THE help Agfa provided to Harris Myers in publishing William Henry Pyne and his Microcosm is one of many contributions made to the arts scene by the Belgian photographic giant's local office. The Fringe Club named its foyer exhibition space the Agfa Gallery in January, after years of support for photographic exhibitions. Agfa has backed the Goethe Institut at the Hong Kong Arts Centre for three years and helped Lee Ka-sing and Holly Lee develop their careers as independent photographers. The company's managing director, Dutchman Hans Lodders, is a well-known patron of the arts as well as a jazz and blues fan. He was a principal shareholder of Wan Chai rhythm and blues nightclub Club It, and set up the Jazz Club in 1989. The Jazz Club was opened to promote a scene rather than profit from it, he said at the club's first anniversary. The club is credited with acting as a springboard for talents such as Eugene Pao, Paul Candelaria and Dave Packer. Mr Lodders, who worked for many years in the print industry before setting up the Agfa office in Hong Kong in 1984, was behind the first International Jazz and Blues Festival in 1992.