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Stella Lee

A WORKING group to prepare for the Provisional Arts Development Council will be announced today.

  The provisional council, to be set up next April, will become a statutory body in 1995. The proposal was made in the Arts Policy Review to extend the government's support from performing to visual and literary arts.

  Businessman Sir Joseph Hotung, whose appointment as chairman of the provisional council was announced in the Governor's policy speech, was appointed to chair the working group, with legislator Christine Loh Kung-wai as the vice-chairman.

  The four ex-officio members are the Secretary for Recreation and Culture, James So Yiu-cho, the Director of Education, Dominic Wong Shing-wah, and the chairmen of the Urban and Regional Councils, Dr Ronald Leung Ding-bong and Cheung Yan-lung.

  Seven of the 10 other members are from the arts community. The remaining three are Vincent Chow Wing-shing, deputy general manager and director of Chow Sang Sang Holdings; David Eldon, Hongkong Bank's general manager; and solicitor Angus Forsyth.

  Recreation and Culture Principal Assistant Secretary Ian Petersen said one of the tasks of the working group was to fine-tune the terms of reference of the Arts Development Council proposed by the Government.

  It would also look at the function, structure and membership of the provisional body, which in turn would further fine-tune the plans of the working group. The mission statement, task and composition of the working group - given $2.85 million to carry out its work - would be confirmed and gazetted today.

  The 16 drafted terms of reference of the future council included the formulation of a strategy for the development of arts in Hong Kong, and to advise the Government on the policies and funding of arts.

  The appointment of Sir Joseph as the provisional council chairman was criticised by Richard Tsang Yip-fat, chairman of the Hong Kong Cultural Sector Joint Conference.

  ''I'm disappointed that the chairman is still a businessman, even after all the calls for an arts practitioner. The leadership must have enough vision and dedication to really make this body count and to make it a reform group,'' Mr Tsang said.

  ''I'm not criticising Sir Joseph personally, but I wanted a chairman from the arts world to put in all the time and effort needed to clear the hurdles which may lie ahead.'' 



New arts council's work panel out today