We need to lead the charge, says artist

Hong Kong should go beyond its consumer culture and lead the charge for Asia by setting up a "cultural think tank" to develop the arts.

So said director, dramatist and performance artist Danny Yung Ning-tsun, 70, as he was named the winner of this year's Fukuoka Prize for Arts and Culture. Yung, who is best known for co-founding experimental theatre group Zuni Icosahedron, will be presented with the prize in September.

The award was set up by the city of Fukuoka and the Yokatopia Foundation in 1990. It recognises outstanding work in preserving or creating Asian culture with the annual awarding of grand, academic, and arts and culture prizes. Two laureates - Bangladeshi microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus and mainland Chinese author Mo Yan - went on to win the Nobel Prize. Local film director Ann Hui On-wah won the grand prize in 2008.

At the prize announcement at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui yesterday, Yung said Hong Kong should learn from Fukuoka about how to build a city's brand through culture.

He directed the remark at Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, who was also at the ceremony but did not respond.

Yung noted that even before he set foot in Fukuoka, he knew about the city because of the award, which is coveted by artists across the region. The award presentation involves cultural exchanges between the public, students and local experts.