/ Hong Kong, give young creatives a chance to pursue their dreams

“Who are the new young creatives in Hong Kong today?” It’s a question I get asked very often, but never really know how to answer.

In the past five years that I have been living in Hong Kong, I have encountered many local creatives, from photographers to artists, and designers to musicians. Far too many of them struggle with the high costs of living, rent, production and the unstable economy. This affects the demand for the creative industry.

It is commonly known that Hong Kong is not the most creative place on the planet. As the only major global city with not even one proper art museum (except for privately owned galleries or the not-so-impressive M+ Museum), combined with the high costs of living and expensive rent, it has driven many young creatives away.

So what happened? Some blame the economy. Two years ago on a springtime evening in Beijing, I had a long conversation with Wing Shya, who is probably Hong Kong’s most iconic photographer from the glorious ’90s of Hong Kong, over a few too many drinks about the future of the city’s young creatives. I rang him up again this week to see if he has changed his mind in any way.

“As the economy is becoming worse, staying in Hong Kong has made many young people extremely narrow-minded. They don’t want to venture out any more. It is this sense of security they have staying home that has slowly eroded them,” Wing said on the phone as he prepared for his solo exhibition that opened on November 7 at the Shanghai Centre of Photography.

“When the economy was good, the arts sector had the privilege to be bold and experimental. People were buying records, watching movies and reading magazines, which gave creatives a huge motivation to create.”