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| April 2000 Arts festivals Local talent on display By Veronica Ho Article from
the same section: In a fast-growing, vibrant metropolis like Hong Kong, the cultural life of people is rich and diverse. However, Hong Kong is so small that limited space is provided to local artists. “Most of the artists in Hong Kong do not have their own permanent working space. They just rent temporary studios, dark rooms, or even use their living rooms as their art workshops,” said Mr. Steven Pang Ka Wing, assistant program officer of Centre for The Arts at The University of Science and Technology. In spite of this, there are still many opportunities for local artists to showcase their works. For instance, The Fringe Club in Central provides artists with rent-free venues and a supportive environment for creating art works. To promote understanding among various sectors through art media, The Fringe Club has launched an annual art event called the City Festival, which includes shows, exhibitions, talks and workshops by artists all over the world. Fringe Club Director Benny Chia said, “People from different sectors spend much of their time on working and studying. The City Festival aims to facilitate connection and understanding among them.” Another festival, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, also pledged to arouse wider public interest in the arts. Recognizing the increasing demand for local artists to showcase their talents on stage, the Hong Kong Arts Festival has gradually increased the number of local performances in its programme list. The first Hong Kong Arts Festival was launched in 1973 to encourage artistic dialogues and cultural exchanges. Since then, it has grown to become the most significant arts event in the territory. Similar to the City Festival, The Hong Kong Arts Festival consists of a wide range of music, theatre, dance, popular entertainment, film and exhibition programmes, which lasts for three to four weeks annually from February to March. According to Mr. Kau Ng, executive director of Hong Kong Arts Festival Society Limited, the Festival is an international arts festival of the highest standard. Moreover, it also helps to promote art development in Hong Kong by providing local artists with a platform to showcase their performance alongside the international artists. Mr. Ng said that rareness is one of the criteria for choosing the programmes. Said he: “For example, ‘Alone For A Second’ in this year’s program is amazing. Five local artists will integrate music, video and dance into the same performance. “Such a kind of performance comprised of different media is rarely seen in Hong Kong. It brings a fresh image to people.” In fact, increasing number of fresh artists in Hong Kong has contributed to the rearrangement of programmes in the Festival, according to Mr. Ng. He said popular artists in Hong Kong, like Mr. Anthony Wong and Ms Tsai Chin appeal to a wide range of audiences in Hong Kong. “Besides, students graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts are fresh blood in the local art scene. “They are found to be very talented, like the artist Mr. Cheung Tat Ming, whose on stage solo attracts many audiences,” said Mr. Ng. Mr. Pang said that the increasing number of local programmes in the Festival undoubtedly has a positive impact on the local art development. “More chances are offered to local artists, and most importantly, improvement is made during their cooperation with foreign artists,” said he. |
Although foreign productions are still the majority, more programmes have been presented by local artists during the Arts Festival in recent years. (Courtesy of Hong Kong Arts Festival Society Limited)
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