Jockey Club supports creativity and inclusivity through Drago Cavallo Gallery art showcase

22/10/2022 20:40

To mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and to bring creativity and positivity to the community, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has partnered with renowned artist Simon Ma on a series of Drago Cavallo (DC) activities since this summer. Today (22 October), students with different abilities were invited to express their creativity by colouring DC sculptures at the opening of the Drago Cavallo Gallery at Ocean Park’s Water World, promoting inclusion in the community.

Club Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges; Club Executive Director, Membership, Strategic Marketing and Branding, Anthony Ingham; DC Charity Foundation Chairman and artist Simon Ma; Ocean Park Corporation Chairman Paulo Pong Kin-yee; and Ocean Park Corporation Chief Executive Ivan Wong Chi-fai attended the gallery opening and showed support for more than 60 youngsters, including children with different disabilities from various charity organisations who participated in the DC art creation today.

“Nurturing creativity and innovation in young people is essential to Hong Kong’s long-term development, which is why children and youth development is one of the strategic focus areas of the Club’s charitable support. Simon’s Drago Cavallo art is a meaningful initiative, not only for unleashing young people’s creativity, but also for strengthening community engagement,” Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges said.

“It aligns with the Club’s purpose of acting continuously for the betterment of our society, while at the same time helping to overcome inequality and promoting social inclusion, as we can see here today. As we mark the HKSAR's 25th anniversary, the Club hopes the Drago Cavallo activities will instil positivity in the community and optimism for the future of Hong Kong.”

Today’s event also achieved one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) – reduce inequalities – under the “SDG World Records” programme, as the youngsters of different abilities showcased their creativity during the colouring activity. An official SDG World Records adjudicator was in attendance to witness the activity and issue a certificate. SDG World Records is a system that recognises the impact of sustainability and social projects and communicates this to the public in an easy-to-understand way.

As part of its activities to mark the HKSAR’s 25th anniversary, the Club invited school students from kindergarten to university, as well as special schools, to take part in creating their own DC artwork through the citywide “Drago Cavallo. Youth Art Competition”. To date, more than 200 schools and 45,000 students have taken part. An awards presentation will be held in the first half of 2023 and shortlisted drawings will join a DC World Tour, including to Beijing and Shanghai.

The “Drago Cavallo. Around Hong Kong.” art showcase of the sculptures, which kicked off at Tai Kwun on 3 July, is currently on a tour of significant landmarks across the city. Additionally, the ongoing “Drago Cavallo. Flash Mob” is seeing DC make brief surprise appearances at locations citywide.

Follow DC on a trail of positivity around Hong Kong and explore how the Club has supported some of Hong Kong’s most significant community developments. Full details of programmes and activities can be found on the “With You. Then. Now. Always.” campaign website at https://hkjc.com/withyou/en.

The Club is committed to building stronger communities together. This is made possible by its unique integrated business model, through which racing and wagering generate tax and charity support for the community.

Over the last 25 years, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has grown together with the community, creating one of Hong Kong's most iconic and global brands and becoming a world-leader in the sport of horse racing.  Today, as the largest taxpayer in Hong Kong and one of the ten largest charitable donors in the world, the Club is resolute in pursuing its purpose of acting continuously for the betterment of our society.

The Club has approved donation of up to HK$630 million to the HKSAR Government to celebrate the occasion and organise a series of programmes spanning five key areas of arts and culture, sports, caring for the community, green living and international conferences.

Funded by a HK$3.5 billion donation from the Club's Charities Trust, the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) opened to the public on 3 July. The HKPM plays a vital role in fostering Hong Kong's arts and culture development while also strengthening Hong Kong's connection with the Mainland and the rest of the world.

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 2021/22, the Club returned a total of HK$33.6 billion to the community. This included HK$27.0 billion to the Government in duty, profits tax and Lotteries Fund contributions and HK$6.6 billion in approved charity donations.  The Club is Hong Kong's largest single taxpayer and one of the city's major employers. Its Charities Trust is also 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.