22
STATE OF THE ARTS
groups to perform in. These groups vary from district to district. Where it would be possible to use Sha Tin's town hall for a performance by the Hong Kong Philharmonic or other top orchestras, Yuen Long and Tuen Mun, with their rural links, may prefer a performance of Chinese opera.
'We want to have a good spread and to please everybody, but we have no hard and fast rules on what we do and how we present it. Our budget for cultural performances this year is $17 million, and with that we have to try and cater for all sorts of tastes'. As for venues, he believes that with three town halls, supplemented by three civic centres, these should be enough for the present, but as the population of the New Territories continues to grow, there may be a need for an additional facility. 'Eventually the Regional Council area will be no different from the Urban Council area in terms of taste because of the changing character of the population'. But that may be a few years off.
So what should Hong Kong do?
In October 1988, the Governor, Sir David Wilson, announced a major step aimed at improving co-ordination by all involved in promoting the arts. The government would set up a policy branch under a Secretary covering culture, recreation, entertainment and broadcasting. This high-level branch would work closely with the two municipal councils to ensure that the activities of all concerned were well co-ordinated.
He noted that the Urban Council had taken on responsibility for the Hong Kong Philharmonic a move which would ensure the orchestra's financial future. He also announced that the government had accepted in principle some of the proposals by the Council for the Performing Arts to increase the level of funding in the next financial year.
However, he felt it would be wrong for such groups to rely too heavily on public funds and said the government wanted to encourage the private sector to increase its sponsorship of the arts. The Council for the Performing Arts was being asked to put forward proposals to achieve this, drawing on experience elsewhere in the world where it had proved successful. He noted that when the Hong Kong Cultural Centre opens in November 1989, more than 21 000 seats in theatres and concert halls would be available. "This is more than five times the number in 1978, a rate of growth probably unmatched elsewhere in the world. We must now ensure that these seats are filled. This means organising high-quality performances by both local and overseas artists,' he added.
Certainly all this amounts to a big step forward for the performing arts. But there are other branches of the arts and culture that need help and encouragement. And while the government has a duty to ensure that the large sums of taxpayers' money going into the arts are spent wisely and productively, it should not become the arbiter of cultural output and development - and no doubt does not wish to assume such a role.
A fully-representative autonomous Council of the Arts that can allocate funds, like the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee, should be able to give the various sectors the scope and stimulus to grow at their own speed. It should also be able to devise and apply sound guidelines and take a lead in building up private and corporate sponsorship which, apart from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, is badly lacking. Only when this is significantly increased will it be possible for an autonomous Arts Council to assert itself as a credible organisation capable of doing justice to the cultural and artistic needs of the community.
Such an initiative might succeed one day in giving Hong Kong not just a better balance in its cultural output but also a reputation for being an international centre of the arts, in the same way as it is today a centre of commerce, trade and industry, shipping, banking and finance.