RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
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The government's policies on recreation, sport, culture and heritage matters are co- ordinated by the Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Bureau headed by the Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport. He is assisted by several expert bodies, including the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the Antiquities Advisory Board and the Hong Kong Sports Development Board. Many other individuals and associations also play a role in creating and improving opportunities for leisure activities.
The Arts
Hong Kong's dynamic lifestyle and cosmopolitan outlook, blending the best of East and West, provide local artists with an abundant supply of new ideas on which to draw to express their talent and creativity. The Hong Kong Arts Development Council's development into an independent statutory body governed by its own ordinance was a major breakthrough for the arts community. It was the direct result of the arts policy review conducted by the government in 1993 to map out the strategy for the development of the arts.
Hong Kong has a very rich cultural life, with eight professional performing companies and hundreds of amateur groups, offering the community a wide range of arts activities. The Provisional Urban and Regional Councils run 17 major arts venues at various accessible locations throughout Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Arts Development Council
The Hong Kong Arts Development Council was formally established as a statutory body on June 1, 1995. Its mission is to plan, promote and support the broad development of the arts to improve the community's quality of life. The council drew up its first Strategic Plan in December 1995, setting the blueprint for the development of the arts in Hong Kong.
During 1996-97 the council provided more than $58 million in project grants to individual artists and arts organisations, and $50 million in general support and seeding grants to six major performing arts companies in Hong Kong the Chung Ying Theatre Company, Hong Kong Ballet, City Contemporary Dance Company, Exploration Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. The council has three boards and six committees to handle the various subjects and to help formulate long-term strategic plan.
The council consists of a chairman, a vice-chairman, four ex-officio members and 16 other non-official members, 10 of whom were nominated by their respective arts interests.
Performing Arts Group
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, which turned professional in 1974, gives over 100 concerts attended by more than 150 000 people each season. The orchestra, under the direction of Music Director David Atherton, appears with internationally acclaimed artists at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, City Hall and cultural venues in the New Territories each year. It also organises free student concerts, pre-concert talks, seminars, music appreciation courses, ensemble visits to hospitals and education institutions, the 'Young Audiences' Scheme for secondary students, the