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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order. I would like to congratulate ten appointed members on their re-appointments to the Council even though some are for an additional two months of their present appointments. They are Mr. Stephen LAU, Vice-Chairman, Dr. Philip Kwok, Dr. Ronald LEUNG, Mr. Lo King-man, Mr. John FAN, Mr. Marvin CHEUNG, Mr. Ronnie WONG, Miss Victoria CHAN, Mrs. Eleanor LING and Mr. Paul YOUNG.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 9 and 11 January 1990, were confirmed.
PAPER
The following paper was laid on the table:
(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of January 1990.
QUESTIONS
1. MR. MAN SAI-CHEONG asked the following question (in Cantonese):-- Donations of major art works of private collectors to our Museum and Art Gallery should be encouraged to build up and strengthen the existing Urban Council collections. Do we have any policy or guiding principles on this matter? How far have we succeeded in attracting patrons and donors from the private sector in contributing towards our art collections?
DR. PHILIP C. K. KWOK, CHAIRMAN OF THE MUSEUMS SELECT COMMITTEE replied as follows (in English):—Mr. Chairman, this question concerns the acceptance of donations for the Museum of Art and is in two parts.
As a rule, Council welcomes and encourages community support of its facilities and services through donations and sponsorship. There is, however, no fixed and fast rule or rigid guidelines on the matter. Offers are considered on the merits of individual proposals and the common government practice of offering sole sponsorship for donations which equals or exceeds half of the cost of providing the facility or service, is followed. All donations are acknowledged on receipt and, insofar as donation of works of art to the Museum of Art is concerned, these are acknowledged again in exhibition captions when the items are subsequently put on public display.
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The current practice has worked well because it is flexible and therefore capable of responding to various requirements and concerns of potential donors and sponsors. Experience has also shown that in order to bring major donations to fruition, it sometimes needs considerable time in which to establish mutual understanding and trust before it is possible to discuss details, and it is important that sympathetic understanding of a donor or sponsor's requirements is unencumbered by rules and regulations.
Concerning Council's success in attracting donations, I am happy and, indeed gratified, to report that since the inception of the museum service in 1962, Council has regularly received donations of works of art from public-spirited organizations and individuals.
Among the most important donations are the K. S. Lo Collection of Tea Wares donated by Dr. K. S. Lo, the collection of bamboo carvings donated by Dr. IP Yee, the collection of Shiwan figurines donated by Mr. Woo Kam-chiu, the collection of early Shiwan wares donated by Mrs. Kwok On, and a collection of calligraphy and seal-carvings donated by Mr. WONG Hon-kiu. More recently, the Council received a very significant donation of 350 items of Chinese painting and calligraphy from Mr. Low Chuck-tiew. It will perhaps not be amiss of me to take the opportunity to say something about this donation. Encompassing the period from the Six Dynasties to the 20th Century, this collection is probably one of the most important collections of Chinese painting and calligraphy ever donated by a private collector to a public museum anywhere in the world. With the addition of this special collection, the Hong Kong Museum of Art can now claim to be one of the leading centres for the display and research of Chinese painting and calligraphy. We are indeed most grateful to Mr. Low for agreeing to share the collection with the community.
On behalf of the Council, I wish to take the opportunity to, once again, thank each and every one of our donors and sponsors for their generous and much needed support of the museum service. I would also like to appeal to private collectors and organizations to come forward with more offers of assistance to help us enhance the Museum Collection to provide a better service for the enlightenment and enjoyment of the community generally.
2. MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question (in English):- What progress has been made up-to-date to expand and maximize the use of the 2nd floor of the Lockhart Road Urban Council Complex in Wan Chai by way of recreational and cultural services for the benefit of Wan Chai residents?
MR. PAO PING-WING, CHAIRMAN OF THE CAPITAL WORKS SELECT COMMITTEE replied as follows (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, this question concerns how the second floor of the Lockhart Road Market will be used when it is made vacant.
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