The buzz of the
Greater Bay Area project, a government scheme to link up Hong Kong and other Chinese cities in a business hub, has spilled over into the arts and culture. Last month, a festival organised by the Hong Kong Celebrations Association in Victoria Park, featuring Belgian DJ DVLM and K-pop idol Rain and well attended by youngsters, was called the
Greater Bay Festival even though it appeared to have little to do with the business park. However, this may be reflective of the intention to further develop the arts in the Greater Bay Area.
In June, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival was inaugurated, the intentional fruit of a work plan between the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments. This performing arts festival, identified by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor as one of nine major outcomes of the work plan, corrals together regional resources to foster cultural exchange. So far, it has brought together the
Chinese Opera Festival and the
Xiqu Centre in West Kowloon Cultural District. It has also helped the Guangzhou Opera House to partner with Hong Kong theatre group Actors’ Family to produce the musical
The Lily of the Valley.
In 2018, the Hong Kong government introduced
HK$140 million (US$18 million) in funding over five years to support local artists in their cultural exchanges in the Greater Bay Area. Around 20 local productions have been put up, with more in the pipeline. Reviews of the scheme have generally been positive, although whether this funding will continue after 2023 remains a mystery.
That Hong Kong’s programmes still have an edge in the region is a sentiment that resonates with many local veteran arts administrators and cultural thought leaders; but they also say that is “only while the opportunity lasts”.
Fans of Hong Kong’s productions like the authenticity and originality of the performances and themes. At this year’s 2nd Chinese Theatre Awards, the Chinese equivalent of the Tony Awards, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre swept six out of the 14 awards, including best director, best producer and best playwright.
Hong Kong’s rapid development and unique history “lends itself to works that offer fresh, unthought-of perspectives that are more innovative and original than those of its regional counterparts,” said a Foshan-based radio DJ about a Hong Kong production in his hometown. “We like that they are embedded with rich Hong Kong local characteristics.”
Clearly, across the Cantonese-speaking regions, Hong Kong’s productions are popular and a driving artistic force. It is in everyone’s interests to keep up
cultural exchanges and sustain the development of the arts.
