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The following is issued on behalf of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority:
The Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority held its fourth meeting today (March 17). The Board heard the progress reports of its committees and discussed matters including engagement of consultancy firms for conducting market studies on the arts and cultural facilities of the WKCD.
The Chairman of the Board, Mr Henry Tang, said after the meeting that the Authority was taking forward its work in an orderly manner and the progress has been satisfactory. Regarding the preparation of the development plan of the WKCD, 16 renowned international and local consultants have submitted detailed proposals and will soon make detailed presentations to the Authority. Among these consultants, the Authority will select a project consultant and three conceptual plan consultants, and carry out stage 1 of the public engagement exercise on the development plan in the middle of this year.
The Board noted that the recruitment of the Executive Director and Museum and Performing Arts Advisors was well under way. In addition, the Authority was taking steps to recruit other professional, managerial and supporting staff to meet the needs of the work.
The Board also discussed the engagement of consultancy firms for conducting market studies on the arts and cultural venues. That session of the meeting was open to the public through live webcast.
Mr Tang said: "In future, those sessions of the board meetings which do not involve sensitive and commercial information will be open to the public. The opening up of the board meetings to the public fully reflects the Authorityˇ¦s principle of operating in a highly transparent manner and its spirit of being responsible to the public. It will also help the public understand the work of the Authority, facilitating them to discuss the development of the WKCD."
He continued: "Fifteen performing arts venues, a museum and an exhibition centre have been planned to be constructed in the WKCD. In view of the large scale of the facilities, the Authority considered that it has to implement its work plan prudently and ensure effective use of public resources. The Development Committee, the Museum Committee and the Performing Arts Committee under the Authority all considered it necessary to carry out market studies on the audienceship and clientele of the WKCD arts and cultural facilities locally, regionally and internationally. The market analysis will include study of comparable facilities in the Pearl River Delta, other major cities in the Mainland and overseas.
ˇ§The information and analysis provided by the studies will help the Authority map out the organic integration of the development objectives and positioning of the WKCD with the cultivation and attraction of overseas and local audiences, so as to formulate the most desirable strategy for phased development of the arts and cultural facilities; and provide retail, dining and entertainment facilities in appropriate scale to tie in with the arts and cultural facilities of the WKCD," he said.
The market analysis studies are expected to commence this June and be completed in September. The findings of the studies and the information gathered in stage 1 of the public engagement exercise will form an important basis for the formulation of the development plan proposal.
In today's meeting, the Board discussed the engagement of a public relations consultant to assist the Authority in carrying out the public engagement exercise and promoting the WKCD. It also endorsed the appointment of an independent auditor.
The Board also drew up relevant guidelines for its Consultation Panel according to the relevant provisions stipulated in the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Ordinance.
Mr Tang said: "The Authority announced on February 16 the appointment of members to its Consultation Panel. The first and foremost task for the Consultation Panel at the present stage is to plan in detail the programme of the public engagement exercise for the development plan of the WKCD, with a view to facilitating the Authority to devise the development plan proposal. In the spirit of enhancing transparency, the meetings of the Consultation Panel will be open to the public. Agendas, papers and minutes of the Consultation Panel will be made available for public access. The Authority has requested the members of the Consultation Panel to declare interests. Relevant guidelines of the Consultation Panel will be uploaded to the website of the WKCD Authority (www.wkcdauthority.hk) later."
The Board also discussed issues concerning the cultural software of the WKCD.
Mr Tang said: "The Authority is fully aware that, in addition to the hardware, quality personnel and programmes are critical to the success of the WKCD. The Board considers that before the WKCD becomes officially operational, it is necessary to allocate part of the resources for making appropriate arrangements to organise performing arts and visual arts programmes to promote the WKCD. The Performing Arts Committee and the Museum Committee will study this and make concrete recommendations."
Ends/Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:03
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