VILLAGER TANG Shing-sze's ancestors built his house 170 years ago, with materials they hoped would be sturdy enough to preserve the building for centuries. Over the years, Tang, 80, spent most of his savings on upkeep and renovations, and today it stands as one of fewer than a dozen private museums in Hong Kong.
'I was brought up with Confucian thought and will feel good if I can preserve the house handed down by my ancestors,' he says, surveying his birthplace, which he has preserved in the style of the late Qing dynasty.
In 1992, Tang turned his home in Hang Mi village, Yuen Long, into a museum. Since then, he has guided more than 3,000 people, from the elderly to mainland college students, around what he now calls Qing Old Home, regaling them with memories from his childhood. But two years ago, Tang moved to Guangzhou to be nearer his son, and only returns to his ancestral home twice a month to show visitors around. With little money for upkeep, he is worried about its future. Next month, another private museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences, will have to lay off half its staff or slash their hours in an effort to survive. Opened by a group of doctors in 1996 and supported by admission fees and private donations, the museum in Caine Lane is facing financial difficulties.
Two years ago, it received a last-minute reprieve by hosting a charity concert that raised $2 million. But with monthly costs of $100,000 for seven staff and other expenses, the money has all but dried up.
Curator Andrew Lam Hon-kin says his staff are worried about the museum's future and their own jobs, and although he hopes to stage another fund-raiser next month, he says the long-term future lies in a government grant. 'If we close, no one will dare open another private museum,' Lam says. 'Why can the government support arts and sports groups by giving them land and grants, but not museums?'
A number of private museums are supported by charities, universities or private companies, but according to veteran curator Oscar Ho Hing-kay, president of the Hong Kong chapter of the International Association of Art Critics, Hong Kong has no tradition of government support of private museums. 'There is no tax-reduction programme in Hong Kong to encourage foundations and corporations to set up private museums,' he says.
