ENG-1993 — Page 412

RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS

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exhibition, jointly presented with the Kagoshima Prefectural Government, introduced paintings and prints by artists from the southern Japanese prefecture. Several joint presentations offered the best of Asian art to the public. Treasures of Asian Art: Selections from the Mr and Mrs John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, the Asia Society, New York, was a joint presentation with the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre; Transcending Turmoil: Painting at the Close of China's Empire 1796-1911 was jointly presented with the Phoenix Art Museum, U.S.A.; and Treasures of Chang'an: Capital of the Silk Road was a joint presentation with the Archaeological Overseas Exhibitions Company of Shaanxi Province and the Hong Kong Culture and Art Foundation. Berlin Art Scene — A Double Mentality, a joint presentation with the Goethe Institute, Hong Kong, and the Rodin Sculpture exhibition, a joint presentation with the AFAA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France, and the Rodin Museum, provided special features on Western arts. Special tours were arranged for blind and handicapped visitors to the Rodin Sculpture exhibition in May.

The Xubaizhai Gallery, displaying the world-renowned Xubaizhai collection of ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy donated by Mr Low Chuck-tiew, was officially opened in September 1992. Its inaugural exhibition, A Gift of Heritage, was followed by The Enduring Spirit: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Xubaizhai Collection, dedicated to the memory of Mr Low.

The Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware organised exhibitions on Chinese tea drinking, including The Art of the Yixing Potter and Tea Wares by Hong Kong Potters. Display items for the latter exhibition were selected from a local tea ware competition. A new wing comprising an exhibition gallery and an educational activities hall is being planned.

The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre was built to provide studio facilities for practising artists. The centre provides workshop facilities for ceramics, sculpture and print-making for hire to artists at subsidised rates. In addition to the hiring of the exhibition gallery, artist studios, seminar rooms and lecture hall, the centre also organised exhibitions, art courses, workshops, lectures and art video programmes. Selected Treasures: A Treasury of Canadian Craft, a joint presentation with the Canadian Government, reflected the spirit and culture of Canada through its arts and crafts.

To develop the role of the museum as a visual arts education centre, various educational activities were organised. These included small-scale exhibitions, art lectures, demons- trations, workshops, guided tours, gallery talks, art video programmes and travelling exhibitions. They attracted a total of 44 432 participants.

Hong Kong Space Museum

The Hong Kong Space Museum provided an educational and entertaining experience for visitors through its 55 groups of interactive exhibits housed in the Hall of Astronomy and the Hall of Space Science. In 1993, 252 816 people visited the exhibition halls. In addition to permanent exhibitions on astronomy and space science, a temporary exhibition entitled Hawaii was also held.

Major attractions offered by the museum's Space Theatre included four Omnimax film shows (entitled Antarctica, Hawaii, Seasons and Tropical Rainforest) and three sky shows (From Fiction to Science, The Voyager Encounters and Eyes in the Sky). Two educational programmes (The New Solar System and The Friendly Sky) were also arranged for students. The shows attracted 500 000 people.