71st Board Meeting of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Held Today

The Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) held its 71st meeting today. 
 

WKCDA’s Chief Executive Officer Duncan Pescod was pleased to report that the Xiqu Centre has completed the statutory inspections and obtained the Occupation Permit. The next stage will be to complete the fit-out of the Grand Theatre with a view to practical completion in the third quarter of 2018. 
 

The M+ construction works continues at a steady pace. The Art Park is progressively opened with a new area released from Phase 1 for enjoyment of the public in early April. For the Lyric Theatre Complex and relevant part of the integrated basement project, construction activity remains ahead of schedule. 
 

WKCDA has started planning the development of the hotel/office/residential (HOR) portion of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD). The priority is to take forward ACE – representing Art, Commerce and Exhibitions, while at the same time exploring market interest in developing an artist hostel/residence within the District. WKCDA recently commenced a roving exhibition to introduce both ACE and the artist hostel/residence with the public. The next session will take place at China Hong Kong City from 21 to 23 April 2018. 
 

On the artistic side, M+ was heavily engaged in Art Basel Hong Kong at the end of March and set up a specially designed M+ booth in a very prominent location in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The M+ booth was well received with over 17,000 visitors within 5 days. The award presentation of Hong Kong Young Architects and Designers Competition was held at the M+ booth and the winning pavilion design is planned to be built and opened later this year. 
 

Mr Pescod was pleased to report that he has participated in a major international cultural event, the convening of the Global Cultural Districts Network, which took place in Dubai earlier this month with some 50 leaders from cultural districts and precinct from around the world. He shared the governing structure of WKCDA and introduced the financial arrangements of the WKCD project regarding the panel discussion on Governance of Cultural Districts. 
 

WKCDA joins hands with Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (HKREP) for performing arts. The Great Statesman is West Kowloon’s first original Cantonese musical commission in partnership with HKREP. Based on familiar stories and characters, and adapted through a contemporary lens, the production is due for a preview season in 2019 and a premiere season in 2020. Auditions and recalls take place this April and mid-May, with development workshops and rehearsals taking place between mid-June 2018 and May 2019. 
 

This October and November, HKREP and WKCDA co-present the Hong Kong International Black Box Festival with four productions from around the world – One Fine Day (Beijing), MDLSX (Italy), Oedipus Schmoedipus (Australia/Hong Kong) and Five Easy Pieces (Switzerland/Germany/Belgium) – offering audiences an exciting glimpse of the diverse possibilities of contemporary theatre.
 

Remarks

About the West Kowloon Cultural District

Located on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, the West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong. With a complex of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances, and cultural events, and will provide twenty-three hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.