Senior new staff appointed to re-energise controversial Central Police Station project
Senior appointments to focus on contemporary art and heritage at revamp of site in Central
The controversial Central Police Station (CPS) project has taken a new turn, with two senior appointments made on Friday to reboot the scheme following the collapse of last year's process to find a consortium to run it.
Tobias Berger, curator at West Kowloon Cultural District visual culture museum M+ and formerly the executive director and curator of Para Site art space, was named head of art. He will lead the contemporary art operation.
Sino Land heritage manager Winnie Yeung Wing-yin, who oversaw development of the Tai O Heritage Hotel among other projects, will be head of heritage.
Berger was praised by Dr Lars Nittve, executive director of M+, for making a "huge" contribution to the Kowloon project. Nittve said: "This is an exciting time for the visual arts in Hong Kong and it is fair to say the eyes of the art world are fixed on the city. Projects like M+ and the Central Police Station will help consolidate Hong Kong's position as the centre for visual art in the region and it is refreshing to see a vibrant ecosystem developing that allows creative and professional development within the sector."
Two working groups were also appointed. Bernard Chan, Executive Council member and chairman of the Advisory Committee on Revitalisation of Historic Buildings, will chair the art working group. Its four members include art critic John Batten and artist Stanley Wong Ping-pui.
Lee Ho-yin, director of Architectural Conservation Programmes at HKU, will chair the heritage working group which has six other members including former commissioner of police Dick Lee Ming-kwai and town planner Andrew Lam Siu-lo.
The new management structure was established after the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which is funding the HK$2.1 billion project, failed to select a consortium last year to run the new cultural site. Two bidders were disqualified and one was rejected.
Euan Upston, director of CPS, which will open about two years ahead of M+, said it would complement the West Kowloon hub.
"We are about heritage and West Kowloon is not. There hasn't been a contemporary art space in Central before and we will have a different profile," he said. "At times we will have joint programmes with M+ and heritage programmes with institutions such as HKU."
He added: "We are under a very tight deadline. It is a challenge that we only have 18 months of lead time." Upson said the heritage and art teams would each need 10 more staff before CPS opened late next year.
Yeung, a former reporter, said she was honoured to take up the role and would "develop a wide range of programmes".
The compound, comprising the Old Central Police Station with the former Victoria Prison and Central Magistracy, was built between 1864 and 1925. It was declared a monument in 1995.
