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Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the Official Unveiling of the Asia Society Hong Kong Center Chantal Miller Gallery today (October 15):
Ronnie (Mr Ronnie C Chan, Co-Chair of the Asia Society and Chairman of the Asia Society Hong Kong Center), Members of the Miller family, Alice (Ms S Alice Mong, Executive Director of Asia Society Hong Kong Center), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It really gives me great pleasure to join you here at the unveiling ceremony of the Asia Society Hong Kong Center Chantal Miller Gallery. I am delighted to learn that the Gallery, together with the Miller Theatre, will evolve as the artistic incubators for Hong Kong's art scene.
My gratitude goes to Mr and Mrs Miller for making a notable donation of $100 million to the Asia Society Hong Kong Center in support of local artists. With this generous donation, I am confident that the Asia Society Hong Kong Center will stage more cultural and artistic programmes, engage more local artists of different disciplines, as well as encourage more creative production.
Our local cultural and artistic establishments have witnessed significant growth and increasing sophistication in recent years. These achievements would not have been possible without the support of creative talents, dedicated professionals and generous patrons. Indeed, well before the emergence of Hong Kong on the global art map, the Millers have been enthusiastically making donations to support the city's artistic development. Thank you, Bob. Thank you. Your consistently unfailing support has not only promoted the local art sector, but also provided the Government a shot in the arm to further our vision to make Hong Kong an international metropolis of art and culture.
I am sure that all of you are aware that the Government is pressing ahead with the West Kowloon Cultural District project, which is our strategic investment to meet the long-term infrastructure and development needs of Hong Kong's arts and culture. With our efforts, the 40-hectare site fronting our iconic Victoria Harbour is going through a steady yet unsung transformation. Soon, starting from the year 2016, performing arts venue of different types and scales as well as M+, a museum focusing on contemporary visual arts, will be open to all in phases. The Cultural District will offer the perfect venues for the local arts scene to interact, develop and collaborate.
While the Government has provided to the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority a $21.6 billion endowment for the development of the Cultural District and committed to shouldering the related infrastructural works, we do not have enough money - we could not solely count on public funding for culture and arts to flourish. We need more philanthropists to further our vision for arts development in Hong Kong. The Chantal Miller Gallery speaks squarely of this.
So, I wish the Gallery a continued success, and all of you joy and happiness.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Thursday, October 15, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:58
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