Webinar on Hong Kong’s visual culture in times of the pandemic
HKETO Berlin in collaboration with the THINKTANK and Centre for International Relations (CIR), gathered top-notch experts from the creativity industry in Hong Kong and Poland on February 15, 2022, to discuss current developments of visual culture in Asia and Europe.
In the event’s opening, Ms Jenny Szeto, Director of HKETO Berlin, pointed out that Hong Kong has demonstrated remarkable resilience by using innovative ways to strengthen its position as an emerging arts and cultural hub in Asia amid the pandemic. “The promotion of arts is one of Hong Kong’s top priorities. The development of the city’s arts and culture formed a key part of the Government’s budget in 2020-21, with a total of HK$5.5 billion allocated to the arts and culture, excluding capital works expenditure,” Ms Szeto said.
One of the major projects that Hong Kong has pushed in recent years to bring the arts and culture scene to the forefront is the M+, Hong Kong’s new visual cultural museum and centerpiece of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD). The WKCD, Hong Kong’s new cultural hotspot and one of the world’s largest cultural projects, accommodates a great variety of arts and cultural facilities ranging from theatres to museums and outdoor spaces. The M+ opened its doors to the public in November last year, dramatically changing the Asian art landscape. It is a multi-disciplinary museum with an international collection of contemporary art dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual art, design and architecture, moving image, and Hong Kong visual culture of the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries.
Hong Kong has all along been an East-meets-West hub for international arts and cultural exchanges. With Asian economies’ strong performance and fast recovery from the pandemic, the Asian and Hong Kong art scenes flourish, attracting both artists and entrepreneurs who are looking to expand their presence here. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has been supporting the creative industries over the years: In the 2021-22 Budget, an additional injection of HK$1 billion (EUR 120 million) into the CreateSmart Initiative to drive the development of the creative industries was announced. On top of that, an additional allocation of HK$900 million (EUR 108 million) was earmarked for the Art Development Matching Grants Scheme to further promote culture and arts from all sectors.