The 105th Board Meeting of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

The Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA or the Authority) held its 105th meeting today. At the meeting, Mrs Betty Fung, Chief Executive Officer of WKCDA, reported on the latest progress in various areas of the West Kowloon Cultural District (West Kowloon or the District).

Mrs Fung is pleased to report that M+ received a significant donation of works by Chinese-French master Zao Wou-Ki generously donated by Zao Wou-Ki’s daughter Sin-May Roy Zao. The donation comprises twelve works, including nine prints, two oil paintings, and one watercolour painting ranging in dates from 1945 to 2005, spanning almost his entire professional career. This is M+’s first acquisition of Zao’s work and the biggest donation of his work ever to an Asian museum. M+ now holds one of the largest collections of his work in a public institution outside of Europe.

In response to the Chief Executive’s announcement on 21 March on the government’s plan to relax most of the social distancing measures in three phases, the Authority will be gearing up for the reopening of M+ and its performing arts venues. Details will be announced in due course. During the museum’s closure, M+ continued to offer exquisite journeys of visual culture through the social media campaign #MplusFromHome and a series of virtual programmes, which provided the public with an alternative way to immerse themselves in experiences of modern and contemporary visual culture without leaving home.

In addition to the local online programmes and events, M+ and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council will collaborate for the fifth time to present Angela Su: Arise, Hong Kong in Venice, Collateral Event at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. La Biennale di Venezia is not only one of the world’s most prestigious international art events but also the most important and effective platform for West Kowloon to promote outstanding Hong Kong artists to the world. This year’s La Biennale di Venezia will open on 23 April 2022 and last until 27 November.

As for the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM), the museum building’s completion has been achieved, with its system and facilities being tested. Interior fit-out works of the galleries and production of exhibitions are being carried out in full swing. In response to the recent severe pandemic situation, some of the fit-out works in the galleries were slightly delayed , and some of the works materials were not delivered to Hong Kong on time. Mrs Fung said that the museum had formulated response measures, adjusted the project plan, and strived to complete the work of all galleries in mid-April this year in order to facilitate inspections by relevant government departments for the issuance of Places of Public Entertainment License. Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, the Authority is making its best efforts to get the HKPM open to the public in July.

Part III of the Palace Museum Culture Lecture Series is presented from March to May this year. At these three online public talks themed on ancient East-meets-West exchanges, leading experts on Palace Museum culture from Hong Kong, Beijing, and Taipei would introduce the distinctive charm of the culture of the Forbidden City. The first talk, ‘European Cannon Technology in the Reign of the Kangxi Emperor’ by Dr Chou Weichiang, Curator, HKPM, was held on 12 March. The second talk, ‘Ancient Chinese Export Ceramics in the Palace Museum Collection’ by Mr Lyu Chenglong, Research Fellow and Director, Department of Antiquities, Palace Museum, will be held on 9 April.

As for performing arts, Mrs Fung reported that in compliance with the Government’s social distancing measures, all performing programmes and activities scheduled for 7 January to 20 April in the District’s performing arts venues this year have been rescheduled, cancelled or transformed to online programmes. The Authority will review the arrangements for reopening our performing arts venues and announce them shortly.

To allow audiences to experience the wonderful performances by West Kowloon without leaving home, the Performing Arts Division of the Authority began to provide a wide range of performing arts digital programmes on the video platform of the West Kowloon website and West Kowloon social media every Wednesday and Saturday starting from 12 March this year, including artist interviews, dance films, educational videos, theatre, music performances and Xiqu highlights online premieres.

TechBox is a four-year project jointly launched by Freespace in West Kowloon and the School of Theatre and Entertainment Arts at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts last year, which aims to assemble media artists, theatre designers, faculty members and students to explore the infinite possibilities of combining technology and performing arts through research, discussion and experimentation. At TechBox held in September last year, local artists reinvented their work on the platform. From 1 March this year, the public can watch two related short videos through West Kowloon’s social media to revisit their creative process.

Arts Impact Fellowship is another project developed by the Performing Arts Division, which aims to support young people to participate in innovative projects that inspire positive change for the community through performing arts. Arts Impact Fellowship 2022 is open for applications now. The selected candidates will receive HK$60,000 for conducting the research and have the opportunity to cooperate with West Kowloon to develop the project. The programme application deadline is 31 March this year.

As for works projects in West Kowloon, works in the Zone 2 of Integrated Basement continues. Due to the recent severe pandemic situation, the site progress of both L1 and L2 Contracts of Lyric Theatre Complex (LTC) was affected. The remaining works under the L1 Contract for the Integrated Basement (including Public Infrastructure Works at Austin Road West and the construction of ventilation building structures) are now forecasted to be completed in the second quarter of this year. Under the L2 Contract for LTC, the construction of the superstructure remained progressing to the first floor level.

In view of the severe epidemic situation, and to minimise the attendance of working staff in the Board Meeting, most attendees, including the WKCDA Board Chairman and the Board Members, joined the meeting by dialling in, except the relevant WKCDA personnel. The Authority believed that these arrangements would best protect the safety of all participants while allowing the meeting to be conducted in compliance with statutory requirements and remain transparent.

Remarks

About the West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural projects globally. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on forty hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances and cultural events, providing twenty-three hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.