# Hong Kong Arts Festival

The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF), launched in 1973, is an international arts festival held in Hong Kong. It covers all genres of the performing arts as well as a diverse range of educational events in February and March each year.

## History

The inaugural Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) took place in 1973.

## Description

Genres seen and heard at the Hong Kong Arts Festival include classical music, Chinese music, world music, Western opera, Chinese opera, drama and dance. HKAF presented top international artists and ensembles, such as Cecilia Bartoli, José Carreras, Yo-Yo Ma, Philip Glass, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Chailly, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Sylvie Guillem, Kevin Spacey, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre, Bavarian State Opera, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Cloud Gate Dance Theater, Zingaro, Royal Shakespeare Company, Moscow Art Theatre, and Beijing People's Art Theatre.
HKAF actively collaborates with Hong Kong's own creative talent and showcases emerging local artists. Over the years, HKAF has commissioned and produced over 200 local productions across genres including Cantonese opera, theatre, chamber opera, music and contemporary dance, many with successful subsequent runs in Hong Kong and overseas.
HKAF frequently partners with renowned international artists and institutions to produce exceptional works, such as Der Fensterputzer (The Window Washer) co-produced by HKAF, Goethe-Institut Hong Kong and Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Richard III and The Tempest produced by The Old Vic, BAM and Neal Street under "The Bridge Project" with HKAF as a co-commissioning institution, Green Snake co-commissioned with Shanghai International Arts Festival, and Dream of the Red Chamber co-produced with San Francisco Opera.
HKAF invests heavily in arts education for young people. The "HKAF Young Friends" has reached over 782,000 local secondary and tertiary school students since 1992. Close to 10,000 half-price student tickets are issued each year.
HKAF organises a diverse range of "Festival PLUS" activities in community locations each year to enhance engagement between artists and audiences. These include films, lecture demonstrations, masterclasses, workshops, symposia, backstage visits, exhibitions, meet-the-artist sessions, and guided cultural tours.
HKAF is a non-profit organisation. Its principal income sources are recurrent funding from the government, box office revenues, and sponsorship and donations made by corporations, individuals and charitable foundations which form a significant portion of total income and also enable HKAF to receive support from the Government's matching scheme that matches income generated through private sector sponsorship and donations.

## Past works and tours

The HKAF is very active at promoting and engaging homegrown creative talents and emerging artists through commissioning producing and publishing new works in theatre, chamber opera and contemporary dance. Some of these productions go on to successful subsequent runs in Hong Kong and overseas.
In 2008, the HKAF commissioned and produced the production, Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare for the 36th HKAF as part of its New Works series, and was later featured in a second run in the 40th HKAF in 2012 before participating in Globe to Globe, a World Shakespeare Festival at the Globe Theatre in London in which 37 of Shakespeare's plays were performed in different languages. This was the first Cantonese production to be performed at the Globe.
In 2013, the 41st HKAF commissioned the New Stage Series, Heart of Coral, by YiHeng; a chamber opera about the life of Xiao Hong, one of the most celebrated female Chinese writers. The opera production was later featured in Taiwan at "Hong Kong Week 2014 @ Taipei" as part of a cultural exchange organized by the Hong Kong-Taiwan Cultural Co-operation Committee.
The Crowd, another HKAF commissioned production which is written by Shanghai-based writer Yu Rongjun and directed by Hong Kong theater director, Tang Wai-kit for the HKAF in 2015 was also performed in Shanghai in April 2015.
Co-commissioned by the HKAF and the Shakespeare's Globe, renowned Hong Kong theatre director Tang Shu-wing premiered his Cantonese production of Macbeth at the Globe Theatre in London in August 2015, 4 years after the debut of his production of Titus Andronicus as part of the Globe to Globe initiative. Macbeth was then staged at the 44th HKAF.

## Chairs and directors

| Year | Festival | Chairman | Executive Director |
| 1973 | 1st HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | |
| 1974 | 2nd HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | |
| 1975 | 3rd HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | |
| 1976 | 4th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | |
| 1977 | 5th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | |
| 1978 | 6th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | |
| 1979 | 7th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | |
| 1980 | 8th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Keith Statham 史迪敦先生 |
| 1981 | 9th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Keith Statham 史迪敦先生 |
| 1982 | 10th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Keith Statham 史迪敦先生 |
| 1983 | 11th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Keith Statham 史迪敦先生 |
| 1984 | 12th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Keith Statham 史迪敦先生 |
| 1985 | 13th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Keith Statham 史迪敦先生 |
| 1986 | 14th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Keith Statham 史迪敦先生 |
| 1987 | 15th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Keith Statham 史迪敦先生 |
| 1988 | 16th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Tseng Sun Man 鄭新文先生 |
| 1989 | 17th HKAF | Sir Run Run Shaw CBE 邵逸夫爵士 | Tseng Sun Man 鄭新文先生 |
| 1990 | 18th HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Tseng Sun Man 鄭新文先生 |
| 1991 | 19th HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Tseng Sun Man 鄭新文先生 |
| 1992 | 20th HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Tseng Sun Man 鄭新文先生 |
| 1993 | 21st HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Tseng Sun Man 鄭新文先生 |
| 1994 | 22nd HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Tseng Sun Man 鄭新文先生 |
| 1995 | 23rd HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Kau Ng 吳球先生 |
| 1996 | 24th HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Kau Ng 吳球先生 |
| 1997 | 25th HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Kau Ng 吳球先生 |
| 1998 | 26th HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Kau Ng 吳球先生 |
| 1999 | 27th HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Kau Ng 吳球先生 |
| 2000 | 28th HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Kau Ng 吳球先生 |
| 2001 | 29th HKAF | The Hon Martin Barrow OBE JP 鮑磊先生 | Kau Ng 吳球先生 |
| 2002 | 30th HKAF | Mona Leung 梁紹榮夫人 | Kau Ng 吳球先生 |
| 2003 | 31st HKAF | Mona Leung 梁紹榮夫人 | Douglas Gautier 高德禮先生 |
| 2004 | 32nd HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Douglas Gautier 高德禮先生 |
| 2005 | 33rd HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Douglas Gautier 高德禮先生 |
| 2006 | 34th HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Douglas Gautier 高德禮先生 |
| 2007 | 35th HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2008 | 36th HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2009 | 37th HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2010 | 38th HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2011 | 39th HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2012 | 40th HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2013 | 41st HKAF | Charles Y K Lee 李業廣先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2014 | 42nd HKAF | Ronald Arculli 夏佳理先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2015 | 43rd HKAF | Ronald Arculli 夏佳理先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2016 | 44th HKAF | Victor Cha 查懋成先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2017 | 45th HKAF | Victor Cha 查懋成先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2018 | 46th HKAF | Victor Cha 查懋成先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2019 | 47th HKAF | Victor Cha 查懋成先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2020 | 48th HKAF | Victor Cha 查懋成先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |
| 2021 | 49th HKAF | Victor Cha 查懋成先生 | Ms. Tisa Ho 何嘉坤女士 |

## Selected past events

| Year | Programme Highlights Festival Opening | Programme Highlights Festival Finale |
| 1996 | | Julio Bocca & Ballet Argentino |
| 1997 | Tan Dun Marco Polo | Montreal Symphony Orchestra |
| 1998 | Richard Strauss Salome Los Angeles Opera | Compania Nacional de Danza |
| 1999 | Cantonese Opera – An All-Star Night | Hamburg Ballet A Midsummer Night's Dream |
| 2000 | China National Symphony Orchestra | Birmingham Royal Ballet Edward II |
| 2001 | Rossini's La Cenerentola | National Ballet of China Raise the Red Lantern |
| 2002 | Bolshoi Theatre Boris Godunov | National Ballet of China Raise the Red Lantern |
| 2003 | Stuttgart Opera The Abduction from the Seraglio | Hamburg Ballet Nijinsky |
| 2004 | Komische Oper Berlin The Merry Widow | London Symphony Orchestra under Gennadi Rozhdestvensky |
| 2005 | Polish National Opera - Otello Conductor: Jacek Kaspszyk Director: Mariusz Trelinski Tenor: Richard Decker Tenor: Krzysztof Bednarek | Ballet Nacional de Espana Director: Jose Antonio |
| 2006 | Michael Tilson Thomas and San Francisco Symphony Soloist: Lynn Harrell | Semper Opera Dresden and Opera Nuremberg Mozart's Don Giovanni Conductor: Howard Arman Director: Willy Decker |
| 2007 | Yuri Simonov and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra Soloist: Konstantin Lifschitz Soloist: Boris Belkin Soloist: Shen Wenyu | Tango Buenos Aires |
| 2008 | Stuttgart Ballet - Swan Lake Choreographer: John Cranko | Vladimie Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra Soloist: Nikolaj Znaider Soloist: Jean-Yves Thibaudet |
| 2009 | Bernard Haitink and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra | Lisa Ono A celebration of 50 years of Bossa Nova |
| 2010 | Cantonese Opera Treasures | Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra |
| 2011 | Cecilia Bartoli | Lost Tango Ute Lemper and the Piazzolla Sextet |
| 2012 | The Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler | Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra - Daniel Harding |
| 2013 | American Ballet Theatre - Dance Gala AD: Kevin McKenzie | Teatro Di San Carlo - Viva Verdi Conductor: Michele Mariotti Choral Director: Salvatore Caputo |
| 2014 | Guerzenich Orchestra Cologne | Savonlinna Opera Festival Gala Concert |
| 2015 | Christian Thielemann & the Staatskapelle Dresden | The Bolshoi Ballet - Jewels |
| 2016 | Compagnia Finzi Pasca - La Verità (The Truth) | The Mikhailovsky Ballet - The Sleeping Beauty |
| 2017 | Bayerisches Staatsballett (Bavarian State Ballet) - La Bayadère | A co-production between San Francisco Opera and the Hong Kong Arts Festival - Dream of the Red Chamber |
| 2018 | Ballett Zürich - Anna Karenina | Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Estonian National Male Choir |
| 2019 | Marin Alsop with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra | The Hamburg Ballet-John Neumeier - The World of John Neumeier |
| 2020 | Andris Nelsons with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) | Igor Moiseyev Ballet - Legend of the Century (Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 2021 | Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra - Music About China | Igor Moiseyev State Academic Ensemble of Popular Dance - Igor Moiseyev Ballet Special |