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Vivienne Chow

An arts centre being built in a former factory building will offer 100 studios ranging from 300 square feet to more than 1,300 square feet to artists and art groups for rents of HK$3 to HK$8 a square foot.

This was announced yesterday as the design for the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre was unveiled and applications were opened for rentals.

Establishment of the HK$70 million centre, in a nine-storey building in Shek Kip Mei, is one of the first projects in the city to put an idle industrial building to a new use.

The centre's planning director, Eddie Lui Fung-ngar,  said it aimed to attract budding artists but, despite the low rents, did not aim to compete with existing art villages in places like Fo Tan or Kwun Tong.

He said that although the focus would be on visual art, the Pak Tin Street centre would also welcome other kinds of artists or groups.

'We do not set a percentage on how many artists or art groups of a particular kind of art form to take as potential tenants,' Mr Lui said. 'We are adopting an accommodating  attitude. We just hope for a good mix.'

As well as the artists' studios, there will be seven or eight bigger studios for institutional art organisations, such as theatre groups, marketing and design outfits and an ensemble of young fashion designers. Other facilities include galleries of various sizes, a theatre with seating for 200, cafes and shops selling works by artists at the centre.

Rents generally will be HK$5 to HK$8 a square foot, but full-time art students and fresh graduates will be able to apply for a concessionary rate of HK$3. All tenants will also pay a management fee of HK$1.50 a square foot.

The first batch of successful non-commercial applicants will enjoy a two-month rent-free period. Funded by the Jockey Club, the project is led by the  Baptist University, with the  Arts Development Council and  Arts Centre as strategic partners.  It is due to open late next year.

Artist Euphen Wong Yeuk-ting welcomed news of the arts centre, but said it alone, with 100 units available for rent, would not be enough to solve the problem.

'Arts graduates from Chinese University could already occupy half of the 100 units, not to mention their counterparts from the Academy for Performing Arts and the University of Hong Kong,' said Wong, a student of landscape architecture at the University of Hong Kong. 'The key issue is that budding artists are in desperate need of creative space.

'It is very difficult for us to find an entry point. We need to enjoy a fair chance when competing with established artists for venues and support.' After numerous failed attempts to find a reasonably priced exhibition room, Wong  eventually resorted to staging an exhibition at a friend's Happy Valley cafe.

She said galleries in Central tended to support established  artists and charged  exorbitant fees. She was put off when a Soho cafe once told her she would have to pay HK$6,000 to exhibit her work for three hours on a weekday.

Emphasising the desire for a good mix of artists in the new arts centre, Mr Lui said they were already in negotiation with bodies such as theatre groups. He said different artists had different needs and it was hoped the centre would generate 'synergy' between artists.

Artists looking for more collaboration would be more interested in the Shek Kip Mei centre than in the existing arts villages, he said.

While the low rents might look attractive, some artists have reservations about moving in. Pauline Ng Man-yu  said she had been working very happily at her Fo Tan studio for nearly three years. 'Plus it is private and we enjoy such freedom [at Fo Tan], although there will be a lot more government support at the new centre,' she said.

Shaw Mei-kwan,  of Windmill Grass Theatre,  said although the centre would have a theatre,  because of its relatively small size it would be difficult to recover costs.

Rental applications for space at the centre close on December 21.



Factory makeover welcome boon for artists short of creative opportunities