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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong-Taiwan Cultural Co-operation Committee:
The Hong Kong-Taiwan Cultural Co-operation Committee (HKTCCC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Cultural Co-operation Committee (THKCCC) held the Third Hong Kong-Taiwan Cultural Co-operation Forum in Hong Kong today (September 26) to promote the co-operation between the arts and cultural sectors and creative industries in the two places.
Addressing the opening of the forum, the Convenor of HKTCCC, Mr Fredric Mao said, "The Hong Kong-Taiwan Cultural Co-operation Forum has stepped into its third year. Based on a solid foundation established by both sides in the past, we hope to forge ahead into the future to further study in depth the areas that the creative industry is concerned about. The forum this year focused especially on cross-sector co-operation. We hope that the group discussions will provide more opportunities for participants to share their experiences and exchange ideas in a pragmatic way with their counterparts in the relevant sectors, to enhance mutual understanding and discuss the areas of co-operation, and to ignite new sparks during the exchange process."
Participants from Hong Kong included the Vice-Chairperson of the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council (ECCPC), Mr Tsang Tak-sing, and Directors of ECCPC, Mr Raymond Young and Mr John Leung; the Convenor of the HKTCCC, Mr Fredric Mao; HKTCCC members, Professor Cheng Pei-kai, Dr Elvin Lee, Mr Pang Tsz-kit, Mr Alan Yip and Ms Tisa Ho. Participants from Taiwan included the Convenor of the THKCCC, Mr Lo Chih-cheng, members of the THKCCC and representatives from the relevant sectors.
Representatives from both sides discussed and exchanged ideas in three group discussion sessions on the following topics, namely cross-sector co-operation in the cultural and creative industries (film, design, comics and animation, publishing and printing industries); co-operation and experience sharing of creative industry clusters in the two places; and new vision for art curators. They were respectively hosted by HKTCCC member, Mr Pang Tsz-kit; THKCCC member, Mr Raymond So, and Curator of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Mr Szeto Yuen-kit. About 80 participants attended. The group discussions were followed by a reporting and concluding session on the overall views of the participants.
The three groups made several suggestions to further promote the cultural and creativity development of Hong Kong and Taiwan. These suggestions include exploring the possibility of organising a workshop in which experts from the film, design, comics and animation sectors of Hong Kong and Taiwan will be invited to introduce to the practitioners of the publishing sector the state of play of various creative sectors; and holding the Third Hong Kong Comic Camp, in which professionals from the comics and publishing sectors of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Guangdong and Macao will be invited to teach the participants the practical skills in comic creation, with a view to further enhancing exchange of ideas among the four places in comics and publishing as well as the training of talents.
There were also suggestions to encourage creative clusters in Hong Kong and Taiwan to visit each other with a view to enhancing mutual understanding and facilitating experience sharing; to facilitate exchange of information between Hong Kong and Taiwan on the incubation programmes for start-ups and set up a platform to provide the relevant information; and to explore the idea of introducing to Hong Kong audience various genres of Taiwan movies during the Taiwan Culture Festival.
Representatives from art curatorial sector explored various topics of curatorship, including the lateral development in different geographical locations, as well as how vertically, traditional legacies could be relevant in today's society. Attendees believed that the public museums or independent curators and commercial organisations could achieve mutual benefit through collaboration at the meeting point.
The Vice-Chairperson of the ECCPC, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, hosted a lunch reception for the Taiwan delegation and guests who attended the forum. He thanked the representatives from both Hong Kong and Taiwan for their attendance and for coming up with proactive suggestions in the group discussions, contributing to the cultural and creativity development of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
"Apparently, the rapid development in information technology has made a great impact on the cultural sector. Some industries have gone through revolutionary changes, new ones are created. While industries such as film, design, comics and animation, publishing and printing are highly motivated, other traditional art forms such as vocal singing, musical performance and dance inevitably have to be reformed following the changes in the means of communication. This has generated new incentives for the cross-sector co-operation," said Mr Tsang.
Following the successful staging of the First "Hong Kong Week" in Taipei last year, the HKTCCC is organising, in association with the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (Taiwan), the Second "Hong Kong Week" which will be officially opened on November 29 in Taipei, to showcase Hong Kong art and culture to the Taiwanese audience in a comprehensive and systematic manner, and to introduce to them the cultural characteristics of Hong Kong.
With the theme of "Legacies and Innovations", "Hong Kong Week 2013@Taipei" will offer Taiwanese audience a taste of Hong Kong's unique cultural mix of traditional Chinese, contemporary and Western elements. The event will concentrate on visual arts and creative industry, including exhibitions on ladies' Cheongsam, contemporary visual arts, animation and design, as well as an orchestral performance and a Chinese dance presentation.
The HKTCCC was established as the Hong Kong's counterpart of the Cultural Co-operation Committee under the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council in Taiwan. It aims to foster exchange, liaison and co-operation between the two places in the development of arts and culture and the creative industries, as well as to communicate and exchange information on issues of mutual concern.
Ends/Thursday, September 26, 2013
Issued at HKT 22:12
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