76th Board Meeting of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

The Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) held its 76th meeting today. This was the first meeting of the new term of the Board.
 

The WKCDA Board Chairman, Mr Henry Tang, welcomed the new Board members at the meeting and extended a gracious thank you to the outgoing members for their counsel and invaluable contribution.
 

Mr Henry Tang said, “We welcome the appointment of the new Board members by the Hong Kong SAR Government.  We look forward to their contributions and new perspectives from their expertise and experience in their respective sectors to help accomplish the mission of the West Kowloon Cultural District (West Kowloon) as it gradually moves into the operational phase. We would also like to thank the incumbent and retired members for their support and commitment over the past few years.”
 

WKCDA’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Duncan Pescod reported that a press conference was held on 15 October to announce the opening of the first landmark performing arts venue, the Xiqu Centre, at West Kowloon on 20 January 2019.  Following the official opening ceremony, West Kowloon will present the Cantonese opera classic, The Reincarnation of Red Plum.  Ticket application for balloting was closed on 28 October with about 28,000 applications received. The balloting results will be announced on the West Kowloon's website on 5 November and successful applicants will be notified via email or phone.
 

For the works of the Xiqu Centre, the Substantial Completion Certificate will be issued to the works contractor in November. Following the appointment of Gammon Construction Limited on 7 September as the management contractor to oversee the construction completion of the M+ project, activity on site has recommenced in earnest. There are over 1,500 staff and workers back on the project with the aim of delivering the building by the end of 2019. Mr Pescod was pleased to report that the M+ building will top-out in late November. 
 

Works at the Art Park and the Freespace building are entering their final phases. It is aimed to open the next section of the Park and Promenade at the end of this year, with Freespace following in April 2019. For the Lyric Theatre Complex and the relevant part of the integrated  basement project, the excavation works have been suspended due to water ingress from the pipe pile walls. It is confirmed that works have already been resumed this week. The Hong Kong Palace Museum Project remains on schedule.
 

In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections, M+’s first exhibition to focus on Southeast Asia, ended on 30 September. The exhibition was well received, attracting nearly 8,500 visitors. M+ will be presenting Noguchi for Danh Vo: Counterpoint from 16 November 2018 to 22 April 2019 at the M+ Pavilion. The exhibition is a dialogue between celebrated modern artist Isamu Noguchi and Danh Vo, one of the most critically acclaimed artists working today, highlighting their shared commitment to making connections across geographies and cultures. The exhibition spreads outside the confines of the Pavilion, taking advantage of the surrounding open space to display works.
 

Outreach Access is M+’s first programme particularly designed for students in special schools. Through an interactive outreach workshop and a customised guided tour, students are encouraged to discover different ways of understanding contemporary visual culture and to explore their own relationship with it.
 

Members also noted that this month's Freespace Happening with a Korean theme was held on 14 October, attracting an attendance of nearly 4,500. Next Freespace Happening featuring jazz and rock will take place on 11 November.
 

Remarks

About West Kowloon Cultural District
Located on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, 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, as well as provide 23 hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.