Given the hard times, the French consulate's cultural arm has had to dig hard for sponsors for this year's Le French May programme, which was unveiled on Tuesday. Naturally, much of the spotlight at the press conference was given over to the big flashy Louis Vuitton art exhibition, although consul Jean-Pierre Thebault did his best to garner some attention for himself by reminding everyone his posting ends this year.
Less prominent, but equally supportive, was Carsac retail group boss Judy Yu Chu-dic (now officially no longer Judy Hong), who in her usual free-spirited mode, decided to attach her company to more offbeat fare - Moriarty, a French folk-blues band, and Accrorap, an acrobatic hip hop dance troupe.
'Hip hop is my favourite form of dance,' the unlikely breakdance fan said. 'I'm kind of sponsoring it for myself. I want to make Hong Kong a little less of a cultural desert. That's why I let students decorate some of my stores and even make LeSportsac patterns for bags. This is just another way to contribute.'
Yu (above) may not be a calculating marketer, but she is keen enough on the arts to subsidise culture, even though she knows times are hard.
'I just got back from my annual trips to Paris and New York. New York is very scary. Some of the luxury shops on 5th Avenue are out of business, and in other shopping areas the stores are dead and restaurants empty. Paris was a little better. It will be tough for a while, so we'll have to work harder than ever.'
