May is the month of art

Some say that art lovers planning a trip to Hong Kong should come in May.

In addition to art exhibitions and activities of various scales, May also features the Hong Kong International Art Fair (ART HK), one of Asia's premier art events. ART HK has become a huge success over the years, attracting top collectors, curators and artists from around the world. Last year it registered a record-breaking turnout of over 60,000, proving that Hong Kong does indeed have a sizeable population of art lovers.

Last Wednesday, I found some time to join the preview of ART HK. Though I wasn't there long enough to appreciate the exhibits in detail, just being there made me realise how impressive the power of art can be.

Hong Kong has all the prerequisites to further develop its art and cultural industries or even position itself as a centre of art in East Asia. In the course of my election campaign I met many people from the cultural sector. These are people with dreams and passion for Hong Kong. Anothermountainman, a local artist who helped me with my image, is one of them.

Earlier this month I made use of an empty slot in my busy schedule to join Anothermountainman at the opening ceremony of "To see: to be seen - from the views of photographers" - a photo exhibition at the Hong Kong Arts Centre that he had curated. While there I met a number of local photographers and we enjoyed some useful exchanges.

I am a fervent supporter of local arts and hope that more people will join in. Once established, the proposed Culture Bureau will work towards this goal, and seek to bring art into everyday life by encouraging greater community involvement.

Anothermoutainman, the curator of the exhibition "to see: to be seen - from the views of photographers", introduces the projects to Mr Leung		Mr Leung visits ART HK.

May 20, 2012