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Art@Government Buildings project boosts public interaction with art (with photos)
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     Six government buildings located on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon and in the New Territories have been decorated with artistic elements under a public art project, offering the public a new experience when visiting the buildings. The buildings in the project are Queensway Government Offices, North Point Government Offices, To Kwa Wan Market and Government Offices, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices, Sha Tin Government Offices and Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex.

     Entitled Art@Government Buildings 2012-13: Fresh Vision, the public art project is presented by the Home Affairs Bureau and organised by the Art Promotion Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). The Community Art Network is the curatorial collaborator of the project. It is also supported by the Government Property Agency and the Home Affairs Department.

     An opening ceremony was held today (November 28) at Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex to mark the launch of the project, which will run until November 30 next year. Officiating at the ceremony were the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Raymond Young; the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mrs Betty Fung; the Chairman of the Sha Tin District Council, Mr Ho Hau-cheung; the Vice-chairman of the Central and Western District Council, Mr Chan Hok-fung; the Vice-chairman of the Kowloon City District Council, Mr Pun Kwok-wah; the Chairman of the Social Services & Healthy and Safe City Committee of the Sai Kung District Council, Mr Chan Kai-wai; the Chairman of the Economic and Cultural Affairs Committee of the Eastern District Council, Mr Chiu Chi-keung; and the District Councillor of the Sham Shui Po District Council, Mr Lee Wing-man.

     Speaking at today's opening ceremony, Mr Young noted that the first Art@Government Buildings project launched last year was well received, which led to the Government's decision to run the project again this year and extend it to six government buildings. Six local artists from various fields were invited to create works for these buildings.

     The six participating artists are Margaret Chu, Kongkee (Kong Khong-chang), Ng Ka-chun, Lee Shu-fan, Bovey Lee and Don Mak, who drew creative reference from the architectural characteristics of the government buildings as well as the history and character of the districts in which the buildings are located to create works that are linked to the local communities.

     Mr Young said that apart from organising Art@Government Buildings, the Government has also embarked on a number of public art projects this year, including ArtAlive@Park and Park Dˆmco. These projects have provided a platform for the public to appreciate and get closer to art, and at the same time have optimised public facilities while promoting public art.

     The artwork entitled "The Four Orients" was created by Lee Shu-fan for Queensway Government Offices. Lee felt that the lobby of the government building was just a transient space, never a destination. The artwork he designed comprises four pieces of sculpture in the Chinese character "East", which also means "oriental". The word "East" also gives a sense of orientation to people in the space and gives the area a sense of purpose. Situated at different locations in the building, the four pieces of sculpture would not obstruct daily activities and, most importantly, would make the place a destination for people to interact with art.

     "A Glimpse of North Point", created by Don Mak, is now on display at North Point Government Offices. Through drawings, the artist has captured the lively atmosphere of North Point, such as the trams and crowds together in Chun Yeung Street, children seated on their plastic stools doing homework, and a Java Road bookstore sitting quietly on a corner with its shop sign in the delicate imitation Song style.

     The artwork created by Bovey Lee for Lai Chi Kok Government Offices is named "Carry the Sky". Connecting art with the history, topography and urban development of the region, the artist arranged bird-like shapes on the glass walls of the building according to aerial views of Lai Chi Kok using paper cut-out techniques. The reflections of the surroundings in the glass provide the perfect backdrop for the cut-out maps. Visitors can experience the dynamic play of light and shadow from the cut-out maps when they are viewed from both the interior and exterior of the building.
 
     Named "Spaceship - To Kwa Wan", Kongkee (Kong Khong-chang) illustrated different lovely and vivid characters and had them interspersed on the exterior walls and the elevator lobby of To Kwa Wan Market and Government Offices, showing the diverse activities and public services inside the building and bringing the warmth of human interaction from the streets and alleys into the government building.

     The old stools collected by Ng Ka-chun were sealed in a transparent substance and have become cubical sculptures for public use at Sha Tin Government Offices. Ng named his creation "Give a Seat Project" and aimed to reduce the distance between the Government and the people while the having the stools keep their history.

     Margaret Chu named her works, which are now on display at Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex, "Journey" and "Good Living Place". A figurative representation of flying birds in the open space presents a sense of flying into the future, and embodies people from all walks of life living in Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung who had moved from different places into a unified hometown.  

     To enable more visitors to view the artworks, guided tours to be conducted in Cantonese will be held in the buildings to introduce the artworks, the artists, the buildings and the surrounding communities. Visitors are welcome to join the tours, which are free of charge.

     For details of Art@Government Buildings 2012-13: Fresh Vision, as well as the tour dates and schedules, please visit the project website at www.agb.hk and its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AGB2012.13, or call the Community Art Network at 6717 8723.

Ends/Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Issued at HKT 20:42

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