ENG-2006 — Page 442

374 Recreation, Sport and the Arts

One landmark event in the Academy's development was the opening of the Béthanie House in November 2006 as a co-campus of the Academy, primarily to house its School of Film and Television.

During this year, the Academy successfully launched two academic programmes at master's degree level: Master of Fine Arts (Dance) and Master of Music. Altogether, 15 full-time and five part-time students joined these two practice-based academic programmes. At the same time, in furtherance of the Academy's strategy to sustain and to advance institutional maturity and progress, preparation was under way in offering Master of Fine Arts (Drama) and Master of Fine Arts (Theatre and Entertainment Arts). It was envisaged that the first group of students would be at the Academy in the 2007-08 academic year. In September 2007, the Academy will establish a Performing Arts Teaching Unit, which will focus on teacher-training of performing arts educators for Hong Kong's junior and secondary schools.

In 2006, the Academy's Extension and Continuing Education for Life (EXCEL) programme enrolled nearly 7 400 participants in 404 courses on the arts spectrum.

Hong Kong Arts Centre

Hong Kong Arts Centre is a creative hub in the local community, providing all the essentials and backing for the development of arts and creative industries. In 2006, it continued to promote contemporary arts and provide quality arts education to the whole community.

The centre collaborated with many different arts group and organisations in 2006 to stage events in its premises. A territory-wide animation project, 'i-city', commissioned more than 10 local budding animators to make use of their creativities to find out more about their bonding with Hong Kong and about their identities. As a result of its success over the past decade, the 12th ifva Festival continued to receive wide support from the community. It also continued cultivating and recognising young talents in film and video arts. 'The Art of Commercial 2006' brought awarded advertisements from all over the world to Hong Kong audiences, while activities on the sidelines created opportunities for fruitful exchanges among new media artists, advertising professionals and people engaged in creative industries. High profile exhibitions like 'Comix Magneto', 'TaoHo 70/30 Exhibition', 'Memories of the Future', 'Jimmy's Secret Garden' and 'Ho Siu Kee: Body Gesture' aroused keen public interest in the arts and helped expand the audience base. The public arts programmes, 'Body Movies in Hong Kong' and 'My Soil, My Land: Community Art Project' brought brand-new arts experiences to the students and to the public. Furthermore, PIP, a collaboration between the Hong Kong Arts Centre and Theatre Ensemble, which espouses a revolutionary philosophy of 'Pleasure-In-Play', organised a series of remarkable activities, including performances and educational programmes that reached a wide spectrum of audience. The Hong Kong Arts Centre also took part in setting up the Jockey Club Creative Art Centre. Being a strategic partner in this innovative project, the centre joined hands with Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong Arts Development Council to turn an abandoned factory into a creative arts centre marking the first renovation project of its kind in Hong Kong history.