The 106th Board Meeting of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

The Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA or the Authority) held its 106th 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 reported that M+ had reopened on 21 April as the Government had implemented the first stage of relaxation in social distancing measures. Even though the maximum number of visitors is limited to 50% of its original capacity in this first stage, M+ has admitted 136,000 visits in just 17 days from the reopening to 10 May. Together with the 383,000 visits recorded before its closure in early January, M+ recorded a sum of 519,000 visits during the 2-month opening period, showing the public’s support for M+.

Since the reopening, M+ has welcomed visitors with a host of exciting new attractions and dining facilities. First of all, the North Roof Garden exhibition area on Level 3 of the M+ building has been opened to the public, where M+ displays the M+ Playscape, a collaborative work with The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York, as a semi-permanent installation. The installation, which includes three play sculptures and several benches, stimulates viewers’ senses and inspires viewers to connect their bodies with imagination.

For food and beverages, two new restaurants, Mosu Hong Kong, located on Level 3 of the M+ building, and ADD+, on Level B1, have also opened for business since 21 April. The restaurants provide more diverse and exciting dining options for visitors to M+ as well as the District.

M+ is hosting two pop-up shops from 21 April to 31 July 2022: the Mei Lok Store pop-up inspired by the old Hong Kong, and Thames & Hudson (T&H) pop-ups presented by the world’s leading publisher. The specially designed T&H book corner in the M+ Shop showcases the recently redesigned World of Art, a series on art, architecture, design, and photography.

In anticipation of Art Basel to be held in Hong Kong at the end of this month, M+ and Art Basel have co-commissioned pioneering Hong Kong artist Ellen Pau to create a new moving image work, The Shape of Light, which will be shown on the M+ Facade from 20 May to 19 June between 7pm and 9pm daily.

The Government has announced the second stage of relaxation in social distancing measures that the maximum number of persons allowed in museums and performance venues will be increased to 85% from 19 May. Mrs Fung took the opportunity to remind those who would visit M+ to make reservations online. Details are on the West Kowloon or M+ website.

Elsewhere, preparations for the opening of the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) are in full swing. Although works have been slightly delayed due to the impact of the pandemic in the past few months, the progress has been recovered with the concerted efforts of the team in these few weeks.

The fitting out works of the nine galleries in the museum are almost completed, pending the issuance of Places of Public Entertainment Licences by the relevant government departments. With the completion of the museum building, the Authority hosted a media preview and a visit for members of the Legislative Council yesterday (10 May) for their understanding of HKPM’s architectural features and the progress of preparations for its opening.

HKPM has set up its dedicated website. In the near future, the museum will also create its official pages on Facebook, WeChat and Instagram, through which information will be released to the public in due course. HKPM has also formulated its acquisition policy and acquisition committee for establishing its collections. HKPM has received six batches of donations of precious cultural relics and artworks this year, including porcelains, paintings, gold and silverware, and furniture, some of which will be exhibited at the opening exhibitions.

Over the past two years, West Kowloon’s performing arts venues had to be closed intermittently due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, a number of West Kowloon’s programmes still received multiple accolades. Among them, the Xiqu Centre’s first-ever commissioned Experimental Cantonese Opera Farewell My Concubine (New Adaptation) stood out from hundreds of submissions and was awarded as one of “The 40 Most Influential Productions” in a list of “Most Influential Chinese Contemporary Black Box Theatre Programmes in 40 Years” announced in Beijing in March this year. It is even more encouraging as the production is the only Cantonese opera among the 40 awardees.

Programmes produced or co-presented by Freespace received totally six awards in the 23rd Hong Kong Dance Awards, which include the “Outstanding Visual Design” award won by the dance and music programme ON VIEW: Panoramic Suite; and five other awards received by Nine Songs, co-presented with Hong Kong Dance Company, and Convergence, an online programme.

Additionally, Hello, Baoyu, co-presented by Freespace and Edward Lam Dance Theatre, and 100% Hong Kong, co-presented by Freespace, Rimini Protokoll and On & On Theatre Workshop, received a total of five nominations in the on-stage and behind-the-scenes categories in the IATC(HK) Critics Awards 2021 by the International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). Among the accolades, all performers of 100% Hong Kong received the award of Performer of the Year, breaking the record of the largest group of winners receiving this award.

The Xiqu Centre and Freespace have reopened on 21 April and are presenting highlight programmes, including:

• The Dance WE Made @ West Kowloon, brought to the District by West Kowloon and the British dance company Casson & Friends; 
• The new theatre production Tit Hong Lane, organised by On & On Theatre Workshop and co-organised by Freespace;
• The free programme Carte Blanche to Christian Rizzo, curated by French choreographer extraordinaire Christian Rizzo
• The resumption of the Tea House Rising Stars Troupe’s performances from Friday to Sunday from 27 May.
   

For work projects, the remaining works under the L1 Contract for the Integrated Basement of Lyric Theatre Complex are expected to complete in the second quarter of 2022. Construction of the superstructure under the L2 Contract for Lyric Theatre Complex continues to progress on the first floor. For the works of the Integrated Basement in Zone 2A, the Authority has submitted an application for the Certificate of Completion for the foundation works to the Buildings Department. The foundation works for the Integrated Basement in Zones 2B and 2C are in progress.

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.