The inaugural Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo kicked off on Monday, bringing over 60 top-level performances to create a stunning and rich artistic experience.
The event and various other activities aim to boost art exchanges among cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the rest of the world.
The expo, which runs through Friday, features more than 100 performances, talks and events. The event has attracted more than 1,400 artistic professionals from around the world.
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Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the expo’s host organization, spoke at the event’s launching ceremony. He said the expo is more than a mega event, but a flagship platform to explore, experience and exchange cutting-edge ideas and productions in the performing arts.
Fok said that the event promotes international collaboration and dialogue among artistic communities, including those from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. He emphasized the great potential of the GBA to the global art community, adding that the region, with its 86 million people, is a significant place for art and cultural development.
Echoing Fok, Hong Kong Chief Secretary of Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki also highlighted the event’s platform role in fostering international cultural and artistic exchange as well as business collaborations, adding that it has attracted over 1,000 art representatives from around 60 different countries and regions.
He believes that with its advantage of being backed by the motherland and connected to the world, coupled with world-class cultural and artistic facilities as well as diverse cultural spaces, Hong Kong is poised to further elevate its status as a regional and global cultural hub.
Chan said that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival will be held immediately after the expo, which will further showcase the region’s art development.
Beyond the packed five-day timetable, the expo offers attendees an optional two-day excursion to Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong province. The side trip is designed to facilitate interactions with performing-arts communities in Chinese mainland metropolises, and enhance the global presence of Cantonese arts.
During the media preview session on Monday, three programs featuring collaborations between local and international artists were shown as highlighted performances, including 1014 — a unique musical theater production co-created by artists from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong — and fuses jazz with Nanyin, a classical style of narrative Chinese singing.
Another previewed program is Time in a Bottle, an exhibition created by Hong Kong composer Leon Ko, and envisioned in collaboration with Japanese set designer Hiroko Matsuo. This special exhibition is divided into 12 scenes, features a collection of precious perfume bottles as the backdrop and characters in a series of miniature stage sets. It combines visual art, theater, music and scent to tell the story of human existence.
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Scheduled are over 60 performances, encompassing 16 creative art expo programs, 15 international showcases, as well as programs comprising small and midsize local performing arts groups and individual artists.
Fifteen international showcases were selected from 305 global submissions, aiming to provide a taste of the wide variety of performing arts. The showcases span drama, dance, musical theater, Chinese opera and diverse multidisciplinary arts.
Apart from the main venue — the West Kowloon Cultural District — shows and performances will also be hosted in Tai Kwun, Hong Kong City Hall, the Hong Kong Arts Centre, and on the streets.
Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com
