Four decades on, Jockey Club more committed than ever to arts and culture development

01/31/2012

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has been supporting the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) since its launch 40 years ago.  This year, “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series” features a concert by Myung-whun Chung and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, a ballet version of “A Streetcar Named Desire” by The Hamburg Ballet and the opera “Cosi Fan Tutte” by the Bavarian State Opera.

To celebrate its long-standing support for the Festival over four decades, the Club has also sponsored two innovative new programmes this year.  They are “World of WearableArt” (WOW), New Zealand’s biggest art event being staged in Hong Kong for the first time; and “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series”, showcasing new works of five from Hong Kong’s latest generation of dance talents.

Today (31 January), Club Chairman T Brian Stevenson joined HKSAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang and other guests at the opening ceremony of the 40th Hong Kong Arts Festival 2012.  The Festival, one of the largest annual arts events in the Asia Pacific region, features over 150 performances and arts-related events presented by 54 top local and international performing groups over 45 days.

“The Club has been a proud partner of the Hong Kong Arts Festival since its inception 40 years ago,” Mr Stevenson said.  “We are delighted to have helped the Festival develop into one of the most significant cultural events in the local and regional arts calendar – in terms of not only the number and stature of the artistes invited to perform, but also in the richness and diversity of programmes offered.  Over the years, the Jockey Club has played a significant role in promoting and developing arts and culture throughout Hong Kong as we believe that a city without art is a city without life.  In the past ten years, our donations to arts and culture have totalled some HK$1.55 billion, covering both hardware and software projects, which we see as equally important.”

To assist the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society in planning ahead and securing the participation of leading world-class artists and ensembles, the Club’s Charities Trust introduced a new funding mode in 2008 whereby funds are approved three years in advance.  This arrangement provides an average of HK$8 million each year for the HKAF to bring in three main pillar programmes for each year’s Festival. One performance of each programme is designated “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series”, so as to allow local and overseas audiences to enjoy more world-class performances.

WOW, one of the new sponsored programmes, made its debut on 28 January at The Hong Kong Jockey Club Preview Night, attended by Club Chairman T Brian Stevenson, Financial Secretary John Tsang, Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam, Commissioner of Police Andy Tsang, other government officials, legislative councillors and over 2,000 guests and staff.  With dancers and models showcasing hundreds of avant-garde pieces, the audience enjoyed a theatrical extravaganza of art, dance, colour and movement.

Designer Tammy Au, a graduate of the Hong Kong Design Institute, is proud of her design, The Red Shoes, which is showcased with other costumes by overseas designers.  “I am delighted to be part of the international collection, and I hope this achievement will inspire more local designers to embrace our local Chinese heritage and integrate it into their designs.”

Lam Wing-sum, a primary six student of Po Leung Kuk Castar Primary School, who has won numerous awards in visual arts, was invited to the rehearsal of WOW.  “It is an unforgettable experience because the costumes are very beautiful. I hope I can design such marvellous costumes when I grow up,” she said. 

To encourage local students to enjoy top class artistic performances, the Club also funds a complimentary student matinee.  This year, around 3,200 students will be able to enjoy a free special performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo on 1 and 3 March.  Before enjoying the ballet, the students will have pre-performance briefings to give them basic knowledge of ballet technique and theatre etiquette, and enrich their understanding of the story and performing group involved.

Over the years, the Jockey Club has made a strong commitment to the development of local arts and culture. In the past decade alone, donations to arts and culture have totalled some HK$1.55 billion, including the establishment of Jockey Club Amphitheatre at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC), as well as the renovation of the Hong Kong Arts Centre.  It has also launched the Jockey Club Performing Arts Venue Subsidy Scheme and an outreach project, “Behind the Scenes” with HKAPA.  In addition, the Club has funded various projects to encourage people with disabilities to participate in arts and cultural programmes, such as the Jockey Club Arts for the Disabled Scheme and the creation of an Inclusive Arts Studio at JCCAC.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has become one of Hong Kong’s best known and respected organisations, providing the public with world-class sporting entertainment as well as being the city’s major non-Government community benefactor, now donating more than HK$1 billion a year to charitable and community projects.  It has been a part of Hong Kong through good times and bad, sharing the city’s growth and development with its people, and is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for future generations.