The Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre is back on track after a troubled start and is ready to showcase local talent in an arts festival, says its executive director.
The centre at Shek Kip Mei, which provides studio space for artists, got off to a bad start in 2008. Artists complained about bureaucratic management, unusable public space, inadequate publicity and poor facilities. Visitors were unhappy to find many studios closed as a result of some artists saying they simply wanted a quiet place to work.
Lillian Hau Cheuk-ki said her team was now ready for business and planning to hold the first in an annual arts festival in December.
'Our aim is to face the public and meet the needs of society,' said Hau who took office last year.
At least a third of its resident artists will be involved in the arts festival at the converted factory building.
'While the West Kowloon Cultural District will be able to go international or provide something fancier, we are here to accommodate local art,' Hau said.
A former arts administrator with the Arts Development Council and Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation, Hau said the idea of an annual arts festival was inspired by the success of the Fotanians, a group of artists based in factory buildings near Sha Tin who organised a popular art event each January.