system were installed at Quarry Bay Park in mid-May 2011. We collaborated with the Hong Kong Design Centre and Architectural Services Department, as well as local architects and designers on the Park Déco at Cornwall Street Park, for its completion by the end of 2012.
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The Park Déco scheme is injecting creative elements into LCSD parks. Picture shows Assembled Topology benches in Quarry Bay Park. |
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In the ArtAlive@Park2012 scheme, new works by architecture students of three local universities dressed up, from March 2012 to January 2013, three public parks fronting the sea － Tsim Sha Tsui East Waterfront Podium Garden, Tai Po Waterfront Park and Stanley Promenade.
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Under the ArtAlive@Park 2012 scheme, a variety of programmes such as this performance were held in parks to bring art closer to the public. |
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To encourage public participation and promote local artworks, the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office opened, through the Public Art Project － Tamar project, a call for proposals to select artworks for installation in Tamar Park. The first batch is expected to be installed in mid-2012.
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Exhibition panels displayed under the Public Art Project ─ Tamar. |
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In January 2012, a call for entries was made for the Public Art Scheme in Town Park at the Indoor Velodrome-cum-Sports Centre in Tseung Kwan O, inviting proposals from local and overseas artists. Meanwhile, four installations in the Sai Kung District Council Public Art Project 2009 were completed in 2011.
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Under the Sai Kung District Council Public Art Project, selected works of public art have been installed at LCSD venues in the Sai Kung District. Picture shows Beyond Boundaries, a sculpture enhancing Po Tsui Park in Tseung Kwan O. |
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Since January 2012, we have partnered with the Hong Kong Design Centre in organising the Terracotta Warrior Inspired Design Public Art Programmes, a series of programmes to promote The Majesty of All Under Heaven: The Eternal Realm of China’s First Emperor exhibition, to be held at the Hong Kong Museum of History from July to November 2012.
To encourage people to enjoy visual arts in everyday life, the APO launched the fifth round of the Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme. We staged solo exhibitions of three local artists in different districts and partnered with various organisations and local designers in an effort to bring different segments of our community together through art appreciation.
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The works of Lam Tung-pang were exhibited at the Hong Kong Central Library under the Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme V. |
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To foster community engagement, the APO, in collaboration with a number of NGOs, initiated the unique 12 Oil Street: Casting project, based on the rich history of the red-brick complex at 12 Oil Street, a gazetted historic monument. Each of 12 eclectic groups － iPhone users, architecture students, South Asian families, North Point residents, etc. － paired with an artist to create their own version of the story of the building through photography. Photographs and behind-the-scenes episodes were uploaded online for public viewing from January 2012 onwards.
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Souvenirs from 12 Oil Street – Casting, a project that paired 12 groups of people from different walks of life with 12 artists to use their cameras to present their personal interpretations of the 12 Oil Street story. |
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To enhance closer cultural collaboration in the Greater Pearl River Delta region, the APO joined with Mainland municipal bodies to co-organise the Hong Kong Graphic Art Fiesta 2011: Xin Yi Dai － An International University Students Exchange Exhibition. Co-presented by the LCSD, Shenzhen International Cultural Exchange Association and the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the exhibition was co-organised by the APO, Guan Shanyue Art Museum and the Hong Kong Open Printshop. It was first held at the Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, in August 2011 to celebrate Universiade Shenzhen 2011, and then at the Sha Tin Town Hall from September to October 2011.
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Visitors watch a demonstration on how to create a lithography print at the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre. |
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The APO organised two exhibitions which showcased works by some 160 university students from China, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. A series of fringe activities were also organised while a virtual exhibition publicised the event internationally in an effort to build a platform to foster cultural exchange.
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre (VAC), a visual arts training institution managed by the APO, organised signature programmes such as the Art Specialist Course, a year-long art-training programme for amateurs and young artists, and the Artist-in-Residence programme to encourage prominent artists to interact with the public and exhibit their work during their residency.
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An exhibition on the Chinese calligraphy and ink-painting works was held at the Hong Kong City Hall by graduates of the Art Specialist Course. |
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In summer 2011, the VAC, in cooperation with the Centre for Community Cultural Development, launched a new initiative in the form of the Beautiful World Art Summer Camps project. Two art camps, held in early August 2011, involved workshops in drawing, environmental art, story-telling, and mask and shadow puppet-making for people with disabilities. Participants created their own ‘beautiful world’ beyond the confines of city life. The programme closed with a graduation party cum exhibition in late August 2011.
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Differently-abled people express their feelings for the world at the Beautiful World Art Summer Camps. |
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