Hong Kong arts fund helps people with disabilities pursue their creative passions
- ‘I discovered I can still dance using a wheelchair,’ says Ng Keung, who performs with Hong Kong Rehabilitation Power Chinese Orchestra
- The group is a beneficiary of government’s HK$250 million Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities
When Hong Kong resident Ng Keung suffered an injury that left him unable to walk, he feared dancing was forever beyond his reach. But with government support, he now performs in front of audiences, gliding across the stage in a specially made wheelchair as musicians play traditional Chinese songs.
Ng is among the beneficiaries of the Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities, a HK$250 million (US$32.13 million) initiative which Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced in her policy address in 2017.
Established two years later, the scheme aims to help people with disabilities explore their potential and possible careers in the performing, visual or creative arts. As of August, the programme had helped fund 59 projects, including the Hong Kong Rehabilitation Power Chinese Orchestra, to which Ng belongs.
“When I was injured, I felt that dancing was something beyond my reach … That is until I discovered I can still dance using a wheelchair. I am no different to able-bodied people,” he told the government’s information website.
Fellow participant Olivia Chung Siu-king said wheelchair dancing had boosted her self-confidence.