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Arts, Culture and Heritage

Jockey Club names “Arts, Culture and Heritage” as new area of Charities strategic focus
26/04/2017

Cultural heritage and the arts are the heart and soul of any society. No city can truly call itself a world city without them. Over the years the Club’s Charities Trust has been pleased to lend its support in these areas, building performance and exhibition venues, funding arts events and establishing scholarships to nurture talent. In additional to funding arts infrastructure, the Trust has put great efforts into developing the capacity of those who manage, curate and perform in arts venues and who are essential to their success.

Extending its wide-ranging support for different areas of community life, the Club said at this year's Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Day race meeting on 23 April that it would designate a fourth focus area for its Charities Trust donations, namely Arts, Culture and Heritage. The three current areas are youth, the elderly and sports.

In this way, the Trust aims to help build a culturally vibrant Hong Kong, enriching lives and promoting social inclusion. It will adopt four innovative approaches:

  • Capacity Building and Infrastructure
    The Trust has funded the establishment of a number of important arts venues over the years, including The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre. To complement these venues and build capacity, it will invest in nurturing local arts talent through initiatives such as the HKJC Music & Dance Fund, the Jockey Club Opera Hong Kong Young Artist Development Programme and the Jockey Club New Arts Power.
  • Audience Building and Accessibility
    The Trust's aim is to introduce a wide spectrum of arts to entice the general public and thus enrich the city's cultural life, as exemplified by its long-standing support for the Hong Kong Arts Festival and Le French May, as well as its partnership with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which will have brought a total of 20 world-class exhibitions to Hong Kong between 2008 and 2017.
  • Arts as a Tool to Tackle Social Issues
    The Trust believes that arts development can play a valuable role in empowering less-privileged communities, by having a therapeutic impact and promoting social inclusion. Programmes in this area funded by the Trust include the Jockey Club Hand in Hand Capable Theatre IncluDrama Project, and the Jockey Club Power of Music Programme.
  • Heritage Revitalisation
    The Trust is keen to raise public awareness of Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage and educate the younger generation about the traditions behind it. It will continue to support three of the most iconic examples, namely the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance; Tai O Water Boat Parade; and Cheung Chau Jiao Festival. Meanwhile the revitalised Central Police Station Compound, Tai Kwun, will provide rich and diversified arts and heritage programmes, tours and thematic exhibitions in collaboration with local and overseas art groups, as well as related educational programmes.