'Hand arts cash to the little guys'
Big player targeted for HK$30m government funding boost says it could be put to better use
One of the "big nine" publicly funded arts groups has called on the government to redirect its offer of an additional cash injection of HK$30 million to smaller arts groups instead.
On the eve of tomorrow's policy address, performing arts group Zuni Icosahedron criticised the government for a misallocation of resources that had stunted cultural development.
Woo said Zuni had decided not to bid for a share of the cash as it was too little to solve the needs of any major arts group. He said there were more than 300 smaller arts projects sharing a total subvention of just HK$40 million and called on the government to reallocate the extra cash to them.
Zuni's co-artistic director and West Kowloon arts hub board member Danny Yung Ning-tsun said the extra funding was well-intended but it appeared to be a gesture of mercy rather than an integral part of budget planning.
Yung said that following the collapse of a plan to set up a culture bureau, no one had taken on responsibility for drafting a blueprint for cultural development.
"Drafting a cultural blueprint needs research and co-ordination, not just handing out money for people to bid for," he added.