The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) opened today (28 February) with continued support from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, a partnership that dates back to the Festival’s launch over five decades ago. The opening ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, with officiating guests including HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee; Deputy Director General of the Department of Publicity, Cultural and Sports Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Li Shuguang; HKSAR Government Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law; HKSAR Government Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Manda Chan; Club Chairman Michael Lee; HKAF Chairman Lo Kingman and HKAF Executive Director Flora Yu.
HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee (front row, centre), Deputy Director General of the Department of Publicity, Cultural and Sports Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Li Shuguang (front row, 2nd left), HKSAR Government Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law (front row, 2nd right), HKSAR Government Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Manda Chan (front row, 1st left), Club Chairman Michael Lee (front row, 3rd left), HKAF Chairman Lo Kingman (front row, 3rd right), HKAF Executive Director Flora Yu (front row, 1st right) and other guests officiate at the opening ceremony of the 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival.
As a long-term partner of the HKAF, the Club has supported the highly-regarded arts festival in presenting three pillar programmes under The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series each year since 2008. This year, the series features the Festival’s opening performance by Italy’s Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, conducted by world-renowned maestro Donato Renzetti. It also includes La Sylphide, an enchanting fairy tale performed by the Czech National Ballet, and the world’s most enduring romantic opera, Bizet’s Carmen.
Furthermore, the Club’s Charities Trust is the sole sponsor of the world premiere of the Putonghua adaptation of Jules Verne’s timeless sci-fi classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,part of the newly launched Jockey Club East-meets-West Series. This world stage play’s Putonghua adaptation, commissioned by the HKAF, will see masterminds from France collaborate with top-notch Chinese theatre artists to create a new rendition of the literary classic.
Each year The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series brings world-class performances to the city,which this year includes the 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival’s opening performance by Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Photo credit: © Casalucci Ranzi).
To encourage local students from varied backgrounds to appreciate top-class artistic performances, the Club has long supported The Hong Kong Jockey Club Student Matinee Programme, which enables them to enjoy free performances. This year, the programme includes Beethoven Wars: A Battle for Peace, performed by the Insula orchestra and accentus.A guided talk will be provided for students before the performance, to enhance their understanding of the shows and theatre etiquette, as well as their capacity for arts appreciation.
The Club is also delighted to support the Jockey Club InnoArts Series with the aim to promote the convergence of art and technology. This year, the series features No Reality Now — an immersive theatre experience that combines dance with virtual reality (VR) technology. Audience members can switch between the live performance on stage and the augmented version using a VR headset that can be worn or removed at any time.
Exclusively sponsored by the Institute of Philanthropy (“IoP”), organised by the Palace Museum in Beijing, and in partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago, the “Rejoicing in Woods and Springs: A Journey through Garden Cultures in China and the Wider World”exhibition was launched yesterday (31 March) at the Tower Gallery, East and West Wing Galleries of the Meridian Gate in the Forbidden City. It will showcase rare artifacts and cultural treasures from across Asia, the United States and France. The exhibition will run until 29 June in Beijing, with subsequent plans to tour Suzhou, followed by Ningbo and Hong Kong through to July next year.
Chairman of the Institute of Philanthropy and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust Lester Huang tours the “Rejoicing in Woods and Springs: A Journey through Garden Cultures in China and the Wider World” exhibition.
This exhibition is an important part of a five-year collaboration under a Memorandum of Co operation entitled “Promotion of Chinese Culture and Arts Tech Talent Development in the Mainland and Hong Kong” signed between The Hong Kong Jockey Club (“the Club”) and the Palace Museum. It aims to foster cultural exchange between the Mainland and Hong Kong and to nurture aspiring arts tech talent. The exhibition aligns with the Palace Museum’s 100th anniversary and is also one of a series of activities under the Club’s “With you. Then. Now. Always.” campaign to celebrate its 140th anniversary.
At the opening ceremony of the exhibition yesterday, officiating guests included Wang Xudong, Director of the Palace Museum; Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust; James Rondeau, President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago; and Elisabeth Maisonnier, Chief Curator of Heritage at the National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon.
(From left to right) Wen Dayan, Director-General of Communication and Cooperation of the National Cultural Heritage Administration (1st left); Li Rusheng, President of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture (2nd left); Lester Huang, Chairman of the Institute of Philanthropy and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (3rd left); Gu Yucai, President of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics (4th left); Dr Wang Xudong, Director of the Palace Museum (5th left); James Rondeau, President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago (4th right); Liu Shuguang, President of ICOM China (3rd right); Elisabeth Maisonnier, Chief Curator of The Palaces of Versailles (2nd right); Du Haijiang, Deputy Director of the Palace Museum (1st right) officiate at the opening ceremony of the “Rejoicing in Woods and Springs: A Journey through Garden Cultures in China and the Wider World” exhibition. (Photo credit: The Palace Museum)
Director of the Palace Museum Dr Wang said the Palace Museum has systematically explored multi-faceted models to bridge cultural exchanges in innovative ways to foster dialogues between China’s rich culture with other international traditions, ever since the introduction of the Global Civilisation Initiative. This exhibition is envisioned not only to promote the sustainable development of cultural heritage but also to inspire and promote the construction of a global community of the shared future.
IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust Mr Huang noted this touring exhibition is exclusively sponsored by IoP and is a key activity under the five-year collaboration between the Club and the Palace Museum to promote Chinese culture and enhance international exchange through the integration of arts and technology. “It is a meaningful way to celebrate both the Club’s 140th anniversary and the Palace Museum’s 100th anniversary. It incorporates interactive digital technology to present fascinating garden cultures in China. I very much look forward to the exhibition being held in Hong Kong next year to broaden people’s understanding of national history and culture, supporting efforts to develop Hong Kong into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.”
Chairman of the Institute of Philanthropy and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust Lester Huang delivers a speech at the opening ceremony .
The exhibition features more than 200 Chinese and international exhibits, with support from four overseas cultural institutions – the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Yale Center for British Art in the United States; and the Palace of Versailles, Museums and National Gardens Public Institution in France. The National Museum of China and Tianjin Museum also contributed exhibits.
Taking six activities (gatherings with friends; appreciation of art collections; sightseeing; meditation; flower appreciation; and playing music) that took place in the Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City, the exhibition aims to explore the impact that human activities have on garden landscapes from different geographical regions and historical periods, and to contrast traditional Chinese and Western gardening philosophies.
Chairman of the Institute of Philanthropy and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust Lester Huang tours the “Rejoicing in Woods and Springs: A Journey through Garden Cultures in China and the Wider World” exhibition.
In addition to physical exhibits, the exhibition will also feature digital content, allowing audiences worldwide to access and appreciate these horticultural treasures online soon after the exhibition has opened.
The touring exhibition will be staged at the Palace Museum until 29 June, after which it plans to tour Suzhou Museum and Ningbo Museum before stopping at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 2026.
IoP, a charitable organisation established by the Club and its Charities Trust, donated approximately HK$440 million (RMB￥371 million) to the “Promotion of Chinese Culture and Arts Tech Talent Development in the Mainland and Hong Kong” initiative to promote Chinese culture and values in Hong Kong, the Mainland and worldwide. It supports the Central Government’s vision of developing Hong Kong into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, as outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan.
