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The Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Mrs Carrie Yau has visited the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, the Palace of Arts, the Hungarian National Gallery, the Ludwig Museum and the Museum of Applied Art in Budapest, Hungary, to prepare the M+ project in the West Kowloon Cultural District.
She is visiting Hungary with a delegation from the Hong Kong Academy of Arts.
¡§The richness of Hungarian culture had long been a source of great attraction to Hong Kong people. With the development of West Kowloon Cultural District high on the government agenda, the visit will be an excellent opportunity for Hong Kong to start networking with experts in Hungary to pave the way for future exchange of exhibits and explore further collaborative activities between the two places, including talent exchange,¡¨ Mrs Yau said.
A Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Co-operation between Hong Kong and Hungary was signed in 2005.
Director of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Professor Kevin Thompson, a member of the delegation said, ¡§the visit represents an opportunity not only to strengthen links between Hong Kong and Budapest but also with the Liszt Academy and the Kodˆhly Institute in Kecskemˆmt. The Kodˆhly approach is foundation to the Hungarian music education system."
On human resources development of artists and art administrators, Mrs Yau said, ¡§We believe that our students would benefit from exposure overseas and on the Mainland. Student exchanges spread across different continents through the efforts of major universities and Academy for Performing Arts. The academy strengthened its links with the profession, both locally and internationally, especially with companies that recently moved into the region including Disney, Venetian and Cirque Du Soleil. The academy has also established internships with these companies and students have been seconded to Disney and Cirque, not only locally but also in Florida, California, Las Vegas and Canada.¡¨
On exchange of arts administrators, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department sent 20 of its staff in 2007-08 to countries like USA, Italy and the Mainland, another 24 have been or will be sent in 2008-09. The Academy has nine of the staff placed under attachment programmes on the Mainland and overseas. ¡§The visit would open up opportunities for similar programmes to be organised in Eastern European countries like Hungary,¡¨Mrs Yau said.
Hungarian arts troupes last performed in Hong Kong during the Hong Kong Arts Festival this year, and an exhibition by renowned Hungarian contemporary painter Lˆhszlˆu Fehˆmr at the Hong Kong Arts Centre was held in March.
Ends/Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:10
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