Speech by CS at opening ceremony of HKAC's 7th Annual Flagship Exhibition "Familiar Otherness: Art Across Northeast Asia" (English only)(with photos/video)

Speech by CS at opening ceremony of HKAC's 7th Annual Flagship Exhibition "Familiar Otherness: Art Across Northeast Asia" (English only)(with photos/video)
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     Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the opening ceremony of Hong Kong Arts Centre's 7th Annual Flagship Exhibition "Familiar Otherness: Art Across Northeast Asia" this evening (December 9):

Nelson (Chairman, Board of Governors, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Mr Nelson Leong), Mr Huang (Guest Curator, Mr Huang Du), Duncan (Chief Executive Officer, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Mr Duncan Pescod), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good evening. It really gives me great pleasure to join you all today at the opening ceremony of Hong Kong Arts Centre's 7th Annual Flagship Exhibition "Familiar Otherness: Art Across Northeast Asia".

     The Hong Kong Arts Centre has been playing a very active role in promoting contemporary art and culture to the general public. For the past few decades, the Hong Kong Arts Centre has engaged the community by organising numerous remarkable and leading exhibitions and art education programmes. Among these activities, the Annual Flagship Exhibition series has created great impact on the community and has become an important art event not only in Hong Kong but also in the region. Indeed, this is already the second time I officiated at the opening ceremony of this Annual Flagship Exhibition, after the 4th edition in 2012.

     I am happy to see that the Exhibition has come to its 7th edition following the success of previous ones. With the theme "Art Across Northeast Asia", this edition will present magnificent works of art ranging from installations to photography, video and animation. They reveal how the culture, politics and ideology of northeast Asian countries are influencing each other, while at the same time developing and defending their own cultural values. I am sure the exhibition will provide a comprehensive view on the topic and an extraordinary experience to the Hong Kong audience. Given the close cultural ties between Hong Kong and these northeast Asian economies, the exhibition will be of particular relevance and interest to the people of Hong Kong.

     With the concerted efforts of the Government and members of the artistic sector, our local arts scene has been flourishing rapidly in recent years. The Government will continue to create an environment conducive to artistic development. As everyone knows, on the hardware front, we are pressing ahead with the West Kowloon Cultural District project, a long-term strategic investment made by our Government, and proudly one of the most ambitious cultural projects in the world. We are also renovating our Museum of Art with a view to providing more exhibition space. On the software side, we are working hand-in-hand with the arts sector to strengthen audience building and public participation, nurture local artists and enhance promotion of arts in schools and the community at large.

     Finally, may I wish the 7th Annual Flagship Exhibition "Familiar Otherness: Art Across Northeast Asia" a remarkable success, and I hope you enjoy, as much as I do, the spectacular art works in this exhibition. Thank you very much.

Ends/Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:13

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