Club promotes heritage conservation through a£á?Blue House Studioa£á? exhibition

09/18/2017

The Blue House Cluster is a collection of three tenement buildings dating from the 1920s and 1950s, on Stone Nullah Lane in Wan Chai, designated as Grade I historic buildings and famous for their colourful paintwork. In 2015, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust provided St. James’ Settlement (SJS) with funding to launch a three-year Jockey Club “Blue House Studio” Cultural Heritage Education Programme, aimed at raising public awareness of heritage conservation through the unique history of the buildings and the community. Today (18 September), as another initiative under this programme, the Club and SJS launched a Blue House Studio exhibition.

The launch coincided with today’s official opening ceremony of the restored Viva Blue House, performed by Club Steward Dr Eric Li Ka Cheung; HKSAR Chief Executive The Hon Carrie Lam; Secretary for Development The Hon Michael Wong; Chairman of the Executive Committee of SJS, Dr the Hon Sir David Li; Chairman of the Viva Blue House Steering Committee Christopher Law and Chairman of the Heritage Hong Kong Foundation Margaret Brooke.

Dr Li said the Club was pleased to support the Blue House Cluster conservation project and had been funding various community education programmes to promote the history and culture of Wan Chai since 2008. “The Jockey Club ‘Blue House Studio’ Cultural Heritage Education Programme we launched in 2015 has taken the promotion to another level, inspiring the public who live outside Wan Chai to learn about the diversity of community preservation and development,” he observed.

The programme is aimed at highlighting the site’s uniqueness under three major themes, namely local heritage architecture; community neighbourhood and culture; and social innovation in heritage conservation. Educational activities based on these three themes target around 30 schools each year, while public workshops benefit another 3,000 people a year.

Today’s exhibition, with the theme “1/n Community Fest”, is held at the Blue House Cluster Open Space until 26 November. On display are artworks by outstanding participants from the “Community Living Approach” competition. Exceptional participants from the competition will have the opportunity to take part in an overseas cultural exchange trip to learn about heritage conservation in other countries.

Arts, Culture & Heritage is one of the strategic focus areas of the Club's Charities Trust donations, aimed at building a culturally vibrant Hong Kong, enriching lives and promoting social inclusion. The Central Police Station Revitalisation Project is one of its initiatives.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2016/17, the Club’s total direct return to the community was HK$30.5 billion. It is Hong Kong's largest single taxpayer, one of the city’s major employers and one of the world's top ten charity donors. The Club is always "riding high together for a better future" with the people of Hong Kong.