394 Recreation, Sport and the Arts
the sculptors creating their works step by step as visitors watched. In addition, the 'Sai Kung District Council Public Art Project 2009' was launched in May to commission four artworks in Man Yee Playground in Sai Kung, Po Tsui Park and Po Kong Park in Tseung Kwan O. The preliminary proposals were short-listed in July for an exhibition to be organised in the Sai Kung District in 2010. The 'Artist in the Neighbourhood Scheme' entered its fourth round with a series of travelling exhibitions. The opening exhibition and seven solo exhibitions of enlisted artists took place in 2009.
Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre which is equipped with nine art studios, a lecture theatre, an exhibition hall and a multi-purpose room, focuses on training in the visual arts, promotion, and provision of facilities for professionals to hire. An Art Specialist Course 2009-10 was recognised with a graduation exhibition scheduled for January 2010. The centre also arranged a series of New Media Art workshops, and video screenings of works by contemporary artists to support and promote the development of art in Hong Kong. A series of Chinese culture, painting and calligraphy workshops and lectures was organised to promote Chinese arts.
Central Conservation Section
The Central Conservation Section's role is to look after and preserve the public museum collections for present and future generations. It has facilities for maintaining and treating more than 560 cultural objects, including paintings, documents, prints, textiles, metals, ceramics, organic materials and archaeological finds.
In pursuit of its educational role, the section organised 23 workshops, behind-the-scenes laboratory tours, thematic talks, and school visits for secondary students and other interested parties, attracting a total of 1 680 participants. The section also strives to engage the community through its Conservation Volunteer Programme and registered a total of 1 200 hours of service by the Conservation Volunteers during the year.
The successful launching of a web-based museum object conservation system has enabled treatment records to be accessed and shared by conservators and museum curators as an integral part of the museum's collection management process.
The Central Conservation Section was also represented at the first International Seminar on Conservation of Historical Paintings held at the Guangzhou Academy of Arts, during which it presented a paper entitled 'Conservation of China Trade Oil Paintings'.
Public Libraries
The LCSD operates the network of Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) comprising 66 static and 10 mobile libraries. It also manages the Books Registration Office. The public libraries system provides free library and information services to meet the community's needs for knowledge, information, research and recreation