ENG-1949 — Page 164

THE

ARTS

Chapter 14.

1949 has been for most of the cultural organizations in the Colony a year of consolidation. The memberships of the Hong Kong Art Club and the Photographic Society have considerably increased, the British Council has extended the services it offers to the public, and the Reel Club has opened a new branch in Kowloon so that it is now represented on both sides of the harbour. Fundamentally, Hong Kong's cultural problem remains the same. There is no concert hall, museum, public library or suitable theatre available for the Hong Kong Stage Club. If anything, the amount of musical and artistic talent in the Colony has increased, but the media this talent uses to reach the public are still the small organizations which have all along battled courageously against the indifference of the majority of the population, which might on occasion be said to take a cynical view of the Arts. In point of fact, the public's response to the steadily rising standards of cultural achievement in the Colony has been unmistakable and encouraging.

Over 2,000 people came to this year's exhibition by the Photographic Society, and there has been increased interest in the Art Club's activities. Audiences at the concerts given by the Sino-British Orchestra increased throughout the year, and at the last concert before Christmas the Orchestra played in the hall of St. Stephen's College at the University to a house filled to capacity.

Thanks to the energy and good musicianship of its conductor, the Sino-British Orchestra's standard of playing has greatly improved. The Orchestra now has 46 regular players. Each concert it gives is repeated twice, the first performance being in the Diocesan Boys' School for Kowloon residents, the second at St. Stephen's College for Hong Kong

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