minutes of the twenty-sixth meeting of the consultation
TRANSCRIPT
Consultation Panel
of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
Minutes of the Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the Consultation Panel
of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
Date : 4 May 2018 (Friday)
Time : 2:30 p.m.
Venue : Board Room, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority,
Units 608-613, Level 6, Core C, Cyberport 3, 100 Cyberport Road,
Hong Kong
Members Present:
Chairman
Professor John LEONG Chi-yan, SBS, JP
Members
The Honourable Ronald ARCULLI, GBM, GBS, JP
Mr Chris IP Ngo-tung, JP
Mr Henry CHAN Chi-chiu, MH, JP
Mr Christopher Wicky CHEUNG
Mr CHING Cheung-ying, MH
Ms Anita GIDUMAL
Mr Andy HO Wing-cheong
Ms Yolanda NG Yuen-ting, MH
Mr Kyrus SIU King-wai
Mr Jason WONG Chun-tat
Secretary:
Ms Maria LAU Head, Secretariat Services,
Legal and Secretarial
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In Attendance:
Home Affairs Bureau (HAB)
Mrs Angelina CHEUNG FUNG Wing-ping, JP Deputy Secretary for
Home Affairs (2)
Mr Hubert CRUZ Assistant Secretary for
Home Affairs (WKCD)
West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA)
Mr Duncan PESCOD, GBS, JP Chief Executive Officer
(CEO)
Dr William CHAN Chief Operating Officer
(COO)
Mr Richard TSE Executive Director,
Finance
Mr Derek SUN Head, Planning and
Development
Ms Yanny CHAN Manager, Marketing
Absent with Apologies:
Ms Mimi CHEUNG Yee-may
Mr CHOW Yick-hay, BBS, JP
Professor Lena LEE
Mr Wyborn LEUNG Wai-hong
Mr TANG Shu-wing
Professor Eric YIM Chi-ming, JP
Opening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed Members, the representatives of the West
Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA/the Authority) and Home Affairs
Bureau to the Twenty-Sixth meeting of the Consultation Panel (CP).
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2. The Chairman also welcomed the newly appointed member, Mr Kyrus
SIU who attended the meeting for the first time and invited Mr SIU to introduce
himself. Mr Kyrus SIU said that he was the Head of Development of Social et al.
Limited and the Head of Development of Social Investment Consultancy (UK) in
Greater China. He was committed to driving social innovation and very
experienced in youth and volunteer development work. He was a member of the
Council of Hong Kong Red Cross and Youth Development Commission.
Agenda Item (1) Confirmation of the Minutes of the Twenty-Fifth Consultation
Panel Meeting
3. The Chairman said that the Secretariat had circulated the draft minutes of
the Twenty-Fifth Meeting on 2 May 2018 and had not received any proposed
amendment to the minutes from Members. As Members had no other comments,
the minutes of the Twenty-Fifth Meeting were confirmed.
Agenda Item (2) Matters Arising
Marketing and Promotion of WKCDA’s Programmes
4. Mr Duncan PESCOD reported the following:
(a) WKCDA had actively promoted the “Picturing Central and Western
District @ West Kowloon” under the Community Engagement Project in
2017-18 through the various media such as the WKCDA official website,
Facebook pages, e-newsletter as well as advertisements in the newspapers.
The result of the programme was spectacular as it had attracted an
attendance of over 13 500. WKCDA would continue to support the
Community Engagement Project and collaborate with District Councils
(DCs) which could target at residents from different districts more directly.
(b) Regarding the creation of an event calendar on mobile devices, it would be
difficult to cover all the events as there were far too many. People would
prefer a targeted approach. As such, it was planned to create a calendar
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button on the WKCDA website by the end of 2018 when ticket purchase
and free event registration will start. Through this button, people could
save the events they had an interest to attend onto their own calendars.
(c) There was no exact cross-linkage between the Facebook pages of WKCDA
and M+. However, they could be accessed through each other’s website.
Individual Facebook event pages had been created for exhibitions such as
Samson Young: Songs for Disaster Relief and M+ at Art Basel. Lastly,
WKCDA was dealing with six unofficial Facebook pages of WKCDA to
make sure that the information was accurate.
Agenda Item (4) Progress Report of the Working Group on Youth and
Community Engagement (a presentation)
5. The Chairman proposed to proceed to agenda item 4 as Ms Yolanda NG
would leave the meeting early due to prior engagement.
6. By way of a PowerPoint presentation, Ms Yolanda NG briefed Members
on the progress of the Community Engagement Project and the youth engagement
initiatives. She reported that the “Crossover Lab Initiative” collaborative project
had been implemented in collaboration with DCs since 2017. Over 90
organisations had supported and participated in the project and over 20 pre-event
workshops had been organised. The project had so far attracted a total attendance
of over 24 500 to WKCD.
7. Ms Yolanda NG reported that the event “Picturing Central and Western
District @ West Kowloon” under the Community Engagement Project in 2017-18,
which WKCDA co-organised with the Central & Western District Council, with Little
Green Feet as the programme partner, had attracted a record high of over 13 500
participants. She also said that WKCDA would collaborate with three DCs
including Kowloon City DC, Eastern DC and Tuen Mun DC under the Community
Engagement Project for 2018-19. It was planned that these events would be held in
February and March 2019.
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8. Ms Yolanda NG stated that three youth engagement initiatives had been
undertaken in 2017-18. The programme details were summarised as below:
A. Youth Art Ambassador
(a) The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) was the
programme partner;
(b) it was held during the event “Picturing Central and Western District @
West Kowloon” on 25 March 2018;
(c) there was young people’s performance echoing the event “Picturing
Central and W estern District @ West Kowloon”;
(d) it created a user-centric joyous experience for WKCD goers at five points
of interest between Kowloon Station and WKCD; and
(e) fifteen youth art ambassadors had provided clear directional guidance to
the visitors along the path from Kowloon Station to the Nursery Park.
B. WKCD at Your Hand’s Reach
(a) HKFYG was the programme partner;
(b) it had attracted on-site impressions of over 17 600;
(c) there were 18 sessions over six days (18-23 March 2018) of touring of a
mobile stage at various locations in Hong Kong (e.g. Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong
Kok, Causeway Bay, Shatin and Kwun Tong etc.);
(d) it had involved international and local a cappella teams for performance;
and
(e) it had engaged youth art ambassadors to introduce the WKCD project to
the community.
C. Life Planning Programme: Arts Industry Exploration
(a) Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong was the programme
partner;
(b) it was held from March to July 2018;
(c) it was expecte d that 2 8 80 students from twelve schools would participate
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in the programme; and
(d) Programmes included
(i) artists such as Adam Wong and Jessica Chiu etc. sharing at local
schools;
(ii) visits to arts education/community arts organisations including
Jockey Club Inclusive Arts Studio and Chung Ying Theatre
Company etc.;
(iii) participation in WKCDA programmes including Samson Young:
Songs for Disaster Relief World Tour and staff sharing ; an d
(iv) sharing of the participating students etc.
9. Ms Yolanda NG said that the Working Group on Youth and Community
Engagement (Working Group) and WKCDA would review the event proposals
submitted by the programme partners, confirm and finalise the event details.
WKCDA would kick start the liaison with DCs later this year with the confirmation
of the Working Group. Similar to what had been done in 2017-18, if any of the
three DCs would not be able to launch their events in 2018-19, the Working Group
would plan and implement other project(s) to ensure effective use of the resources.
The Working Group would also explore options for implementation plan for events
after 2018-19 and had found out that it could do more in the area of youth engagement.
It was a different area and the need for youth engagement programme was increasing.
She asked if WKCDA could allocate more resources for the Working Group to
undertake more youth engagement programmes f rom 2019-20 onwards.
10. The Chairman thanked Ms Yolanda NG and the Working Group members
for their hard work and asked Mr Duncan PESCOD if WKCDA would provide
additional resources to support the youth and community engagement programmes.
11. Mr Duncan PESCOD responded that WKCDA had been working very
closely with the Working Group in support for the programmes and thanked Ms.
Yolanda NG and the Working Group members for their effort. He confirmed that
WKCDA continued to reach out to the community and organised different education
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13. Ms Yolanda NG supplemented that DCs planned their events/programmes
based on the Government’s financial year. Additional resources would be needed
for DCs to participate in the Community Engagement Project as the Community
Engagement Project held at the WKCD might not be perceived as directly improving
community facilities for residents in their respective districts. She also thanked the
Secretariat which had made a lot of effort in liaising with the DCs, which was not an
easy task.
programmes for young people. It had recentl y briefed a group of around 40 school
principals and head teachers from the Yau Tsim Mong District School Liaison
Committee on the WKCD project and the group had visited the Art Park and M+
Pavilion on 2 May 2018. Active education programmes of the Performing Arts
Department and M+ including Performing Arts 101 and 201 Series, M+ Rover and
M+ Summer Camp had been designed for the young people. He assured Members
that WKCDA would continue to reach out to the community and organise different
education programmes for the young people.
12. The Chairman stated that the Performing Arts Department and M+
organised education programmes in parallel with those of the CP. Mr Duncan
PESCOD confirmed that there would not be any duplication of the programmes as
they were targeting at different specific groups. The Chairman stated that the
Working Group had done a lot of work to line up with the three DCs.
15. The Chairman asked if the programmes to be offered by the three DCs of
the Community Engagement Project would be the same.
16. Ms Yolanda NG stated that based on her previous experience in
collaborating with the four DCs, the DCs would partner with different cultural
organisations to showcase the unique characteristics of the district. As such, the
programme contents would not be the same.
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17. Mr Andy HO stated that community and youth engagement was the focus
of the Working Group. The Community Engagement Project was very successful
as families from different districts came to the DC events in WKCD. He noted that
funds from the unused budget for the Community Engagement Project had been
allocated to the youth engagement initiatives in 2017-18. The lack of recurrent
funding would constrain the further development of youth engagement. He hoped
that in future there would be a recurrent budget for the youth engagement
programmes. In addition, he recommended that WKCDA should engage the
Western Harbour Tunnel Company Limited (WHT) on a collaborative basis to create
a pleasant w alking experience for WKCD goers from the Kowloon Station.
18. Mr Duncan PESCOD responded that WKCDA had been working very
closely with the Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited. WKCDA did have
discussions with WHT which was not very supportive. As such, the long-term
solution for improving the walking experience between Kowloon Station and WKCD
was to have a new bridge connecting Elements to WKCD. A paper to seek funding
approval for the bridge would be submitted to the Legislative Council very soon.
On behalf of the WKCDA, he would like to express his heartfelt appreciation of the
fantastic work that the Working Group had done.
19. Hon Ronald ARCULLI asked if any additional resources would be
available for the programmes of the CP.
20. Mr Duncan PESCOD replied that an annual budget of $1.5 million had
been allocated for the Community Engagement Project for 2018-19. He understood
that if need arose, the DCs could raise additional funds for the DC events in WKCD.
The budget for the Community Engagement Project would be kept under review.
The Chairman said that the WKCDA Board was very sympathetic towards the
community engagement work of the CP.
21. Mr Chris IP suggested tapping into the Government funding of around $2
million per annum allocated to each DC for arts and culture purposes.
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22. Hon Ronald ARCULLI suggested soliciting funding from the Hong Kong
Jockey Club as arts and cultural events were one of its areas of community support.
23. Ms Yolanda NG stated that in 2017-18, there were some spare funding
resources which were then used to undertake three youth engagement initiatives.
However, if the three DC events would be launched in 2018-19 as scheduled, the
$1.5 million budget would be fully utilised. She hoped that some additional
funding resources would be made available for the youth engagement initiatives.
She also suggested strengthening the youth element in the existing activities.
24. Mr Duncan PESCOD responded that there was flexibility in the use of
funds and a proposal on the youth engagement initiatives had to be submitted for the
consideration of WKCDA.
25. The Chairman recollected that the former WKCDA Board Chairman was
committed to helping with obtaining resources for the youth and community
engagement programmes of the CP.
Agenda Item (3) Update on the Art, Commerce and Exhibitions (ACE)
Development Package (formerly known as the Exhibition Hub Development
Area) and Artist Hostel/Residence of the West Kowloon Cultural District
(a presentation)
26. By way of a PowerPoint presentation, Mr Duncan PESCOD briefed
Members on the update on ACE development package and Artist Hostel/Residence.
ACE represented Art, Commerce and Exhibitions, comprising an exhibition centre
(about 47 000m2 gross floor area (GFA)) with hotel and rental offices (about 81
000m2 GFA) and embedded retail/dining/entertainment facilities (about 6 800m2
GFA). The exhibition centre would be located at the western end of WKCD
adjacent to the HKPM, while hotel and rental offices with retail/dining/entertainment
(RDE) facilities would be in the adjacent U-shaped site surrounded by the Western
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Harbour Crossing. The ACE would be developed under a Build-Operate-Transfer
(BOT) arrangement to capture creative opportunities in design, construction and
management. With a growing demand for space for art fairs, exhibitions and
conventions, the exhibition centre would have a flexible configuration to serve
different purposes. The exhibition centre would have two halls with an area of
around 9,000m2 each. One of these halls would be column-free with a seating
capacity of around 10,000 persons in concert mode. This venue would be suitable
for staging various types of indoor performances. Roving exhibitions and briefing
sessions for stakeholders of the ACE development package and Artist
Hostel/Residence were held. According to the tentative development programme,
private sector investors/partners would be invited to bid for the BOT development
tender by the end of 2018/early 2019 for the right to construct and operate the
facilities in the ACE during the BOT period. It was expected that the tender would
be awarded in early 2019 with the commencement of construction by the end of
2019/early 2020. The target completion of the ACE development would be in
2023/2024.
27. Mr Duncan PESCOD stated that the Artist Hostel/Residence (about 12
695m2 GFA) would be Hong Kong’s first experimental artist hostel with RDE
facilities (about 3 488m2 GFA), locating next to the Lyric Theatre Complex (LTC) in
the Artist Square to create synergy between performance space and residential
creation space. The Hostel would be developed through a public-private
partnership (PPP). It would accommodate both artists and regular patrons,
providing a unique opportunity for artists and art lovers to meet, interact and learn
from each other. It would also serve as a showcase and incubator for artists, with
workshops and public spaces for events and performances. Public and private
sector investors would be invited to bid for the PPP development tender by the second
half of 2018 and the tender would be awarded by the end of 2018/early 2019. The
construction works of the Artistic Hostel/Residence would commence by the end of
2019 and be completed by the end of 2023 to tie in with the delivery of LTC so that
they would complement each other.
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33. Hon Ronald ARCULLI stated that the benefit of BOT/PPP arrangements
to the public was that the income so generated would subsidise the operating cost of
the arts and culture facilities. He believed that the Government would be able to
share part of the revenue of the projects to ensure WKCDA was not provided
excessive resources.
28. The Chairman enquired why it was called an exhibition centre which was
in fact used for staging performances.
29. Mr Duncan PESCOD replied that it would be easier for the market to
understand what an exhibition centre was than a performance centre. In addition,
it would provide more flexibility as an exhibition centre could accommodate
different types of events such as exhibitions, conventions and performances etc.
30. Mr Henry CHAN enquired which types of infrastructure would be
included under BOT and how long the BOT period would last.
31. Mr Duncan PESCOD responded that according to the Enhanced Financial
Arrangement, all the facilities with commercial elements within WKCD including
hotels, rental offices, exhibition centre and artist hostel would be developed under
the BOT/PPP arrangements. As WKCDA did not have sufficient funding to
develop all the venues, it would need to tap into the resources of the markets. The
ACE development package and Artist Ho stel/Residence were the pioneer projects
32. Mr Henry CHAN was concerned that there might be a continuous increase
in price to sustain the BOT operation. As such, he suggested that the pricing
mechanism and income sharing with the Government should take into account the
interest of the public.
34. Mr Duncan PESCOD supplemented that there were provisions under the
Enhanced Financial Agreement that the development right of the exhibition centre
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site would be granted by the Government to WKCDA at nominal premium without
the need for WKCDA to pay an upfront payment to the Government. Upon expiry
of the BOT period, the Government would have a right to share income generated
from the ACE package. He emphasised that the Enhanced Financial Arrange ment
was needed to help WKCDA tide over its capital and operating deficits arising from
non-profit making facilities and programmes.
35. The Chairman asked if it would be possible for only part of the ACE to be
developed under BOT.
36. Mr Duncan PESCOD replied that the whole project of ACE would be
developed under BOT. It was anticipated that the exhibition centre would not be
hugely profitable as exhibition centres such as Asia World Expo and Hong Kong
Convention and Exhibition Centre were built on a concessionary basis. So, the
exhibition centre needed to be packaged with the hotel and office development .
37. Mr Christopher CHEUNG enquired if there was any current reference
model for the operation of the Artist Hostel/Residence.
38. Mr Duncan PESCOD responded that the concept of the Artist
Hostel/Residence came from a couple of models in Europe and Shanghai and also
the idea of the WKCDA Board Chairman who strongly wanted to have creative
spaces within the facilities. As the Hostel would be developed through PPP, it was
necessary for WKCDA to get a partner to make the project successful. WKCDA
would also need to control certain elements of the operation of the Artist
Hostel/Residence, particularly the involvement of artists and pricing. He thought
that the prices should not be too excessive.
39. Mr Christopher CHEUNG commented that it would be quite limiting if
WKCDA was just looking for one partner. As it would be the first experimental
artist hostel, he suggested engaging multiple partners on a collaborative basis to
achieve a good check and balance.
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40. Mr Duncan PESCOD replied that that the developer might consider
partnering with an operator to manage the facilities. Mr Ronald ARCULLI said
that there might be a lead partner to put a good team together.
41. Hon Ronald ARCULLI stated that when WKCD was fully developed,
there would be a total GFA of approximately 850 000m2, , out of which approximately
350 000m2 would be designated for arts and cultural facilities while approximately
500 000m2 would be used for commercial facilities. As the arts and cultural
facilities were sizeable, the related operating cost would be very expensive.
42. Mr CHING Cheung-ying asked if the Artist Hostel/Residence would be
self-financing or subsidized. He also asked how many rooms would be provided
and what the eligibility of artists would be. He was aware that a building would be
built at the entrance of Hong Kong Science Park to provide accommodation for
innovators for short-term residence.
43. Mr Duncan PESCOD responded that the Artist Hostel/Residence had to
be self-financing and profitable. It would provide about 250 accommodation rooms
with additional creative spaces. The proportion of artists and regular patrons would
be flexible. Artists eligible to be admitted to the hostel would include prof essional
artists, artists going to have professional training and artists from abroad.
Depending on the nature of residenc e, WKCDA would decide on how to support the
artists. Similar to Cyberport and Hong Kong Science Park which had incubation
spaces, WKCDA should provide spaces for creative purposes.
44. Ms Yolanda NG suggested that the WKCDA should explore collaborative
opportunities for the Artist Hostel/Residence with the existing programmes such as
the Young Artist in Residence@V54 of Po Leung Kuk and the Blue House of St
James Settlement.
45. Mr Duncan PESCOD replied that WKCDA had been collaborating with
other art and cultural organisations and would continue to do so.
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46. Mr Andy HO stated that the public would expect that they would have the
opportunity to use the facilities in the ACE. Although the ACE would be operated
on a commercial basis, it would be advisable to mention in the tender document a
proportion of the priority usage of exhibition centre by the community and art and
cultural organisations as well as the proportion of arts and cultural programmes to be
held at the exhibition centre.
47. Mr Duncan PESCOD stated that according to the established policy, for
the art and cultural facilities in WKCD, the first priority was for artistic events, the
second use was for the events of the local organisations and the third use was for
commercial purposes. However, the exhibition centre within the ACE would be
operated on commercial basis, the first priority was for commercial art purposes (e.g.
international programmes) and its remit was to raise the standard and strive for
excellence. School type of events would not be its target.
48. The Chairman said that the public would expect to have opportunities of
using the facilities within WKCD. They expected that it would be easier to book
the facilities within WKCD than the venues under Leisure and Cultural Services
Department (LCSD) such as the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
(Mr Jason WONG left at 3:53 p.m.)
49. Mr Duncan PESCOD responded that WKCD would continue to have free
events such as Freespace Happening and Co mmunity Engagement Project partnered
with DCs. Besides, many open spaces within WKCD would be available for
community use such as the Art Park. However, he emphasised that WKCDA was
not going to do the same thing in the exhibition centre which should be commercially
viable.
50. Mr Chris IP commented that it would be difficult to sustain the long-term
operation of the arts and cultural facilities within WKCD only by revenue generated
from ticketing, souvenirs and RDE facilities. As such, he opined that it would be
necessary for WKCDA to run some commercial facilities to subsidise the operating
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costs of the arts and cultural facilities.
(Mr Henry CHAN left at 3:56 p.m.)
51. Mr Andy HO restated that a requirement for some public usage of the
exhibition centre could be included in the tender document of the ACE to make the
public feel that it was not a pure commercial facility.
52. The Chairman advised that this issue should be brought to the attention of
the WKCDA Board.
53. Mr Duncan PESCOD replied that conditions of public usage would not be
included in the commercial deal as it would undermine the commercial viability of
the ACE project. He would instead develop other projects to give opportunity for
the public to be more engaged.
54. Ms Anita GIDUMAL asked what the encompassing definition of arts and
culture was and the types of events that would be held at the exhibition centre.
55. Mr Duncan PESCOD replied that WKCDA would encourage all
programmes or events that were related to arts and culture to be held at the exhibition
centre. Examples were food expo, wine expo and book fair which were related to
culture. But product trade fairs would not be the type of events to be held at the
exhibition centre. He reiterated that arts and culture programmes should be of top
priority a nd WKCDA would not define what types of programmes would fit for the
ACE as the definition would change over time.
(Ms Yolanda NG left at 4:02 p.m.)
58. Mr Christopher CHEUNG stated that it was understandable that
commercial viability was important for the ACE Project. However, WKCDA
should let the public know that commercial viability was not its only concern. It
had also undertaken education programmes, such as M+ summer camp, as an
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initiative of social responsibility.
59. Mr Duncan PESCOD agreed that education and social responsibility
would always be the focus of WKCDA. Each building within WKCD was required
to have certain facilities catered for education and social responsibility programmes.
(The Chairman reminded that the meeting was losing its quorum and invited
Members to ask the last question.)
60. Mr Chris IP emphasised that the vision of WKCDA was to build a vibrant
arts and cultural hub for Hong Kong. Members could rest assured that arts and
culture would be the first priority.
Agenda Item (5) Any Other Business
61. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:05 p.m.
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