From the moment Lindsey McAlister arrived in Hong Kong from Britain in the 1980s, she knew she wanted to devote herself to helping the city’s disadvantaged and underprivileged youth “find a voice” through experiencing, co-creating and collaborating in the arts.
In 1993, the theatre practitioner founded her not-for-profit organisation Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (HKYAF) – originally known as Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival. It organises high-quality, inclusive and inspirational visual arts projects and drama, music and dance performances for the city’s children and young adults, aged five to 25, regardless of their culture, background, ability or the language they speak.
“This is the magical thing that I’ve been brought here to do,” McAlister says.
“The idea was to create a platform where young people could come together to co-create and collaborate in the arts, and to find a voice. Working in the arts in Hong Kong is very exciting.”
Hong Kong’s share of the global art market rose from 17.5 per cent in 2019 to 23.2 per cent in 2020 – when it overtook London for the first time, renowned online art resource Artnet Worldwide Corporation reported.
“Hong Kong has developed itself as a market; we are now the second biggest art market in the world,” says Arthur de Villepin, co-founder of Villepin Gallery, a Hong Kong art gallery in Hollywood Road, Central.
“[Here at Villepin Gallery], we wanted to offer a space that is intimate and personal,” he says. “Art has always been a promise – a way to look at the world differently. It must play an essential role in our society.”
He says he is heartened by the presence of Hong Kong’s many well-funded museums and public art institutions. “In the last couple of years, we have seen a great evolution in Hong Kong. It’s now nurturing a great ecosystem of institutions – the [Hong Kong] Palace Museum, M+, Hong Kong Museum of Art and [heritage and arts hub] Tai Kwun.
“We will get to another phase which I think is crucial, which is the creativity,” he says. “Not just the creativity of the people that come to Hong Kong, but [also] artists that are from Hong Kong who can export themselves internationally.”
McAlister agrees: “We need to be nurturing the next generation of Hong Kong creatives.”
Check out the video to hear de Villepin and McAlister discuss their contributions to Hong Kong’s vibrant arts scene.