The 108th Board Meeting of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

The Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA or the Authority) held its 108th 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).

With the concerted effort of the West Kowloon team, the preparation work for the opening of the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) has entered its final stage. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will co-organise an Opening Ceremony for the HKPM. The museum will officially open to the public on 2 July 2022.

The opening exhibitions of HKPM are jointly curated by HKPM and the Palace Museum. 914 pieces of priceless treasure from the Palace Museum – the biggest loan to another cultural institution outside the Mainland since its establishment in 1925 – will be put on display on rotation. Amongst them, 166 works are classified as grade-one objects. Some of these loans are being shown in Hong Kong for the first time.

In addition to more than a hundred exhibits on loan from local museums and cultural institutions, 13 precious loans about the horse from the Louvre in Paris will juxtapose over 100 loans from the Palace Museum in the exhibition themed “The Grand Gallop: Art and Culture of the Horse” in Gallery 9 to highlight the cultural and knowledge exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

The Authority announced the museum’s admission fee and sales arrangements last week. The price for the general admission is HK$50, and that of a concession ticket is HK$25. Full-time students, children aged 7 to 11, senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities (and one accompanying carer), and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients are eligible for concession tickets.

Admission tickets for the first four weeks from the museum’s opening have been put up for sale from 10am today (14 June) onwards, and the ticketing system has been generally smooth. In celebration of the opening of HKPM, the public can visit seven thematic exhibitions on Wednesdays with free tickets in the first 12 months from the opening, by making an online booking. The Authority estimates that around 360,000 visitors will enjoy free admission on Wednesdays in the first 12 months from the museum’s opening.

In addition, HKPM has set aside about 150,000 general admission tickets (which translates to 10% of the total number of tickets in the first year of opening) for distribution to underprivileged groups through non-profit organisations. Sponsorships from corporates and organisations have been secured for the abovementioned tickets. The Authority has also secured sponsorships for 14,000 students to allow them to visit HKPM free of charge. Together with the free admission on Wednesdays, the Authority estimates that over 520,000 visitors will enjoy free admission to the museum in the first 12 months.

The opening of HKPM marks another significant milestone in the development of the District, solidifying its status as an arts and cultural hub and a platform for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and beyond, and East-meets-West Centre for International Cultural Exchange.

The Authority looks forward to welcoming the very first group of visitors to HKPM on 2 July, who will immerse themselves in the extraordinary experience that embraces the wonderful art treasures and culture from the Palace Museum.

With the implementation of the second stage of relaxation in social distancing measures starting from 19 May, following the announcement from the Government, the number of persons allowed in M+ and in the performance arts venues in West Kowloon has been increased from 50% to 85% of their capacity from that day.

M+ has received over 418,000 visitations since its reopening on 21 April till 12 June. Together with the 383,000 visitations before the museum closed in early January, M+ recorded over 800,000 visitations during the three-month opening period. The results speak for themselves - the public is very supportive to M+.

M+ Cinema comprises three houses with 180 seats, 60 seats and 40 seats. Two of them officially opened on 8 June. On the occasion of the opening, the 4K restored versions of Days of Being Wild by Wong Kar Wai and Xiao Wu by Jia Zhangke have had their Hong Kong premieres.

Featuring 70 works from Hong Kong and around the world and close to 100 screenings, the inaugural edition at M+ Cinema is presenting thematically curated programmes, premieres of restored classics, documentaries on art, M+ collection works, and other special screenings.

For exhibitions, the critically acclaimed M+ opening exhibition Antony Gormley: Asian Field will close on 3 July 2022. The Authority encouraged the public who had not been able to visit the exhibition to seize the last chance for a visit to the exhibition in the last three weeks.

Elsewhere, M+ was awarded the HKIA Medal of the Year of Hong Kong by The Hong Kong Institute of Architects. It is a testament to the Hong Kong construction industry’s affirmation of the unique architectural features of the M+ building. The Authority has always adhered to the highest construction standards and has been bringing safe, functional, environmentally friendly and energy-saving facilities to the public. The M+ building and Conservation and Storage Facility have recently received the Final BEAM Plus Gold certification issued by the Hong Kong Green Building Council. Together with the WKCDA Tower, Xiqu Centre and Freespace, four buildings in West Kowloon have achieved this certification.

As for performing arts programmes, young musicians from Young Pro Platform, comprised of graduates from the School of Music at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, is presenting a series of chamber music concerts with the theme of ‘Venture into the Unknown’ at Freespace and the Tea House Theatre in the Xiqu Centre.

The series kicked off with a nonet to play Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony and Chamber Symphony by John Adams in The Box at Freespace over the weekend. The unique chamber music concert was brought to the audience and conducted by Professor Sharon Andrea Choa, with elements of physical theatre from theatre director Ata Wong.

From July to October 2022, the musicians of Young Pro Platform will present chamber music concerts in the Tea House Theatre at the Xiqu Centre every month. The four concerts will respectively cover a wide spectrum of musical styles and genres, including classical, contemporary and pop music, allowing the audience to experience the rich layers and infinite varieties of chamber music.

On Cantonese Opera, the Xiqu Centre presents the exhibition ‘A Thousand Faces: Cantonese Opera Legend Yau Sing-po’ at the Atrium from 30 May to 31 December this year. The exhibition highlights the precious stage recordings and interview footages, photos, costumes and performance publications of Yau Sing-po, the acclaimed Cantonese Opera legend widely known as the ‘Chameleon of a Thousand Faces’, over the years. The audience can revisit the glorious legacy and artistic achievements of this extraordinary artist over the past 80 years and learn about the development of local Cantonese Opera culture in recent years.

For works, the ventilation building structure works of the Lyric Theatre Complex (LTC) have been completed. Construction works on the LTC’s topside are currently in progress up to the second floor. The steel structure installation of the main entrance hall will begin this month. The lay-by works at Austin Road West have entered the final stage, and the acceptance test is being arranged.

Piled foundation works have been completed in Zone 2A. In Zone 2B and 2C, site inspection has almost completed, and bored piling works 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.