The head of the largest performing-arts centre in Europe has been chosen to guide the HK$21 billion West Kowloon Cultural District in its formative years.
Graham Sheffield, artistic director of the Barbican Centre in London since 1995, promised to put Hong Kong 'firmly on the map' of the world's culture seekers.
Speaking after his long-awaited appointment as chief executive of the arts hub was announced yesterday, he said he hoped to make the district the centre of an arts network stretching across greater China.
More than 50 applications were received during an international search that lasted for months. The job is believed to pay more than HK$3 million a year, but the figure was not revealed yesterday.
The appointment of the 58-year-old was generally welcomed by the arts community, although some critics expressed concern about his sensitivity to local cultural issues.
Sheffield, who has also been creative economies adviser to the British Council since July, will be on a three-year contract with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. Asked why he would leave London for Hong Kong, he said the opportunity to be involved in a project of such scale did not come along very often. The arts hub, he said, would be built with local pride while creating global importance.
