RECREATION, SPORT AND THE ARTS
To save the archaeological heritage from destruction by development projects at the former Tai Hom Village in Kowloon and Telegraph Bay on Hong Kong Island, rescue excavations were launched in October 2002 and May 2003, respectively. Ceramic vessels of the Song and Ming dynasties were retrieved from the village and a kiln structure dating to the Tang dynasty was discovered at the bay.
Rescue excavations were carried out at Ngau Hom Shek, Tsing Chuen Wai and Lam Tei to facilitate implementation of the approved EIA reports and relevant conditions in the Environmental Permits concerning two major road projects, the Hong Kong- Shenzhen Western Corridor and the Deep Bay Link. Archaeological investigations. and rescue excavations were also arranged before works began on village house developments in areas such as Tuen Mun and Sha Tau Kok, and road improvement projects at Chi Ma Wan Road on Lantau Island and at Tuen Mun Road.
Lord Wilson Heritage Trust
The Lord Wilson Heritage Trust was established in 1992, following the enactment of an ordinance bearing the same name. It aims to promote the preservation and conservation of Hong Kong's heritage.
During the year, apart from sponsoring $1.85 million for eight heritage-related activities and research projects, the trust granted $160,290 to the Summer Youth Programme Committee for organising heritage-related activities in local districts. Participation in these activities helps young people to develop an interest in preserving Hong Kong's heritage.
Museums
Hong Kong Museum of Art
The Hong Kong Museum of Art focuses on local and Chinese art collections, including Chinese painting and calligraphy, Chinese antiquities, historical paintings and contemporary art. In order to enhance the public's interest and knowledge in the arts of the world, the museum presented a variety of thematic exhibitions, covering ancient and modern works as well as Chinese and Western themes.
In 2003, the museum staged 12 exhibitions, comprising seven special exhibitions and five permanent ones. Three of the major special exhibitions were presented jointly by the museum with renowned Chinese and overseas museums, featuring art objects and cultural relics from the Mainland and overseas. The Private Life of An Old Red Army Man, jointly organised with the Shenzhen Sculpture House, was a 'social sculpture' exhibition rarely seen in Hong Kong. Through a display of old photographs and personal manuscripts of an 'old Red Army man', the exhibition intended to reinterpret the revolution of 20th century China.
The Selection from the Guoyun Lou Collection of the Shanghai Museum exhibition was another successful collaboration with the Shanghai Museum. It featured a rich collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphic works by well-known ancient masters from the collection of Gu Wenbin, an acclaimed scholar, connoisseur and owner of the Guoyun Lou, and his eminent Gu family in Suzhou. Desire and Devotion: Art from India, Nepal and Tibet in the John and Berthe Ford Collection, a thematic exhibition jointly organised with an American museum, the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, displayed paintings and sculptures that reflected the uniqueness of the arts of the Indian subcontinent and Tibet.
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