Arts veterans say lack of government support to take their efforts to a higher level is inhibiting the growth of local performance groups.
Speaking amid concerns that a lack of home-grown talent could blight development of the West Kowloon arts hub, they say local arts groups should gradually shed their welfare status. But before that can happen, those set up with government help need support to go private and overcome such obstacles as big firms' reluctance to sponsor performing arts, and government reluctance to view the arts as an industry.
'[Government funding] helps the growth of young arts groups, but we need to move forward and elevate [our arts scene] to a new level,' veteran theatre director Frederic Mao Chun-fai said.
Mao said there were a lot of home-grown productions but the city did not nurture these or promote them to become shows that could represent Hong Kong.
He cited difficulties faced in arranging a rerun of his own show, The Liaisons, which toured Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen after opening in Hong Kong in 2010.
First there was a venue problem, as government venues can be secured only for limited periods, meaning they cannot stage longer runs to recoup production costs. 'But we can't sell tickets at expensive prices ... audiences are used to cheap tickets because most of them are funded by the government,' he said.
Government efforts to support the arts are channelled through the Home Affairs Bureau.