Riding on the staging of international art and cultural events, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is launching ‘Arts in Hong Kong,’ designed to showcase to a global audience the city’s enduring appeal as a “dazzling” arts and cultural hub.
The campaign aims to raise Hong Kong’s international profile further, offering in-depth community arts and cultural tours and interactive art tech experiences to encourage the local public and visitors alike to rediscover the city from a cultural perspective.
“In-depth travel experiences have become a major global trend, and arts and culture are a key driver of this trend,” says HKTB Executive Director Mr. Dane Cheng.
To that end, the HKTB intends to make its just-concluded annual ‘Art Month’ in May into a year-round platform, says Cheng.
Initially based on leveraging international events held Hong Kong to generate city-wide art vibes, the new ‘Arts in Hong Kong’ campaign will “raise awareness of the city’s always-on, diverse experience of arts and culture, and establish Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange,” he adds.
As well as the staging of large-scale events, new world-class art landmarks such as M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum are also opening their doors, boosting Hong Kong’s allure as an arts and cultural travel destination, Cheng points, helping “the city’s arts scene becomes richer than ever.”
Having rolled out in May, the campaign features the prestigious Art Basel Hong Kong and French May, along with a series of unique neighbourhood projects headlining a series of promotions to demonstrate that large-scale art and cultural events have returned to Hong Kong.
The campaign will also form part of the HKTB’s existing ‘Hong Kong Summer Treats’ promotion that encourages residents and visitors to explore Hong Kong from new perspectives.
The HKTB is working closely with the organizers of international arts events staged in Hong Kong to increase their reach and impact. It has teamed up with Art Basel Hong Kong to host online tours, for instance, and has invited Hong Kong artists to bring an explosion of colour to the streets by displaying their inspirational works on the city’s iconic trams.
The integration of arts and technology is a rapidly growing trend, and the HKTB is stepping up its use of technology to promote art events and cultural landmarks. It has produced a video to promote the interactive virtual reality experience of French May’s highlighted program “Intraverse,” and is supporting the promotion of the moving image work “The Shape of Light” – a joint presentation by Art Basel and M+, as well as the Hong Kong Museum of Art’s outdoor artwork installation, Resonance-In-Sight.
‘Arts in Neighbourhoods’
As well as its program of major cultural events, the HKTB is launching a range of promotions to reveal “surprising” hidden gems of culture in neighbourhoods across the city. They include:
Street exploration: Wander through Old Town Central, Sham Shui Po and West Kowloon and explore more than 20 cultural discovery hot spots under five major themes. The HKTB has created an interactive map with arts and cultural guides for each hot spot. The map includes fascinating anecdotes, like the mystery behind the embroidery of Chinese wedding gown tailor Koon Nam Wah Bridal.
Discover arts with an avatar: A browser-based app has been created that allows visitors to create a customized avatar with their own cultural interests to enrich their neighbourhood experiences in a hybrid environment. Three ways to roam with the avatar: Visit three designated hot spots in person for a unique AR interactive experience; Check out Hong Kong Neighbourhoods’ hot spots and take snapshots; Take creative selfies with your avatar, anywhere, anytime/
For a global audience
In Canada and other overseas source markets, the HKTB is organizing Hong Kong-themed arts events in new formats, inviting Hong Kong Super Fans active in the arts and cultural scene to showcase arts events and raise the city’s profile in the international arts scene.
In Toronto and Vancouver, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office is staging free exhibitions showcasing Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage through the works of nine distinguished artists as follows:
• Toronto: Through June 28, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. at The Oval and Upper Oval, Yorkville Village, 55 Avenue Rd.
• Vancouver: June 13-July 3, 1 p.m.-midnight, CF Richmond Centre, 6551 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Virtual tours: The HKTB is organizing a range of arts-themed online tours for about 1,000 overseas media representatives, Hong Kong Super Fans, trade members and other stakeholders to promote arts and cultural attractions, including M+, the Hong Kong Palace Museum, the Tung Nam Lou Art Hotel, Biu Kee Mahjong, and embroidered footwear shop Sindart. And the HKTB is teaming up with Art Basel Hong Kong to organize online viewing tours showcasing Hong Kong’s rich arts and cultural scene, targeting Mainland, and overseas media in the Greater Bay Area markets, Hong Kong Super Fans, and the travel trade.