Press Releases

3.10.2013

Exciting Season Ahead in West Kowloon Cultural District
WKCDA launches Second Year of Pre-opening Cultural Programmes

Those who enjoyed last year's cultural programmes celebrating visual arts, music and dance at the arts hub can anticipate more ambitious programmes from this Fall to Spring 2014, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) announced today.

Highlights will include WKCDA's two signature performing arts events Freespace Fest and West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre, as well as the Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection exhibition, which offers a detailed insight into the winning concept by Herzog & de Meuron + TFP Farrells, a display of the drawings and models of the other shortlisted designs, together with M+'s growing architecture collection.  M+ will also launch its first entirely digital exhibition project, exploring the history of neon signs and the role the material has played in constructing the cultural identity of Hong Kong.

"Building on the success of our first year of pre-opening programmes, which brought over half a million visitors to the site, WKCDA has conceived a phenomenal line up of events for Hong Kong people to enjoy throughout the coming months," said Mr Michael Lynch, WKCDA's Chief Executive Officer.

Following the success of last year's inaugural showcase, Freespace Fest will continue to enthrall cross-disciplinary art fans with a variety of concerts, outdoor performances and participatory activities at the headland area of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) site in mid-December. This year, the West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre will join forces and cast its glamour over the site's waterfront promenade with old favourites and new twists.

"We are constructing the Xiqu Centre at the junction of Canton Road and Austin Road West, so the coming Chinese New Year will see the new purpose-built bamboo theatre set against the stunning backdrop of Victoria Harbour," said Mr Louis Yu, Executive Director, Performing Arts. "To celebrate its third run at WKCD, we are attempting something more ambitious including presenting a parade of four spectacular performances by award-winning artists of the Plum Blossom Prize, China's most prestigious award for drama."

By further extending the festival length to a month, Mr Yu believes it will give the public a wider feast of plays in various genres and allow WKCDA to explore the meaning of open space to arts and cultural activities at the district.

M+ will present a series of exhibitions as well as a variety of talks and events across the city. The first to launch will be the inaugural M+ architecture exhibition, Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection, to be held from 9 January to 9 February 2014 at ArtisTree in TaiKoo Place. The exhibition will showcase the architectural features of the future M+ building alongside a selection of the museum's early acquisitions for the architecture collection including models, drawings and photographs of some of Hong Kong's most iconic buildings.

"This season, our exploration of Hong Kong's visual culture will not only take place in different parts of the city, but for the first time in digital format," said Dr Lars Nittve, Executive Director, M+.

The debut online exhibition Mobile M+: The Neon Project, to be launched in late February 2014, will be a multi-platform, interactive project that investigates, documents and contextualises neon signs - a significant feature of Hong Kong's urban environment. The project will invite the public to participate online, by uploading images of their favorite signs across the city. This will be followed by Lee Kit: Venice Biennale Hong Kong Response Exhibition at Cattle Depot Artist Village in March 2014, which presents Lee's visual investigation into the ambiguous territory between the public and the private, the Hong Kong edition of Lee's exhibition curated by M+ at the Venice Biennale.

"By realising projects that would not be possible in a single museum building, M+ seeks to turn the perceived disadvantage of being 'rootless' into a strategic advantage by organising events that embrace a multi-disciplinary approach," Dr Nittve added. "We will continue to pursue a nomadic existence and collaborate with artists in projects right up to the scheduled completion of the building in 2017."

Ongoing efforts to further expand the 2013-14 season of WKCDA programmes include the third episode of Xiqu Centre Seminar Series "The Way of Success for various Role Categories", which features a dialogue between Mr Shang Changrong, Chairman of the China Theatre Association, and a renowned Jingju (Beijing Opera) performer, and Mr Law Ka-ying, famous leading performer in Cantonese opera, on 23 November 2013. 

Apart from the programmes initiated and organized by WKCDA, the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade this season will see a series of outdoor music galas and community events, including Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival, Lion Rock Music Festival, JazzMe-HK Festival, the Blohk Party, and the Green and Organic Health Run (please refer to Annex).   

Details and updates of the programmes organised by WKCDA will be available on the website (www.wkcda.hk) prior to each individual event.

Annex

Highlights of Programmes Fall 2013 - Spring 2014

 

Date

Event

Content

Organiser

Venue

2.11.2013

Lion Rock Music Festival 2013

Music concert

168 Production and Engineering Services Limited

West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade

9.11.2013

2013 JazzMe-HK Festival

Music concert

Friendly Dog Entertainment (Hong Kong) Limited

West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade

10.11.2013

Green and Organic Health Run 2013

Running competition

Sportsoho Media Limited and Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre Certification Limited

West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade

23.11.2013

Xiqu Centre Seminar Series 3rd Seminar "The Way of Success for various Role Categories"

Seminar

WKCDA

Yau Ma Tei Theatre

29.11 - 1.12.2013

Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival 2013

Music and art festival

Properjob Limited

West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade

7.12.2013

The Blohk Party

Music and art festival

Block Party Global Limited

West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade

14.12 - 15.12.2013

Freespace Fest 2013

Cultural event

WKCDA

West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade

9.1 - 9.2.2014

Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection

Art exhibition

WKCDA

ArtisTree

17.1 - 9.2.2014

West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre 2014

Cultural event

WKCDA

West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade

February 2014

Mobile M+: The Neon Project

Art exhibition

WKCDA

Online

March 2014

Lee Kit: Venice Biennale Hong Kong Response Exhibition

Art exhibition

WKCDA

Cattle Depot Artist Village

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