'Hand arts cash to the little guys'
Big player targeted for HK$30m government funding boost says it could be put to better use
One of the "big nine" publicly funded arts groups has called on the government to redirect its offer of an additional cash injection of HK$30 million to smaller arts groups instead.
On the eve of tomorrow's policy address, performing arts group Zuni Icosahedron criticised the government for a misallocation of resources that had stunted cultural development.
Woo said Zuni had decided not to bid for a share of the cash as it was too little to solve the needs of any major arts group. He said there were more than 300 smaller arts projects sharing a total subvention of just HK$40 million and called on the government to reallocate the extra cash to them.
Zuni's co-artistic director and West Kowloon arts hub board member Danny Yung Ning-tsun said the extra funding was well-intended but it appeared to be a gesture of mercy rather than an integral part of budget planning.
Yung said that following the collapse of a plan to set up a culture bureau, no one had taken on responsibility for drafting a blueprint for cultural development.
"Drafting a cultural blueprint needs research and co-ordination, not just handing out money for people to bid for," he added.
Yung said the now-defunct Culture and Heritage Commission had drafted cultural policy recommendations in 2003, but few of the proposals were implemented. He said this was just one example of recommendations for the arts sector going ignored.
He called for a high-level platform to plan cultural development, including training talent and mapping resources.
The other eight of the big arts groups have yet to respond to Zuni's call to reject any claim to the HK$30 million.
Yesterday, the reported that the "big nine" - which also includes the Hong Kong Ballet and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra - wrote a joint letter to Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah calling for an increase in cultural spending.
Currently it is below 1 per cent of total public expenditure, and they want to see the figure raised to 2 per cent.
Ellen Pau, a newly appointed member of the Arts Development Council, which is responsible for funding the smaller arts groups, agreed that misallocation of resources had stopped such projects from growing.
"Now is a good opportunity to discuss Hong Kong's cultural resources allocation, which is problematic," she added.
A Home Affairs Bureau spokeswoman said: "It is up to the ["big nine"] to … submit applications to bid for additional … funding having regard to the groups' individual needs and considerations.
"We have been earmarking funding separately for supporting small- and medium-sized arts groups."
