Hong Kong Arts Festival 2009
Annual Celebration of the Arts Goes From Strength to Strength
The arts in Hong Kong have not had the easiest time of it. While the city is no longer the cultural desert it once was, it can’t be denied that Hong Kong has long had a not-undeserved reputation for focusing solely on the acquisition of money. Yet, as if to confound expectations, Hong Kong is also home to a major arts festival, which has attracted some of the biggest international artists in the world since 1973.
Hong Kong Arts Festival Takes Shape
The first festival back in 1973 kicked things off with an impressive line-up, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company and Yehudi Menuhin. The festival has been growing ever since, both in terms of numbers of performers and the diversity of art forms to be seen. The 2008 Festival saw artists come from 12 countries, with a total of 1,249 performers and supporting staff.
While the Festival is international in scope, part of its mission is to showcase artists from Hong Kong and mainland China. The 2009 line-up includes the all-woman Shanghai Yueju Opera Theatre, bass-baritone Shen Yang (winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 2007) and Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company. In addition, the associated Asia Pacific Dance Platform features the work of choreographers from around the region.
The Festival also aims to act as a catalyst to arouse wider public interest in the arts in Hong Kong. To this end, the Young Friends Scheme (YFS) of the Hong Kong Arts Festival is an arts education programme focussed on young people. The 2008 Festival saw over 6,000 students attend performances and rehearsals.
This interest will, it is hoped, enrich other areas of Hong Kong’s cultural life, from theatre to dance to music, consigning the city’s reputation as a cultural desert to the past. As Hong Kong’s Muse magazine puts it: “Hong Kong is alive with arts and culture, if you know where to look."
2009 Hong Kong Arts Festival
The 2009 Hong Kong Arts Festival takes place from February 2 to March 8 2009, with over 150 shows taking place across the city. Performances include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink, Dmitri Sostakovich’s bold Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, and the adaptation of classic Chinese love story The Peony Pavilion by the National Ballet of China.
Tickets can be purchased from the Festival website, or over the counter at all URBTIX outlets in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Kowloon
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