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Chow as a speaker at re:publica,
Berlin in 2016
Photo courtesy of Vivienne Chow

thinking… He is also a great story- the most. “The world will know Hong At the end of the interview she has
teller who is eloquent and knows how Kong through exhibitions,” she says. a message for the young: “Curiosity is
to market himself.” She also points out it is important to one of the most important things for
Famous for her cultural perspec- maintain Hong Kong’s cultural iden- human beings.” On how to do future
tives, Chow explains that there are tity. planning, she says: “Well, that’s life.
two aspects of culture in Hong Kong. Looking ahead to the future of cul- You know, you never know what’s
She points out culture is not only tural journalism in Hong Kong, she gonna happen. You know, it just hap-
about arts, it is also related to politics believes we need to find and build an pens.”
and public policy such as urban devel- audience. “We need a younger audi-
opment. ence to become more interested in
How can the government’s ex- these topics. Young people are not in-
penses benefit cultural development? terested in long pieces. So maybe we
How do certain projects affect the en- have to come up with different types Edited by Sam Kwong
vironment? How can these projects of storytelling. Maybe I can do more & Tommy Yuen
reach children? How can culture poli- videos. We have to rely on social me-
cies engage the general public? These dia much more.”
are the questions Chow thinks about Chow founded the Cultural Jour-
when reporting about culture and nalism Campus (CJC), a non-profit
public policy. educational initiative in 2014, which
Chow is also an advocate of pre- promotes arts and culture among
serving Hong Kong culture and her- young people through the practice of
itage. She offered suggestions in the cultural journalism, art criticism and
preservation of paintings by the King storytelling.
of Kowloon on doors and electricity
facilities which otherwise would be
demolished. The paintings are now
conserved in the M+ collection. “I am
preserving something that I think is Curiosity is one of the
important,” she says. most important things for
Her passion for Hong Kong is
overwhelming. Hong Kong’s soft human beings
power and the importance of Hong
Kong culture as an international in-
stitution are the two issues she cares