PERFORMING
ARTS
The Hong Kong Cultural Centre stages a wide range of performing arts events. It houses a 2 019-seat Concert Hall, a 1 734-seat Grand Theatre and a Studio Theatre with a seating capacity of 496. In 2016-17, 634 performances were held there, attracting over 579 000 patrons.
During the year, major cultural events hosted by the cultural centre included the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Le French May arts festival, the Chinese Opera Festival, the International Arts Carnival, and the New Vision Arts Festival. It also provided a stage for many internationally acclaimed performing arts groups, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Akram Khan Company from the United Kingdom, and the National Theatre of China. Other important programmes included Verdi’s opera Otello, Richard III by Schaubühne Berlin, A Classical Farewell by Carlos Acosta, and recitals by Joshua Bell, Murray Perahia and Mischa Maisky.
The cultural centre’s outdoor piazza was a popular destination for those wanting to enjoy outdoor events such as the International Chinese New Year Night Parade, the Lunar New Year Lantern Carnival, and fireworks displays. It also hosted a range of weekend handicrafts and arts stalls set up under the Creative Market in Partnership @ HKCC scheme, which provides a platform to showcase the creativity of local youth and arts organisations.
The Hong Kong City Hall, built in Bauhaus style and opened in 1962, is now a designated Grade 1 Historic Building. It has a 1 434-seat Concert Hall, a 463-seat Theatre and a 590-square metre Exhibition Hall. Around 353 000 patrons attended 592 performances staged there in 2016-17.
During the year, the Hong Kong City Hall hosted numerous performances by world-renowned artists and arts groups, including Eliso Virsaladze, David Oistrakh Quartet, Concerto Italiano, Les Vents Français, Ensemble Hirundo Maris, Camerata Salzburg, Piotr Anderszewski, Julia Fischer, Narek Hakhnazaryan, Máiréad Nesbitt, and the Vienna Boys Choir. Several acclaimed local artists also performed at the venue, including Trey Lee, Louise Kwong, Lin Cho-liang, Yau Sing-po and Chan Ho-kau.
Our many arts facilities are focal points for cultural events around Hong Kong. They include larger venues such as the 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.
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Sha Tin Town Hall, the venue underwent a major face-lift in 2016. The public area was turned into an art space that included contemporary artworks in the form of mobile installations ‘C.art’ and large-scale floral decorations, while a series of celebration performances by local and overseas arts groups and a Fun Day were organised.
Various cultural organisations also hired our LCSD facilities for arts activities during the year. In 2016-17, 6 318 performances at these venues attracted around 2 103 000 patrons.
Our venue sponsorship scheme promotes the arts at community level by offering free use of our facilities to district arts groups involved in organising cultural activities for the local community. In 2016-17, 95 community arts groups were sponsored for 644 activities, which together attracted about 107 000 people.
Due to high demand for Cantonese opera performance venues in Hong Kong, the LCSD has put in place a priority hiring policy for professional Cantonese opera troupes. This gives them priority hiring of the Ko Shan Theatre, along with priority hiring for specific periods at five other major performance venues.
The Yau Ma Tei Theatre, which contains a 300-seat theatre and two function rooms, is dedicated to Chinese opera and related activities. Built in 1930, the theatre is the only surviving pre-war cinema building in the urban area of Hong Kong; it gained Grade 2 status in 1998. After revitalisation, the theatre and the adjacent Grade 1 Red Brick Building were re-opened in 2012. The complex has become an important training and performance venue for budding Cantonese opera artists. In 2016-17, around 62 000 visitors attended over 280 performances at the theatre.
Opened in 2014, the Ko Shan Theatre New Wing is specially designed for staging Cantonese opera. The 600-seat auditorium and rehearsal rooms, equipped with modern facilities, complement the original 1 031-seat theatre, making the Ko Shan Theatre an ideal performance and rehearsal base for Cantonese opera. In 2016-17, more than 81 000 people attended about 200 performances at the auditorium.
In January 2016, the Government began construction of the East Kowloon Cultural Centre in Ngau Tau Kok, in a move to increase the number of performing arts facilities in Hong Kong and more generally to encourage the development of culture and the arts in the area. The foundations were completed in early 2017, and infrastructure construction commenced in July 2017. The cultural centre will consist of a 1 200-seat auditorium, a 550-seat theatre, three music/dance/drama studios with seating capacities ranging from 120 to 250, rehearsal rooms, art booths, a restaurant, and a coffee shop. Ancillary facilities will include offices, car parking spaces, public open spaces, and a loading/unloading area. Scheduled for completion by the end of 2020, the cultural centre is expected to become a major cultural facility for East Kowloon.
The third round of our three-year Venue Partnership Scheme, which fosters partnerships between venues and performing arts groups, is running from April 2015 to March 2018. The aim of the scheme is to raise the public image of the selected performing arts groups and increase their audiences. It also aims to optimise the use of the venue facilities and encourage wider community involvement in the arts. The performing arts groups are supported by, for example, being provided with work spaces, getting priority use of venue facilities, being provided with funding, and enjoying enhanced publicity. In 2016-17, the LCSD’s 20 venue partners (which include individual groups, joint groups and consortia) presented 716 performances and engaged in 900 audience-building activities, together attracting around 722 000 spectators and participants.
| Venues | Partners |
|---|---|
| (1) Hong Kong City Hall | Hong Kong Sinfonietta Hong Kong Repertory Theatre |
| (2) Hong Kong Cultural Centre | Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Hong Kong Ballet Zuni Icosahedron |
| (3) Kwai Tsing Theatre | Chung Ying Theatre Company W Theatre and Wind Mill Grass Theatre |
| (4) Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre | E-Side Dance Company |
| (5) North District Town Hall | Hong Kong Theatre Works |
| (6) Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre | The Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection | (7) Sha Tin Town Hall | The Cantonese Opera Advancement Association Trinity Theatre and The Radiant Theatre |
| (8) Sheung Wan Civic Centre | Theatre Dojo and iStage |
| (9) Tsuen Wan Town Hall | Hong Kong Dance Company Ming Ri Institute for Arts Education |
| (10) Tuen Mun Town Hall | Spring-Time Experimental Theatre and Hong Kong Young Talent Cantonese Opera Troupe POP Theatre |
| (11) Yau Ma Tei Theatre | The Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong |
| (12) Yuen Long Theatre | Hong Kong Performing Stage of Cantonese Opera |
The Arts Administrator Trainee Scheme is designed to train up young arts administrators for the development of Hong Kong’s cultural scene.
LCSD arts administrator trainees undergo a two-year programme that provides training in venue operations, facility management, event promotion, and the organisation of performing arts programmes, carnivals and arts festivals. Trainees in stage management also acquire technical know-how at LCSD venues under the guidance of in-house stage professionals. There were 31 trainee placements in 2016-17.
During the year, the LCSD also sponsored its 20 venue partners and the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society in taking on 42 trainees, who learned about the management of performing arts groups and arts festivals.