The 18th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards Commends Outstanding Artists and Organisations
The 18th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards, organised by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), was held successfully today (11 June) at the Hong Kong City Hall. A total of 31 awards were presented to local artists, organisations, schools and institutions in recognition of their exceptional achievements and contributions in various artistic fields.
The ceremony was officiated by Mr Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR; Mr Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, Chairman of HKADC; Mr Raistlin Lau Chun, Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and Dr Frankie Yeung Wai-shing, Vice Chairman of HKADC.
Mr Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration congratulated the awardees for their significant contributions to Hong Kong arts development. In his speech, Mr Lau said, "under the support of the National 14th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong is rapidly developing into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. All along, the Government of the HKSAR has been driving the holistic development of the arts and cultural industry in Hong Kong. For instance, the upcoming 'Signature Performing Arts Programme Scheme,' the 'fourth Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival,' and supporting the inaugural ‘Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo’ of HKADC." He particularly appreciated the efforts of HKADC in fostering collaboration and exchange between local and international counterparts, and for nurturing talent in various arts disciplines through a wide range of funding and training initiatives.
Mr Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, Chairman of HKADC stated, "entering its 18th edition, the Awards continues to uphold its original mission of paying tribute to the artistic talents who have made significant achievements to the arts and cultural community, and to encourage aspiring artists to unleash their full potential and infuse fresh creative synergy into Hong Kong’s arts scene." He emphasised that HKADC has consistently attached great importance to external engagement and exchange, recent initiatives including "Showcase in Mainland Scheme," the "Study Tour on Shanghai Performing Arts Industry" and the "Professional Attachment at OzAsia Festival" helped heightening Hong Kong's position as the East-meets-West Centre for international cultural exchange. He also announced the inaugural "Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo" and the fifth "International Arts Leadership Roundtable", set to take place in October this year, bringing together arts and cultural leaders from the Greater China and around the world to foster cooperation in performing arts projects as well as to exchange and discuss global arts and cultural development trend.
Seven award categories of the 18th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards were presented, including the Life Achievement Award, Award for Outstanding Contribution in Arts, Artist of the Year, Award for Young Artist, Award for Arts Education in Schools, Award for Arts Promotion and Education and Award for Arts Sponsorship.
The Life Achievement Award, the highest accolade, was conferred to Dr Elizabeth Wang Ming-chun, a renowned and versatile artist in the performing arts and Cantonese opera with over 50 years dedicated to arts. Dr Wang has been a tireless advocate for traditional Cantonese opera. As Chairman of the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong, she has devoted more than two decades to the preservation, inheritance, cultivation and audience expansion of Cantonese opera, aiming to advance and elevate the standards of local Cantonese Opera. Dr Wang’s remarkable contributions to the development of arts and culture in Hong Kong, along with her esteemed artistic achievements, make her a truly deserving recipient of this award.
The three awardees of the Award for Outstanding Contribution in Arts are world-renowned tenor Dr Warren Mok, veteran film producer Mr Ng See-yuen and globally recognised architect Dr Rocco Yim. Dr Mok has been fervently promoting operatic art. He founded Opera Hong Kong which actively nurtures local opera talents; Mr Ng, known as the "Godfather of the Film Industry”, has advanced the film industry through innovative distribution strategies, introducing Hong Kong films to the international stage and showcasing the strength of local cinema; Dr Yim's architectural works seamlessly blend the Eastern and Western cultures, earning acclaim both locally and internationally. In recent years, he has been actively promoting academic exchanges within the industry and dedicated himself to cultivating the future pillars of the architectural industry. The achievements of these three distinguished recipients have laid a solid foundation for the development of the arts in Hong Kong, making their recognition well-deserved.
This year, the ceremony featured an immersive stage design, utilising special lighting installations, screen effects and computer programming to create a captivating atmosphere. During the ceremony, various artists paid tribute to the awardees, including an opening percussion performance by Mr Chin Kwok-wai, Assistant Principal Percussion of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra; a Cantonese opera performance by the Cha Duk Chang Children's Cantonese Opera Association; a sanxian and harmonica duet by Mr Zhao Taisheng, Principal Sanxian of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and young harmonica player Mr Lee Chun-lok; and a closing singing performance by singer Mr Jay Fung. These spectacular performances, combined with the technologically advanced stage effects, highlighted the vibrant development of Hong Kong's artistic ecosystem. The artists and organisations delivered enthralling performances that provided a unique artistic experience for the audience.
Prominent figures were invited to be the award presenters, including (in order of their appearance on stage ):
- Mr Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration of the Government of the HKSAR
- Mr Raistlin Lau Chun, Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Government of the HKSAR
- Prof Xu Zidong, Honorary Professor, School of Chinese, The University of Hong Kong
- Ms Eve Tam Mei-yee, Deputy Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Department (Culture)
- Mr Kwok Mang-ho (Frog King), Renowned Local Artist
- Dr Cheung Ping-kuen, Chairman, International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong)
- Mr Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, Chairman of HKADC
- Mr Leung Kin-fung, First Associate Concertmaster, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Chairman of the Music Group of HKADC
- Prof Gillian Choa, Director, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
- Mr Paul Tam, Executive Director, Performing Arts at West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
- Dr Frankie Yeung Wai-shing, Vice Chairman of HKADC
- Prof Andreas Kratky, Director of Academy of Visual Arts, School of Creative Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University
- Ms Lau Wai-ming, Chairman, Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Artists Club; Member of Board of Directors, Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong; Chairman of the Xiqu Group of HKADC
- Prof Karen Chan Ka-yin, Executive Director, German Pool (Hong Kong) Limited; Chairman of the Arts Promotion Committee of HKADC
Artist of the Year went to Mr Sang Jijia (Dance), Mr Wong Lung-pun (Drama), Dr Herman Yau Lai-to (Film), Prof Ge Liang (Literary Arts), Mr Keith Lam Yan-kit (Media Arts), Mr Zhao Taisheng (Music), Mr Wong Hau-kwei (Visual Arts) and Mr Liu Kwok-sum (Xiqu).
The Award for Young Artist went to Dr Gabriel Tsang Fan-yu (Arts Criticism), Mr Tsang King-fai (Dance), Ms Lam Sin-kiu (Drama), Mr Ho Cheuk-tin (Film), Mr Tung Wing-hong (Media Arts), Mr Lee Chun-lok (Music), Mr Kong Chun-hei (Visual Arts) and Ms Leung Fei-tung (Xiqu).For the complete list, please refer to the enclosure.
The ceremony’s TV episode will also be broadcast on the following channel:
- 6 July (Saturday) at 2:30 PM on ViuTV (Channel 99)
