ENG-2009 — Page 469

Museums

Recreation, Sport and the Arts 389

Hong Kong Museum of Art

In 2009, the Hong Kong Museum of Art jointly presented major exhibitions, including 'Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation' in collaboration with Louis Vuitton and the Fondation Louis Vuitton pour la Creation, and 'The Prosperous Cities', a selection of paintings from the Liaoning Provincial Museum mounted jointly with that museum. The former illustrated the foundation's art collection and the creative process of design through installations, combining works of art and archive. documents, while the latter showed the exquisite art collection of the Liaoning Provincial Museum including works renowned in Chinese art history, including Along the River during the Qingming Festival by Qiu Ying and Prosperous Suzhou by Xu Yang.

Other themed exhibitions held during the year, including 'No Frontiers: The Art of Ding Yang', 'Homage to Ha Bik-chuen: Art of an Eternal Spring' and 'Hong Kong Art: Open Dialogue', and exhibition curated by guest curators that featured works of local artists including the younger generation of contemporary Hong Kong artists. The 'Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Awards 2009' provided a platform for works by potential artists to encourage artistic creation in Hong Kong.

Other exhibitions included 'The Ultimate South China Travel Guide Canton', 'New Literati Painting' and 'Glittering Beauty: Chinese Accessories from the Hong Kong Museum of Art', which highlighted the artefacts from the museum's collection including the permanent exhibitions, the museum recorded 332 198 visitors in 2009.

The museum organised and frequently participated in many educational activities. Some of these were co-organised with other government departments, NGOs, cultural organisations and art groups to promote the visual arts and encourage art education among diverse groups in society. Activities included 'Summer Art Cadets 2009 Discovery Trip', 'International Museum Day 2009', School Culture Day Scheme and a wide range of in-house programmes. Pilot programmes to coincide with the New Senior Secondary School Curriculum were held with an encouraging response from schools.

Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware

The Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware collection features tea ware and related vessels from the collection of the late Dr K S Lo as well as rare Chinese ceramics and seals donated by the K S Lo Foundation. Exhibitions held in 2009 included 'The Artistry of Yixing Pottery: The K S Lo Collection of the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware' and a travelling exhibition to take part in an international event in Belgium, 'Europalia China 2009'. This introduced Chinese tea culture to European audiences, featuring selected artefacts from The K S Lo Collection. A competition under the title '2010 Tea Ware by Hong Kong Potters' was launched in 2009 with a call for entry submissions in November. Winning and merited works will be showcased in an associated exhibition, allowing members of the public to appreciate the work of local potters. The Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware recorded 168 211 visitors in 2009.