Minutes of the 17 th Meeting of the Date : 7 September 2015 (Monday) Time : 11:00 a.m. Venue : Board Room, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, 29/F, Tower 6, The Gateway, 9 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Members Present: Chairman Prof John LEONG Chi-yan, S.B.S., J.P. Members The Honourable Ronald ARCULLI, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P. Mr. CHOW Yick-hay, BBS, JP Mr. Derek HUNG Chiu-wah Mr. LAM Ying-kit Prof Lena LEE Mr. Ng Cheuk-yin Ms. Yolanda NG Yuen-ting, MH Mr. TANG Shu-wing Ms. Ada WONG Ying-kay, J.P. The Honourable Wayne YIU Si-wing Secretary: Ms. Bonny WONG Director, CEO s Office In Attendance: Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) Ms. Angela LEE Chung-yan Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs (3) Page 1
Mr. CHENG Siu-fun, Eric Principal Assistant Secretary (WKCD) Miss Bernadette LAM King-tung Assistant Secretary (WKCD) West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Mr. Duncan PESCOD, G.B.S., JP Dr. CHAN Man-wai Dr. Lars NITTVE Ms. Lisa TSANG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Executive Director, Project Delivery Executive Director, M+ Head, Operations Development (Performing Arts), Performing Arts Absent with Apologies: Dr. the Honourable Allan ZEMAN, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P. Mr. CHING Cheung-ying, MH Ms. KO Po-ling, B.B.S., M.H., J.P. The Honourable Charles Peter MOK Mr. Coleman WAI Ching Opening Remarks The Chairman welcomed Members to the seventeenth meeting of the (CP). Page 2
Agenda Item (1) Confirmation of the Minutes of the 16 th Meeting 2. The Chairman noted that the Secretariat had not received any amendment proposals for the minutes. Members had no other comments and the minutes of the sixteenth meeting were confirmed. Agenda Item (2) Matters Arising Update on Legislative Council Joint Subcommittee to Monitor the Implementation of the West Kowloon Cultural District Project meeting on 7 July 2015 3. The Chairman updated Members on his attendance at the Legislative Council (LegCo) Joint Subcommittee to Monitor the Implementation of the West Kowloon Cultural District Project (Subcommittee) on 7 July 2015 to brief Members on the work of CP. Items reported included the work of the Working Group on Youth and Community Engagement, as well as proposals on initiating youth exchanges to foster a growing awareness of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) project in Hong Kong. 4. The Chairman highlighted that a LegCo member had suggested that CP should invite LegCo members from different political parties as well as the public to attend its meetings. He explained that CP members were drawn from various sectors, including members of LegCo and District Councils. 5. The Deputy Chairman of the LegCo Subcommittee suggested CP should make reference to Bilbao s Metropoli-30 in order to perform its intended role and function as originally envisaged by LegCo. The Chairman responded that CP could not be compared with Metropoli-30 as they were of different scale. He added that he considered it desirable to initiate regular and open discussions among the Administration, WKCDA, relevant stakeholders and members of the public on matters relating to the development of WKCD, although CP had to operate within its prescribed functions and resources. Page 3
[Professor Lena LEE joined the meeting at 11:16 a.m.] Agenda Item (3) Update on the Progress of the West Kowloon Cultural District Development (WKCDA CP/02/2015) Update on the progress of the WKCD Development (including hardware and software, and the future direction of the M+ and the performance arts venues, as well as major plans/events. Development of hardware 6. By way of a Powerpoint presentation, Dr. CHAN Man-wai provided an overview of the WKCD development to Members, including the geographic location and recent photos of the main and foundation works of the Xiqu Centre and M+ respectively, as well as the Nursery Park. He also reported on the latest progress of the design and construction works of various facilities as summarized below: A. Xiqu Centre - Main structure works was progressing well and in accordance with the schedule. B. M+ - Foundation works were completed. The main structure works would commence subsequent to the award of the main works contract in the next two months. - An interfacing Carpark located between M+ and the Park would also be constructed. C. Park (including the Arts Pavilion and Freespace) - Construction works of the Nursery Park were completed and the Nursery Park opened to the public in late July 2015. A directional map on how to access the Nursery Park was shown and explained. - Construction works of the Arts Pavilion were progressing well and were expected to complete by Q2 2016. Page 4
7. Dr. CHAN Man-wai pointed out the Express Rail Link (XRL) works areas within the WKCD. West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA/Authority) was working closely with the MTRCL to resolve some interfacing issues, such as the off-loading of construction materials at the barging point of the future waterfront promenade. In response to Ms. Ada WONG s question on east-west connectivity, Dr. CHAN Man-wai explained that the waterfront promenade would connect the east and west ends of the WKCD. However, completion of the waterfront promenade would be subject to the handover of the site by XRL in 2018/19. The barging point located at the waterfront promenade for offloading construction material might also block part of the waterfront promenade. 8. Mr. Duncan PESCOD supplemented that prior to the handover of the site to WKCDA in 2018/19, WKCDA was now working on the plans for the development of hotel/office/residential (HOR) sites and the area between the Xiqu Centre and Artist Square. 9. He also referred to the presentation slide on construction safety reported earlier and explained to Members that given the nature, complexity and risk of accidents in the construction sites, it was a major achievement that no accident had been recorded after 1 million man-hour of work on those sites. 10. Dr. CHAN Man-wai further reported that construction of the Park, including drainage works, would commence in late 2015/early 2016 and was expected to complete by phases starting 2017. 11. In response to Mr. Derek HUNG s question, Mr. Duncan PESCOD said that the Bylaw would be submitted to LegCo for positive vetting soon. 12. Mr. Duncan PESCOD explained that the management of the Nursery Park was now governed by House Rules and a set of guidelines and no major management issues had been reported so far. He informed Members of the first Freespace Happening event held on 9 August 2015, which had attracted around 10,000 people. The event gave Management the opportunity to experiment with the implementation of the guidelines. Page 5
13. He further elaborated on the Freespace Happening event, which offered a collection of activities featuring music, workshops, handicraft market, street performances, and special attractions, all designed to test out the flexibility of the operation system. Several more Freespace Happening events would be held on the second Sunday of each month until March 2016. 14. He informed Members that a number of Park Ambassadors were appointed to work at the Nursery Park, alongside security and cleaning contractors, to ensure a fit and welcoming environment for visitors. WKCDA also sought advice from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the design and operation of the Nursery Park with regard to the designated area for pets. All of these provided an opportunity for WKCDA to test operation and management ideas for the future Park. Performing Arts (PA) 15. In the absence of Mr. Louis YU, Ms. Lisa TSANG reported on the latest development of various aspects of PA, such as programmes for audience building, which included Rising Stars of Cantonese Opera, Teahouse Theatre Taster and Freespace Happening. She reported that her team had gained valuable experience in event operation and management in organising the Freespace Happening event, such as inclement weather management. 16. She also reported on programmes for capacity building, including the Xiqu Cultural Exchange Programme, Xiqu Centre Seminar Series, Producers Network Meeting and Forum, New Works Forum and International Workshop Festival of Theatre, Performing Arts Internship Programme, Overseas training/research programmes for leaders from local arts groups on future arts development in HK, and the Cultural Leadership Summit. In addition to audience and capacity building programmes, eight official engagement meetings had been held since January 2015 to collect views from stakeholders in drama, dance, music and xiqu disciplines. 17. Mr. TANG Shu Wing commented that most of the PA programmes were focused on audience and capacity building and asked if there would be any project Page 6
to enhance and expand existing programmes/activities to new areas unexplored by WKCDA, as PA programmes seemed to be confined to education. He queried how WKCDA intended to tap the existing infrastructure so that outstanding artists and their work could be exported, using WKCDA as a platform. He also asked for the PA strategy and direction. Ms. Ada WONG suggested WKCDA should share the PA strategy with Members at the next meeting. She also asked if any innovative programmes would be created for the opening of the Xiqu Centre. 18. Professor Lena LEE suggested WKCDA should provide a platform for all ages to interact. Those artists who had benefitted from WKCDA sponsorships to attend overseas training/learning programmes should share and showcase what they had learnt upon their return to Hong Kong. Mr. Duncan PESCOD agreed and informed Members that the Human Resources department was exploring ways to encourage past interns to work at WKCDA after they had graduated from university. This would require careful coordination to tie-in with the work of the Arts Development Council (ADC) and the Government in building capacity of the arts and cultural sector. 19. Mr. CHOW Yick-hay commented that WKCDA should establish a clear positioning so that its work would not be perceived to overlap with that of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). He also suggested that PA department should consider exploring new collaborations instead of repeating what had been done before. 20. Honourable Ronald ARCULLI commented that resources duplication with other institutions was unavoidable at this stage as each organisation had their own vision and direction for developing their programmes. He believed that this might be resolved once the Government devised an integrated vision and strategy on arts and cultural development for Hong Kong. 21. The Chairman requested the Management to reflect Members views to the WKCDA Board for their reference. He also asked if there was a task force under the CEO s Office that would delve into all the issues commented on by Members and Page 7
report back to CP with the Authority s concrete feedback. Mr. Duncan PESCOD responded that the PA and M+ teams were already working on the issues mentioned. Action M+, PA 22. Ms. Ada WONG added that WKCDA was only part of the ecosystem and as such its positioning needed to be very clear. She was of the view that programme curation was extremely important and what artistic content WKCDA intended to place in the venues needed to be communicated clearly to the public in the two years leading up to the opening of the first venue in 2018. 23. Mr. Duncan PESCOD responded that PA department had devised an artistic strategy and was talking to different arts groups. He agreed that commissioning work for the Xiqu Centre opening was a good suggestion. He also informed Members that PA department would be organising their own programmes in the Xiqu Centre and the Lyric Theatre Complex, which would not just be venues for hire. 24. The Chairman concluded that coordinated views from WKCDA should be given to CP when they were available. M+ 25. Dr. Lars NITTVE reported on the latest developments of various aspects of M+, including: A. Museum Collection - An analysis of acquisitions by disciplines of the Museum Collection and an analysis by geography were presented to Members. B. Learning - A short video of M+ Summer Camp (21-24 July 2015) was shown to Members. Page 8
Agenda Item (4) Progress Report of the Working Group on Youth and Community Engagement (WKCDA/CP/03/2015) 26. Ms. Ada WONG reported that four Working Group meetings had been held since its establishment in January 2015. After discussion at these meetings, Members decided to target engagement programmes on youth from different sectors, not limited only to those interested in arts and culture. Two initiatives had been kick-started, namely the West Kowloon Youth Exchange and Culture Mixer. 27. For the West Kowloon Youth Exchange, she reported that the first discussion session was organised in July 2015 with the Authority s past interns to obtain their views, as well as to encourage them to organise their own events at the Nursery Park. She was of the view that interns formed an important pool of young people who could form the basis of a network to push and drive activities for WKCDA. Some interns proposed ideas of how to build a new park culture, but the Working Group found it difficult to move the programme further as the interns were not as responsive as the Working Group would have expected. 28. For the Culture Mixer programme, Ms. Ada WONG reported to Members that Junior Achievement Hong Kong had been engaged to assist with the coordination of this programme. The first Culture Mixer Workshop and the WKCDA Xperience Day would be held on 10 October 2015 and in November 2015 respectively. 29. Ms Ada WONG concluded that the WKCDA Board should make a decision on how they wished to engage youth and the community based upon which they should allocate sufficient manpower and financial resources to enable CP to carry out the engagement. Honourable Ronald ARCULLI suggested that since the Board Chairman had already indicated to CP that resources would be available, the Working Group should prepare a 3-years business/budget plan for the WKCDA Board s consideration. 30. Ms. Yolanda NG supported the views of Ms. Ada WONG and shared her experience in working with other organisations. She proposed that any youth Page 9
engagement programmes should involve all eighteen districts of Hong Kong. A significant amount of manpower would be required to coordinate the programmes, but most importantly, a clear direction and sufficient budget approved by the Board would be essential to take the project forward. 31. Ms. Ada WONG proposed an open competition for programme ideas in the Nursery Park. The Authority could provide funding support to the winning team to do a performance. 32. The Chairman summarized the discussions and agreed that CP should target all youth and not only those who were interested in arts and culture. He further suggested that a plan was essential to enable the past interns to work for and contribute to WKCDA. He also agreed with the suggestion from Honourable Ronald ARCULLI that a business/budget plan should be prepared, riding on the Board Chairman s encouragement for CP to assist in engaging young people and the community. 33. Mr. Duncan PESCOD responded that the WKCDA should allocate resources to engage youth by adopting an integrated approach, with expertise from PA and M+ departments to run the programmes. He proposed that a coordinated programme should be worked out together with Members. WKCDA would allocate resources to different departments to carry out youth engagement programmes after collecting views and inputs from Members. The Chairman agreed with the idea of an integrated approach but suggested that the projects should be led by CP. Mr. Duncan PESCOD agreed to consider this. 34. Mr. TANG Shu Wing questioned the direction of WKCDA in its current programmes, whether they were providing social services to the under-privileged, overall capacity building, audience building or building a succession plan for WKCDA. 35. Ms. Ada WONG echoed Mr TANG Shu Wing s comments and reminded Members that ADC, LCSD, HK Arts Festival and the Authority s PA team are all doing audience building work, which was consumer-led and not the work of the CP Page 10
Working Group. She reiterated that today s youth engagement programmes must be designed to be interactive so as to facilitate youth taking ownership, supporting the project, and feeling a sense of pride in being a part of the WKCD. She suggested WKCDA should designate a person or a department to drive these engagement programmes if, CP members would only be required to give their views and input. 36. Mr. Duncan PESCOD confirmed upon the Chairman s query that the Culture Mixer, which included the Culture Mixer Workshop and the Xperience Day, would be implemented. 37. In response to comments from Ms. Ada WONG, Ms. Lisa TSANG reassured Members it was the target of the PA department to reach out to youth in different sectors based on various activities and programmes to be held in the coming Freespace Happening events. Agenda Item (5) Any Other Business 38. Mr. Derek HUNG commented that after the announcement of the design of the M+ Museum building, some residents of the Kowloon Station development expressed concern on the possible nuisance caused by the façade of the building. He suggested WKCDA should monitor the materials to be used for the façade and the LED screen to avoid light nuisance and light pollution. 39. The Chairman asked the Secretariat to coordinate the date of the next CP meeting. 40. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:52 p.m. Page 11
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