Consultation Panel of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

Transcription

1 Minutes of the 9th Meeting of the Date : 20 December 2012 (Thursday) Time : 2:30 p.m. Venue : Board Room, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority 29/F, Tower 6, The Gateway, 9 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Attendees: Chairman Professor Stephen CHEUNG Yan-leung, B.B.S., J.P. Members The Honourable Ronald ARCULLI, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P. Mr. CHENG Chi-ming Mr. Derek HUNG Chiu-wah Mr. HUNG Keung Ms. KO Po-ling, B.B.S., M.H., J.P. Ms. Ida LAM Choi-chu Mr. LAM Ying-kit Mr. William LEUNG Wing-cheung, B.B.S., J.P. Dr. MAN Ying-ling The Honourable Charles Peter MOK Mr. Coleman WAI Ching Ms. Ada WONG Ying-kay, J.P. West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) Mr. Garmen CHAN Dr. CHAN Man-wai Executive Director, Communications and Marketing Executive Director, Project Delivery 1

2 Dr. Lars NITTVE Executive Director, M+ Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit Executive Director, Performing Arts Ms. Bonny WONG Director, CEO s Office Secretary Ms. Stella WONG Assistant Public Relations Manager Absent with apologies: Dr. the Honourable Allan ZEMAN, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P. Mr. Bankee KWAN Pak-hoo Mr. TAI Hay-lap, B.B.S., J.P. Dr. John TSE Wing-ling, M.H. Dr. Victor LO Chung-wing, G.B.S., J.P. The Honourable Paul TSE Wai-chun, J.P. Dr. YAU Wing-kwong, J.P. Action Parties Opening Remarks 1. The Chairman welcomed Members to the ninth meeting of the Consultation Panel (CP). He also welcomed the presence of Dr. CHAN Man-wai, Executive Director, Project Delivery, Mr. Louis YU, Executive Director, Performing Arts, Dr. Lars NITTVE, Executive Director, M+, and Mr. Garmen CHAN, Executive Director, Communications and Marketing, at the meeting. He also thanked Mr. LEE Wing-tat for his contribution and work for the Consultation Panel. He informed members that Mr. Michael LYNCH, Chief Executive Officer of WKCDA had sent his apology. 2

3 Agenda Item (1) Confirmation of the Minutes of the 8 th Consultation Panel Meeting 2. The Chairman said that the Secretariat had not received any amendment proposal for the minutes. Members had no other amendment proposals and the Consultation Panel confirmed the minutes of the eighth meeting. Agenda Item (2) Matters Arising 3. The Chairman said there were no matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting. Agenda Item (3) Progress Update of the West Kowloon Cultural District Development (WKCDA CP/01/2012) 4. Dr. CHAN Man-wai gave a PowerPoint presentation on the progress of the West Kowloon Cultural District Development. Copies of the slides were distributed at the meeting. (Dr. MAN Ying-ling arrived at 2:40 p.m.) 5. The Chairman invited Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit to brief Members on details of Xiqu Centre. 6. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit gave a PowerPoint presentation on the details of Xiqu Centre. Copies of the slides were distributed at the meeting. (Mr. LAM Ying-kit arrived at 2:46 p.m.) 7. The Chairman expressed that he was pleased with the design of the Xiqu Centre and it was impressive. He looked forward to seeing the completion of the complex in Mr. Derek HUNG Chiu-wah echoed that he was pleased to see the project was moving forward. He would like to supplement on the issues discussed in the Town Planning Board meeting on 28 September 2012, for 3

4 which Yau Tsim Mong District Council (YTMDC) was consulted. He said YTMDC Members generally supported the construction of a road to connect with the Western Harbour Crossing to divert traffic of WKCD. However, YTMDC Members were not supportive of the proposed road from WKCD to Kowloon Station for diverting traffic after performances at WKCD. He welcomed the programmes held at the temporary site of WKCD. However, he would like to remind that for any large scale outdoor event, for example, carnival or private party, ample time and details of the programmes should be given to YTMDC for consultation. 9. Ms. KO Po-ling expressed that it was good to see that both traditional and modern elements could be found in the selected design. She enquired about the height of the future Xiqu Centre and how it would affect the surrounding area. 10. Dr. CHAN Man-wai responded that as it was a schematic design; detailed design was yet to be developed. 11. Ms. KO Po-ling said that as the fire station next to the site would not be relocated for the time being, the issue of road safety crossing Canton Road would need to be taken care of. She opined that if a subway were to be used to cross Canton Road, it should be connected to Kwun Chung Market, which was an area with lesser people flow, and called on relevant parties to take note of the safety issue. 12. Mr. HUNG Keung enquired about the details of the Tea House in the Xiqu Centre. 13. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit explained that the Tea House occupied about one quarter of a floor. He further explained that the facility was intended to replicate the old Cantonese opera tea house which could accommodate activities of the art form and rejuvenate a tradition which had been absent in the past few decades. He supplemented that in the coming two years, the team would conduct exploratory programmes on how to recreate this old tradition. He added that a potential collaboration programme with Luk Yu Tea House was in discussion. 4

5 14. Mr. HUNG Keung suggested the plans of the design of Xiqu Centre could be further developed for better presentation. 15. The Hon. Ronald ARCULLI supplemented that the detailed design and relevant plans were yet to be developed for the Xiqu Centre. 16. Mr. CHENG Chi-ming expressed that for the 1,100-seat Main Theatre of the Xiqu Centre, it would accumulate up to 330,000 audiences if the venue held 300 performances a year. He queried how WKCDA would arrive at said seat number. 17. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit responded that stage performances would not be run daily to allow time for setup. In addition, he also explained that there would be other art forms and crossover performances on top of Xiqu in the Xiqu Centre. 18. Mr. CHENG Chi-ming expressed that he was happy to hear the aforesaid plan of the usage of Xiqu Centre. He also supplemented that more communication with the public would be required for audience building. 19. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit reiterated that the artistic vision of Xiqu Centre would be to widen Xiqu audience, raise artistic standard and facilitate exchanges. He supplemented that the programme of West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre 2013 would incorporate modern elements of dance and music to build new audience with crossover programmes. 20. Ms. Ada WONG Ying-kay commented that the approach of merely focusing on the look and transport brought by the WKCD development was in fact not comprehensive. She said that the development was something very dynamic and energetic for the Yau Tsim Mong area. As such, she thought stakeholders engagement and district consultation should start with the emergence of concrete plans, not only at the level of District Council, but also reaching out to the community. She further enquired about the governance structure of the future Xiqu Centre. She expressed her concerns that the timeframe for development of governance structure was in fact tight and must start as soon as possible. 5

6 (The Hon. Charles Peter MOK arrived at 3:00 p.m.) 21. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit responded on the height of the Xiqu Centre and communication with the community. He reported that there would be an exhibition on the Xiqu Centre Design Competition at the West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre at end January With display of models, animation and panels of the winning and shortlisted designs, it would be a good opportunity to show the public the design of the Xiqu Centre. In addition, he said that WKCDA was still working on the detailed design with the winning design team and it would be difficult to confirm the height of the Xiqu Centre for the time being. But the detailed design would adhere to planning requirements. Regarding the governance structure, the issue would be discussed in the Performing Arts Committee and other committees in the near future. WKCDA is not inclined to contract out the operation of Xiqu Centre and the governance structure of Xiqu Centre is expected to be decided sometime in The Hon. Ronald ARCULLI supplemented that WKCDA was not only considering the governance structure of Xiqu Centre, but in fact the overall governance structure of WKCD, facilities, retail and dining, etc. He said that two to three governance modes might be developed and they were yet to be confirmed. 23. Ms. KO Po-ling expressed that YTMDC was close to the WKCD project. She said that YTMDC focused on two major concerns. First, as the WKCD was for the people of Hong Kong, not merely residents of Yau Tsim Mong District, the transport aspect, in particular connectivity, was an area of concern. Noise pollution would be another area of concern. Regarding the height of the venues, she agreed with Ms. Ada WONG Ying-kay that communication with residents in the neighbourhood was necessary. She said the message should be that the WKCD project would be a value-added element to the district. She was pleased that the Xiqu Centre would accommodate a wide range of Xiqu performances and expressed her concerns on the progress of software development The Chairman concluded that the WKCDA Board would continue to steer software development and Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit would brief Members 6

7 on software development later in the meeting. (Agenda Item (3) ended at 3:10 p.m.) Agenda Item (4) Planning and Development of M+ (WKCDA CP/02/2012) 25. Dr. Lars NITTVE gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Planning and Development of M+. Copies of the slides were distributed at the meeting. 26. The Chairman proposed to go on with the next agenda item by Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit on the cultural software development before discussion for both items. Agenda Item (5) Development of Cultural Software (WKCDA CP/03/2012) 27. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Development of Cultural Software. Copies of the slides were distributed at the meeting. 28. Dr. MAN Ying-ling enquired about the M+ collection and relevant acquisitions. She would also like to know what kind of difficulties WKCDA had encountered in acquisitions and donations, if any. 29. Dr. Lars NITTVE responded that M+ had one of the most qualified curatorial teams in this field and this was the beginning of a guarantee. In addition, M+ had an Acquisition Committee to scrutinise what M+ was doing. The ambition of M+ was to build one of the great collections, a collection which could stand up to comparisons with any collection around the world. He further responded that M+ had reasonable resources, compared to other museums around the world, and in order to build the collection, M+ would also be dependent on donations. M+ had the same set of standards and criteria for accepting donations as for making acquisitions with the funding and would only collect art works that were of major importance. He further explained that M+ would not just collect masterpieces because there were works of art that created the context for important works that made you understand in what context these works were considered masterpieces and M+ has received a collection that could tell the story about this place. M+ had very good support 7

8 in acquiring contemporary works, which were actually key works and historical works, from Hong Kong artists who have been very generous. 30. Ms. KO Po-ling enquired how M+ would incorporate different kinds of visual arts and culture and participation of different kinds of visual artists. 31. The Chairman expressed that he had come across similar concerns raised by visual artists in the recent public engagement exercise. 32. Dr. Lars NITTVE said that it was the ambition of M+ to incorporate different kinds of visual arts form defined in 2006 before Management came on board and the curatorial team and acquisition policy had been set up in order to deliver that vision. In addition, the competition for the design of the building was totally focused on creating this possibility. 33. Mr. Derek HUNG Chiu-wah enquired if only one design team would be selected from the six shortlisted design teams or the desirable features of different designs would be incorporated in the final design. He also enquired if WKCDA had provided a fee for each shortlisted design team. He further expressed his support for organisation of more arts and cultural events, like the Freespace Fest, in the interim. He responded that the residents nearby the WKCD were expecting the project to materialise, but it was essential to communicate with residents about the relevant concerns, for example, transportation, in the planning stage in order to work out better arrangement. (Ms. KO Po-ling left at 4:05 p.m.) 34. Dr. Lars NITTVE responded that regarding the design for M+, in principle, ideas of different design teams should not be transferred from one to another, especially for this kind of architecture competition. He further explained that there would be a fee of HKD1 million for each shortlisted design team who had satisfactorily fulfilled WKCDA s requirements of the competition. 35. Mr. William LEUNG Wing-cheung would like to follow up on the issue about audience building. He noted that WKCDA had already started programmes to bring audience to the District and he was concerned about how 8

9 it would bring audience to theatres and performance venues. 36. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit responded that WKCDA was in fact building audience with outdoor events organised in the interim. For example, the ticket price for performances of the West Kowloon Cultural District had been set closer to the market price this year and this hopefully was building audience to participate in normal paid performances in theatres. He also said that before the venues were in operation, WKCDA would also consider organising events in existing theatres outside WKCD or in temporary structures. 37. Ms. Ida LAM Choi-chu raised her concerns on accessibility services and facilities. She said that the barrier-free requirements by the Government were basic and she expected world-class facilities such as those planned for WKCD should be above that standard. She urged for more communication during the planning stage. 38. Dr. CHAN Man-wai explained that the planning of WKCD was based on the standard of universal accessibility instead of barrier-free access only, which was in fact of a higher level. He also informed that the team had visited overseas facilities to learn more from their experience. 39. Ms. Ida LAM Choi-chu reminded that the provision of service and information would be part of the package. 40. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit said WKCDA was working on this and in the coming weeks he would collaborate with the Arts with Disabled Association Hong Kong to arrange a workshop, inviting experts responsible for accessibility from the Kennedy Centre in US and local specialists to exchange ideas. 41. The Hon. Ronald ARCULLI expressed that he hoped the concept of accessibility would not be limited to arts and cultural facilities, but to all other facilities in the District, including hotel, offices and residential area, though it would not be developed by WKCDA. He said that WKCDA would pay due regard to this in the overall planning for the district. 9

10 42. Ms. Ada WONG Ying-kay shared her experience in participating in the Freespace Fest. She was deeply impressed by the readiness of the public and their enthusiasm. She also said that the success of the future Freespace would be determined by the authority responsible for management. She also expressed that she was happy to see not many security guards around in the Freespace Fest. She raised concerns on the design team to be selected for the park design in March 2013 and recalled that in the past public engagement exercises, the concept of Freespace was not included in the park. She expressed that WKCDA should engage in a dialogue with stakeholders, but not public consultation, on the Freespace before the design of the Park was confirmed in respect of the usage and management of Freespace. She said that as Freespace was a new concept, this kind of dialogue would be informative for the design team The Chairman supplemented that though Freespace was not explicitly mentioned in the Stage 1 and 2 Public Engagement Exercise, many public views reflected the concept, resulting in the inclusion of the concept of Freespace in Stage 3 Public Engagement Exercise. 44. Ms. Ada WONG Ying-kay further expressed that WKCDA should provide more information on the Freespace to the shortlisted design teams of the Park to better facilitate them in working on the design. 45. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit admitted that the concept of Freespace was a new one and there was at present no other space available elsewhere suitable for cultural activities of this nature. He also said that when preparing the brief for the design team of the park, it had already included references regarding the Freespace. Furthermore, after the intensive usage of the site in organising three outdoor events, namely concert of the Renaissance Foundation, Clockenflap and the Freespace Fest, WKCDA had gained more experience and ideas and in the coming months the team would organise debriefings and focus group meetings with event organisers and participants of these events for exchange and sharing. As such, supplementary information would be available for the selected design teams of the Park. (Mr. CHENG Chi-ming left at 4:20 p.m.) 10

11 46. Ms. Ada WONG Ying-kay said that the Cinema Paradiso programme at the Freespace Fest was successful and wondered if this kind of usage of Freespace could be made known to the design teams of the park. 47. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit explained that the design of the park would not be in the form of a design competition. Users and WKCDA would work together with the selected design team on the detailed design of the park. 48. Dr. CHAN Man-wai supplemented that it was factored in the brief to the design teams that communication with relevant users would be required in the design process. 49. Ms. Ada WONG Ying-kay enquired if there would be any possibility to exhibit the M+ collection before the the museum opened. She mentioned the controversies resulting from the Sigg Collection and the participation of M+ in the Venice Biennale She would like to know how M+ would build more trust with the arts community in the interim. 50. Dr. Lars NITTVE said it would be difficult to show the entire Sigg collection before the opening of M+ due to operational issues, such as security, climate control, etc. Most of the art works of the Collection were stored in Switzerland in a secured place. Part of the Collection would be shown in the digital museum before the opening. In terms of building trust, he expressed that the lack of trust was somewhat overstated and those with the strongest voice might not be representing the majority of any kind. The M+ team was in constant dialogue with a number of artists in the arts community and the team was continuously working on building trust by organising public forums and through the exhibition projects of M+, which had included local artists. He opined that there would always be controversies in the art ecology and debates on issues and this was in fact healthy. He said in the case of Venice Biennale, M+ was a victim of a decision made by Hong Kong Arts Development Council. 51. The Hon. Ronal ARCULLI suggested that M+ could consider collaboration with existing museums in showing the Collection before the opening. 11

12 (The Hon. Charles Peter MOK left at 4:30 p.m.) 52. Dr. Lars NITTVE said when the art pavilion was in place, M+ could consider showing part of its collection in it. 53. Mr. Ada WONG Ying-kay suggested that the blackboxes at the Police Married Quarters could be considered for the aforesaid exhibition. 54. Dr. Lars NITTVE said that in order to bring the art works to Hong Kong before the building was in place, it would be necessary to give due consideration to the question of storage. He reminded that the storage cost for art works in Hong Kong would be more than ten times that in Switzerland and this should be taken into account. He also said the team had been thinking of exhibitions in the interim at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and Hong Kong Museum of Art. 55. Mr. Ada WONG Ying-kay expressed that she would not doubt the expertise of Dr. Lars NITTVE. She said that she knew the arts community would like to see M+ start in the perspective of Hong Kong. She believed that there would be room to build better relationships with the arts community. 56. Dr. Lars NITTVE reported that in fact a big part of the arts community was totally supportive of the M+ project. He also said that there would always be conflicts in creating a cultural institution. He agreed with Ms. Ada WONG Ying-kay that this would be a dual process in communicating with the arts community. 57. The Chairman said that it was necessary for more engagement to work out the differences between the local arts community and WKCDA. 58. Mr. Coleman WAI Ching said activities in the Freespace should be bottom-up, which differed from activities organised in other venues. For better promotion of Freespace, focus should be put on the variety offered. He suggested that before the Freespace would be in place in 2015/16, WKCDA should continue to organise Freespace Fest and bring variety to the programmes in it. Promotion should also be for stakeholders outside the district, say, as far out as the New Territories West. 12

13 59. The Chairman reminded that WKCDA could consider arranging transport to bring school children from other districts to join the programmes. There would be cost implications, but engaging the next generation would be necessary. 60. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit responded that the Freespace Fest was in fact an experiment on the types of programmes in it, but it was not necessary to expand in scale annually. He said he might try new programmes or modes for upcoming Freespace Fest, especially in the design and planning process. 61. Mr. Coleman WAI Ching said WKCDA could consider allocating funding for organisations to work on the programmes. 62. Mr. Louis YU Kwok-lit responded that the team would reach out for collaborators, but reminded that WKCDA was not a funding body. He also added that there was a shuttle bus to take participants from Tsim Sha Tsui to the WKCD site to participate in the Freespace Fest this year and many had made use of this service. He would also explore other transport arrangements for future Freepsace Fest. 63. Mr. HUNG Keung shared his experience in visiting tea houses outside Hong Kong. He enquired on the positioning and operation mode of the Tea House of Xiqu Centre. For M+, he reminded that the silent majority did not necessarily mean they were satisfied. He said that many might have queries on different aspects of M+, for example, the acquisition and collection policy. He suggested that M+ should strike a balance between principles and strategies; on top of holding firm to its principles, M+ should consider strategies in engaging those who were not clear about the vision of M+. He suggested as M+ would be a museum for visual culture, it could consider speakers at its future forums of a wider variety, for example, those researching in the field who were neither academia nor industry practitioners. 64. Dr. Lars NITTVE elaborated that the positioning of M+ as a museum of visual culture was established in 2006 and it had also been expounded in every forum since then. He said that M+ had started curating exhibitions and making acquisitions. 13

14 65. The Chairman concluded that WKCDA would continue to engage relevant parties. He also expressed his sincere thanks for the support of Members in the past years. (Agenda Item (4) and (5) ended at 4:45 p.m.) Agenda Item (6): Other Matters 66. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m. December