Museology

For those of you outside of Hong Kong, this is a picture of what West Kowloon, the government's proposed HK$40 billion (US $5.2 billion) cultural center might look like if it is finally built in a million years. The highlight of the conceptual design is a glass canopy by Norman Foster. It's pretty, eh? Yeah well, pretty comes at a price and it could cost more than HK$10 billion (US$1.2 billion) alone. The cost (and some argue, the impossible design) of the canoopy was part of the reason the government's original proposal for the cultural hub was scrapped in February.

So they're starting all over, this time with a consultative committee and advisory groups which will recommend what core arts and cultural facilities should be in the 40 hectare district. One is the museums advisory group which has the difficult task of deciding which museums, if any, will be built. I personally, think it's inevitable that there will be museums in the cultural district but the government spokeswoman I spoke to was reluctant to say anything.

That said, given the Audit Commission's critical report of government-run museums which cited severe operating deficits for the past four years with little revenue (and some say, little interest), the museum advisory group and consultative committee should look at the audit report for some important information.

Here's my artilce in today's paper about museums in West Kowloon.

Comments

[Homesick Hong-Konger]

Hello!

No, we haven't met, and probably the only thing we have in common is living in HK. Although I currently live/study in the UK, I was raised as a child living in HK, making it home for me. Here and now, with no family in England, naturally i feel a little homesick.

Reading your blog and seeing your impressive photos captures exactly what I miss about home. Thank you!

You'll have to see some of the New Terroritories sometime if you haven't already; it's not a wilderness full of peasants and mosquitoes as some people make it out to be!