A series of performing arts pieces that have caught the world’s attention were featured in Hong Kong’s culture and arts calendar for a one-month period from late February to late March. The Hong Kong Arts Festival Society, a non-profit organization with a staff of over 50 people, is devoted to the task of ensuring a flawlessly executed event. The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) 2015 was overwhelming in scale and quality, presenting more than 1,500 acclaimed artists from around the world in 137 performances. The 43rd HKAF officially opened with a performance by conductor Christian Thielemann as he leads renowned German orchestra the Staatskapelle Dresden. The festival featured an array of programs from diverse genres, including classical music, opera, ballet, contemporary dance, world music, jazz and theater, concluding with a performance of the Bolshioi Ballet’s Jewel, choreographed by George Balanchine.

Discovering Future Leading Artists of Hong Kong and Broader Asia

Since 1995, HKAF has been committed to introducing original works in a range of genres in the performing arts, such as contemporary dance and music, as well as chamber opera and the particularly innovative Beijing opera. The festival’s productions are selected through a combination of specific commissions from well-known artists and works that are solicited through public contests. To attract potential collaborators, HKAF hosts regular competitions through its website, bringing together individual artists and organizations from different artistic fields. HKAF has taken the initiative to develop works of art, initiated in Hong Kong but overcome a geographical limitation and echo the sensibility of Mainland China, Taiwan, broader Asia, and the world. This is part of HKAF’s mission as an international festival and the artistic vision of the HKAF Society as the country’s major arts festival organization. In addition to directly commissioning and producing new works, HKAF also seeks to build a strong framework for supporting independent promoters from early stages such as concept and script development, the selection of performers, and creative and production team assembly to overseas production arrangements, marketing and publicity, and ticket sales. Besides homegrown works of art, HKAF has been engaged in promoting cross-border collaboration with artists from mainland China, Taiwan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States. In exploring new thematic ideas and concepts, HKAF is extending its reach as an international event through its global network of co-producers.

Acknowledging the Importance of New Audience Development and Arts Education for Young Generation

Introduced in 1992, the Young Friends of the HKAF is designed to nurture artistic enthusiasm among the younger generation and stimulate their participation in artistic activities. The program is open to students aged 25 and younger from secondary schools or tertiary institutions, with the membership running from September to August of the following year. Young Friends members are invited to attend two designated festival programs (rehearsals or actual performance), workshops, artist talks, and backstage tours, designed to enrich the young people’s awareness and understanding of the performing arts. HKAF’s arts incubation project is also on a steady path. Funded by corporate sponsorship, HKAF’s school-based Artists-in-Residency program encourages students to engage in diverse art-related activities with the help of visiting artists. These projects will undoubtedly work to brighten the future of Hong Kong–based artists and presenters and while also stimulating country’s arts-related technology and management fields.

Tickets Sold Out for Pansori-flamenco Collaboration

Pansori Meets Flamenco, a collaborative work between Korea-based group Jeong Ga Ak Hoe and Spanish quartet Las Migas, was the opening performance at the 2013 Ulsan World Music Festival held in Korea. The combination of Korea’s traditional solo opera drama and Spanish folk music was brought to Hong Kong after Kwok-wan So, associate program director of HKAF, took in the performance while visiting Ulsan as an overseas delegate for the Asia Pacific Music Meeting. HKAF’s key program planning generally starts about one year prior to the actual fest and the planning for the 2017 event has already begun. For this reason, it should surprise no one that it’s taken one and a half years to bring this group to the festival stage lineup since their first contact with organizers in October 2013. Heightened audience interest in the collaboration resulted in tickets to the performance selling out immediately after release—a record for the event—meaning that even festival insiders had to be waitlisted.

During the festival, posters and banners advertising the collaboration performance could be seen in every corner of the downtown area. HKAF programs were staged at several local venues, including the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and Hong Kong City Hall, accompanied by a free booklet in both Cantonese and English.

As the festival entered its final stages, Su:m, Jeong Ga Ak Hoe, and Las Migas also carried out separate performances for World Music Weekend at Hong Kong City Hall. Su:m comprises two musicians who compose and play Korean traditional music adapted for contemporary audiences, a group that has greatly expanded its presence outside Korea in recent years. The pair was specially invited to the event to introduce attendees to the broader spectrum of Korean traditional music and instruments. Their pure, elegant, and delicate sound captured the hearts of the audience members, many of whom lined up to meet the band at the post-performance autograph session. For Jeong Ga Ak Hoe, the group is increasing its number of overseas appearances with a series of collaborative works meant to highlight its Korean traditional music repertoire. The musicians played a reinterpreted version of “Drifting Along in the Sea,” a song from Simcheongga, which retained the pansori’s more dramatic elements and received a particularly favorable response from the audience.

Having completed their fifth collaborative performance of Pansori Meets Flamenco since 2011, the musicians were excited to do a meet and greet the Hong Kong audience members, who are famous for their welcoming attitudes and passionate discourse with artists. Captivated by the juxtaposition of harmonies, the audience refused to leave the theater, questioning the performers on the domestic reception of Korean traditional music, the creative inspiration for Jeong Ga Ak Hoe’s work, and the most important part of their collaborative process, as well as asking about the musicians’ challenges, life lessons, and future plans. When queried about the main purpose for the collaborative work, Jeong Ga Ak Hoe’s Lee Jiae, who plays the zither-like gayageum, said it was to “learn cultures, languages, and musical traditions, which are very similar and at the same time totally different, to create new pieces together, and to eventually improve as an artist.”

HKAF has made a reputation for itself as a showcase of world-class performing arts at major venues across the region. With 43 years of history, HKAF is now recognized as a major contributor to enriching lives of Hong Kong people with vibrant cultural and artistic environment pursuits and diverse education and experience programs. Furthermore, the organization’s fulfills its role as Asia’s platform for performing arts distribution and a hub of creative activity. By featuring Korean dance, theater, and classical music, HAKF is expected to build stronger ties with Korean artists going forward. The significance of the 43rd HKAF is the event’s proven role as a channel for introducing both traditional and contemporary incarnations of Korean arts to the global audiences.