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Recreation, Sport, Culture and the Arts
The council grooms artists, curators, arts administrators and other arts professionals by providing opportunities for training, cultural exchange, internship and attachment in Hong Kong and abroad. In 2018, it offered 12 talent nurture schemes, including local and overseas arts administration scholarships and the Professional Attachment at Mori Art Museum in Japan.
Large-scale promotional events under the council include the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards, Arts Ambassadors-in-School Scheme, Jockey Club New Arts Power, and the co- production of the television programme Artspiration with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). The council also supports local artists and arts groups to participate in events elsewhere; in 2018, they took part in the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival, internationale tanzmesse nrw in Germany, 'Classical: Next Music Expo' in the Netherlands and the Cinars in Canada. In addition, the council worked with M+ to present the International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale - Hong Kong Response Exhibition and organised the International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia - Hong Kong Exhibition jointly with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects Biennale Foundation.
During the year, the council launched an Arts-in-School Partnership Scheme to foster cooperation between arts groups and schools while promoting better use of school premises as arts space. It also opened two new arts spaces in Kwun Tong.
Arts research and policy advocacy are part of the council's main tasks. Through an annual survey, it collects data on visual arts exhibitions, arts performances and film screenings. A series of yearbooks on the arts is published in collaboration with professional and academic groups.
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts offers professional education, training and research facilities in the performing arts: Chinese opera, dance, drama, film and TV, music, and theatre and entertainment arts.
During the year, 840 students enrolled in undergraduate and post-secondary programmes in the six performing arts disciplines. Another 137 students were pursuing master's degree programmes in dance, drama, film and TV, music, and theatre and entertainment arts. The academy also admitted more than 630 students to its junior programmes and over 3,400 students to its Extension and Continuing Education for Life programme.
Hong Kong Arts Centre
The self-financing Hong Kong Arts Centre in Wan Chai promotes contemporary arts and culture. It features the works of local and overseas artists, and provides facilities for performances, films and exhibitions. The centre's Hong Kong Art School runs diploma and degree courses in arts studies.
Fringe Club
The Fringe Club is housed in what used to be a cold-storage warehouse built in 1890, now listed as a Grade 1 historical building and adapted for use as a contemporary arts space. It adopts an open access policy to nurture budding artists and promote mature artists by providing venue and publicity support as well as opportunities for overseas tours.
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