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Opinion | Shanghai Week building global audience for Hong Kong arts and culture

West Kowloon Cultural District’s first large-scale event outside Hong Kong is a carefully planned dialogue with a friendly peer city

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A scene from the xiqu production “The Impossible Trial”, a musical written by composer Leon Ko, lyricist Chris Shum and playwright Cheung Fei-fan that premiered on September 13, 2022, and is now on stage in Shanghai as part of 2025 WestK Shanghai Week. Photo: Wing Hei Photography

The forward momentum of Hong Kong’s arts scene is evident, and it is about to move beyond the city’s boundaries. Since its establishment in 2008, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority has nurtured artistic talent and presented their strengths and creativity through a wide variety of programmes and exhibitions, many of which have won local and international acclaim.

Now we are embarking on the next step in our mission, which is to help the city’s unique cultural programmes go global. The 2025 WestK Shanghai Week, which takes place from June 18-22, marks an important milestone in this ambition.
We chose Shanghai for the first major West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK) venture outside Hong Kong for a good reason – the two cities are connected in many ways. Both are vibrant East-meets-West centres of cultural exchange with a truly international outlook. Both cities have rich and diverse heritage that fosters the development of the arts and creative industries, and both are home to sophisticated audiences who always look for fresh and innovative cultural experiences.
The best of Hong Kong will be on show in Shanghai this week. Highlighted programmes of 2025 WestK Shanghai Week include the mainland debut of the original Cantonese musical The Impossible Trial, which was a great hit in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Palace Museum is staging a brand new exhibition “City Rhythms: Chinese Traditional Culture Reinterpreted” exhibition at the Zhangyuan complex.
M+’s highly acclaimed exhibition “I.M. Pei: Life Is Architecture”, which opened in the Power Station of Art in late April, has generated a real buzz in Shanghai.

In addition to musicals, the Shanghai audience will see a string of other performing arts genres showcasing Hong Kong’s top artistic talent, from traditional Chinese opera and jazz to contemporary dance.

Visitors play with toy bricks at the M+ exhibition “I.M. Pei: Life Is Architecture” on June 29, 2024. Photo: Eugene Lee
Visitors play with toy bricks at the M+ exhibition “I.M. Pei: Life Is Architecture” on June 29, 2024. Photo: Eugene Lee
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