ENG-1991 — Page 370

RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS

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Design Department represented Hong Kong at the Prague Quadrienale Festival of Design in Czechoslovakia. On the television side, the academy's re-structured Two-year Diploma Course in television started in February. The second intake in September was considerably oversubscribed, demonstrating the demand for training in this developing industry.

The Foundation of Businesses in Support of the Arts

Business for Art is the working name for the Foundation of Businesses in Support of the Arts which was established in 1990 with the objective of bringing together business and the arts to their mutual benefit. The foundation plans to promote all forms of art, organise events, lectures, and activities, help arts projects find sponsors and subsidise local and international cultural events.

Business for Art has succeeded in matching several artists seeking funds to business sponsors wishing to sponsor arts projects. It also assisted local artists in 'packaging' their talents in order to attract sponsorship, at the same time ensuring that the needs of business sponsors were recognised.

Hong Kong Arts Centre

The Hong Kong Arts Centre is an independent, non-profit organisation founded in 1977 to promote arts and culture. Its funding derives from rental income, box office, corporate -sponsorship and donations from benevolent individuals. It incorporates the 440-seat Shouson Theatre, the 200-seat Lim Por Yen Film Theatre, the 100-seat McAulay Studio, the Pao Sui Loong and Pao Yue Kong Galleries, the Atrium Gallery, rehearsal rooms, art and craft studios, music practice rooms and classrooms.

As a multi-disciplinary organisation, the Hong Kong Arts Centre offers a platform for contemporary work in the performing, visual and cinematic arts as well as featuring new, avant garde and multi-media art forms. It encourages non-established artists of all disciplines and the development of indigenous art forms. Substantial resources are dedicated to outreach work in arts education, with a view to promoting appreciation of all art forms and activities.

In 1991, the centre was visited by over one million people, many of whom attended the 927 stage and screen performances, 78 exhibitions and 1 839 arts-related classes and courses held within its venues. Highlights of the year included a major month-long per- forming arts festival entitled Festival 2000, a selection of large-scale exhibitions including David Hockney: Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Art of Li Tiefu and Master Photographers, and a major retrospective of films by celebrated visiting French producer Anatole Dauman.

British Council

The British Council is Britain's principal agency for the conduct of cultural relations overseas. In the arts, it organises a balanced programme of music, drama, dance, exhibitions and film shows, catering to the interests of local residents and helping to create an appreciation of the best of British arts among new audiences.

The council co-finances and sponsors British arts in Hong Kong, with partners including the Urban and Regional Councils, private sector companies, Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Fringe Club and the Arts Centre. It supports local performing companies such as the Hong Kong Ballet, Zuni Icosahedron and Chung Ying Theatre Company.