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About $1.5 million has been awarded to 12 up-and-coming  artists by Hong Kong's prestigious Asian Cultural Council.

The winners were announced amid a flurry of wine, canapes and live jazz at the Academy of Performing Arts last night.

The grants, from donors such as casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun  and Goldman Sachs, were given to writers, musicians, composers and architects from Hong Kong, the mainland and Macau.

Hong Kong playwright Chong Mui-ngam  was surprised to have been awarded the chance to spend 12 months living in New York  to learn about its drama scene.

'I wasn't so hopeful when I first applied, but I felt I really needed time off to see something new and to refresh my thinking,' said the 27-year-old, who has already penned 12 plays.

'It's not easy trying to be a full-time playwright in Hong Kong, because there is always financial pressure. If you don't write enough, you can't make a living. If you force yourself to write too much, then you get burnt out and what you produce is not as creative.'

Chong will spend her time in New York participating in writing workshops and seeing as many performances as she can.

'I want to see musicals. I know that might sound funny, but musicals aren't usually written in Hong Kong and I want to see how they are done,' she said.

Another award went not to an individual, but to a group, the Hong Kong-based Asia Art Archive.

'I'm very happy because this [art archiving] is a field that lacks recognition,' said group  founder Claire Hsu.

She will use her US$8,000 to hold workshops to encourage other Asian countries, especially developing countries such as Thailand, to start their own art archives.

Other Hong Kong recipients included composer Tang Lok-yin, trumpet player Fung Ka-hing and architectural conservationist Irene Cheng Yu-wai.



Rising arts stars given $1.5m in fellowships