c
Creative Arts Space in Hong Kong: Three Tales through the lens of Cultural Capital
Hoi Ling Anne CHAN (0000-0002-8356-8069)
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning University of Melbourne February 2019
[Intended to leave blank] i
Abstract
The fact that culture and creativity are often instrumentalised in urban regeneration and/or development points to a pragmatic relationship between culture and the city. Hong Kong, like many post-colonial and post-industrial cities, faced challenges in economic restructuring and in the search of a new identity. Thus, culture came to the centre of the stage in the formulation of development strategies and started to accumulate cultural assets.
The accumulation of cultural assets led to the emergence of various forms of cultural assets such as cultural district, infrastructure, projects in order to achieve various aims. However, most of the existing research focused on large-scale flagship projects from an economic or strategic perspective. A holistic understanding of those cultural projects is limited in the literature especially for the small-scale cultural projects.
This research examines how the creative arts spaces interact with the host city, Hong Kong through the lens of cultural capital. Three creative arts spaces with different management models are chosen as case studies. Data were collected through field investigation and key informant interviews as well as from secondary sources such as archives and media. The data collected are analysed by executing thematic analysis procedures.
The findings reveal that creative arts spaces are different from large-scale flagship projects in their relations to cities. Instead of shaping the urban landscape, the small-scale arts spaces are vulnerable as they are more likely being shaped by the urban landscape. Small- scale arts spaces fail to function and formulate a protective shell for artists as the functions are valorised by the influences of institutional changes as well as historical events. This asymmetrical relationship between culture and the city also presents the expectation gaps between the users in the CASs. The CASs are overcast by the government for achieving its aspiration and the urban policies are failed to address those gaps. As a result, the CASs are neither fostering creative practices nor serving the community. ii
This research concludes that when creativity and culture are quintessential in the city
branding and planning policymaking nowadays, the empirical study of various dimensions
of the CASs can help the planners and policymakers to reconsider the instrumental value of
creativity and culture. By redefining the positionings and functions of the creative arts
spaces in the city, it can foster or uphold the creative vibe in both the city and the districts.
Besides, it also calls for a formulation of tailor-made industrial policy for arts industry so as
to provide institutional support for the arts practitioners. iii
Declaration
I, Hoi Ling Anne CHAN, declare that the Ph.D. thesis entitled, Creative Arts Space in Hong
Kong: Three Tales through the lens of Cultural Capital, is fewer than the maximum word limit in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices as approved by the
Research Higher Degrees Committee. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work.
X Date: 05 February 2019 Hoi Ling Anne CHAN
iv
To GOD who loves everyone in the world.
To MY FAMILY who gives me unlimited support and love.
To YOU as a reader.
We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds up. (1 Cor 8:1)
v
Acknowledgement
On the first day of my PhD journey, I reckoned that it would be a life-changing experience.
My assertion is proven true when this journey is approaching the end. It is not because I know the subject matter better, but because I know myself better in terms of what I would like to pursue in the future, my strengths and weaknesses.
This thesis may not be a seminal one in the realm of urban research, but it is a seminal part of my life and a piece of work which is full of love, support, encouragement, tears, failures and frustration. Those tears, failures and frustration make me realise what we need in the ivory tower is not only knowledge, but also love and support. The Bible says, “We know that
‘we all have knowledge’. Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds up.” (1 Cor 8:1).
Creation of knowledge may bring us fame and success, but it may also bring us pride which makes people indifferent. Perhaps as an academic, we cannot escape from the publication mania which keeps everyone busy and stressed. However, doing small things such as a cup of coffee, a hug and a small chat with our colleagues or our students can make big changes and can mean a lot to them. I believe doing small things can bring some changes to such an environment.
Because of those small things and the love of God, my family and friends, I got through the vulnerable moments in this journey. Prayers from brothers and sisters in Lord empowered and gave me strengths to face the challenges in these years. I must give special thanks to my family, especially my parents, who give me unlimited love and support and my best friend who is my listener and co-walker in Christ during the tough moments. In addition, I am glad to have my peers in the MSD: Argaw, Keiken and Yvette. Thanks for their supports and encouragements in the ups and downs of this journey. vi
I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Sun Sheng Han wholeheartedly for his
guidance in this journey, especially during all critical moments, and recognise his valuable
help in equipping me to be a researcher and a teacher. My deep gratitude should be given
to my advisory committee members, Professor Kevin O’Connor, Professor Kim Dovey and
Professor Ross King for reviewing the research project as well as the manuscript with their
professional experience. Another gratitude should be given to my former MPhil supervisor,
Professor Lawal Marafa, who always encourages and inspires me a lot in my life as a
geographer.
I owe debts to all my participants and interviewees who contributed their time and opinions.
This research could not be accomplished without their contribution, especially the help
from the Asia Arts Archive (AAA), University of Hong Kong Library and team from 1a Space.
The last but not least thanks should be given to the University of Melbourne for funding this
research and for giving me this opportunity to study in Melbourne.
May all glory be to God!
August 2018
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Preface
The inspiration of this research project is from the place I live and grow up in Yau Ma Tei,
Hong Kong, which is a former core of the city. When I researched the heritagescape in Yau
Ma Tei for my MPhil thesis, I realised that heritage is often converted for cultural-related uses. The emergence of these cultural spaces caught my attention and started to think about the interplay between culture and city. Besides, the redevelopment and re-planning of this area, especially on the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), provoke the tremendous debate on the way forward in the future development of the city. Living next to the construction site of the biggest cultural project the city has ever had, I can feel the substantial changes in the district. It is not just about the gentrification occurred in the area, but also about the “sudden” cultural turn of the government which revealed in the urban and economic planning of the city. In an old neighbourhood at the centre of the city, building something new and imposing a cultural function and meaning to it does not mean the city is culturally vibrant.
One day, during a casual talk with my friend, she said, “Hong Kong does not have art.”. Many
Hong Kongers who are the laymen of arts share a similar view with my friend. In the past decades, we kept our eyes on the economic achievement of the city but forgot the precious part of this little global city, the richness and the hybridity of its culture. No wonder why
Hong Kongers have a perception that Hong Kong is a “cultural desert.” However, if Hong
Kong is a “cultural desert”, where did the artworks in the Hong Kong Art Museum come from?
How can the West Kowloon Cultural District sustain itself? Where did the local graduates of the Fine Arts Programs go? Why did the government follow the “creative fever” to develop the art industry by converting heritage, vacant premises into arts spaces?
viii
All these questions mark the beginning of this research and elucidate the reasons for my
interest in the art industry. Therefore, I started to explore the art industry in Hong Kong.
Even though the art industry in Hong Kong is not as prosperous as global cities like New
York and London, due to the reactive and descriptive cultural policy, inflated cost of living,
materialistic view of the society, artists are hard to survive, it is interesting to know how the
artists in the local scene combat all these “unfavourable” conditions.
Although this research can only address part of the enquiries, it is an opportunity to deepen
our understanding of the interplay between the arts and city in the context of Hong Kong. ix
Table of Content Abstract i Declaration iii Acknowledgement v Preface vii Table of Content ix List of Abbreviations xiv List of Figures xv List of Tables xix
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Statement of Problem 1
1.2. Research Objectives and Questions 4
1.3. Research Significance 6
1.4. Structure of Thesis 7
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 9 2.1. Importance of Culture and Creativity in Urban Development 9 2.1.1. Growth of creative industries 11 2.1.2. Emergence of flagship projects and small-localised projects 13 2.2. Use of Culture and Creativity in the Urban Milieu 14 2.2.1. Economic Aspect – Culture as an economic simulator 14 2.2.2. Social Aspect – Culture as a medium of social interaction 16 2.2.3. Cultural Aspect – Culture as a maker of identity 17 2.2.4. Strategic Aspect – Culture as a urban development strategy 18 2.3. Contextualizing Creative Arts Spaces 21 2.3.1. Typology of Creative Arts Space 21 2.3.2. Creative Arts Space and Policies 24 2.3.3. Creative Arts Space and the Artists 26 2.3.4. Creative Arts Space in Hong Kong 27 2.4. Gaps of Knowledge 31
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CHAPTER 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 34 3.1. Cultural Capital as a lens for analysis 34
3.2. Conceptualizing Cultural Capital 36
3.3. Creative Arts Space in the lens of Cultural Capital 41 3.3.1. Physical Siting of Creative Arts Space 44 3.3.2. Historical Transformation of Creative Arts Space 47 3.3.3. Institutionalisation of Creative Arts Space 49
CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 53 4.1. Case Study Approach 53 4.1.1. Rationales of Study Area Selection 54 4.1.2. Case Selection Criteria 55 4.1.3. Brief Details of the Case Studies 56 4.2. Data Collection 58 4.2.1. Documentary Collection 61 4.2.2. Direct and Participant Observation 61 4.2.3. In-depth Interview 62 4.3. Data Analysis 64 4.3.1. Case Study Analysis 64 4.3.2. Thematic Analysis 65 4.4. Limitations 67 4.4.1. Subjectivity 67 4.4.2. Recordings of Interviews 67 4.4.3. Translation Issues 67 4.4.4. Limitation of the analytical framework 68
CHAPTER 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 70 5.1. Geographical and Historical Background of Hong Kong 71
5.2. Overview of Urban Planning and Cultural Policies in Hong Kong 72 5.2.1. Institutional Structure for Urban Planning and Cultural Policies 73 5.2.2. Urban Planning Policy in Hong Kong 75 5.2.3. Cultural Policy in Hong Kong 78 5.2.4. Relationship between Planning and Cultural Policies 81 5.3. Creative Arts Scene in Hong Kong 82 5.3.1. Cradle of Artists – Arts Education in Hong Kong 82 5.3.2. Source for Living – Arts Market and Funding 83 5.3.3. Place of Living – Distribution of the Creative Arts Spaces 86 5.4. Summary 91 xi
CHAPTER 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE 94 6.1. Introducing the Cattle Depot Artist Village 95 6.1.1. Location of the artist village 95 6.1.2. Formation and development of the artist village 96 6.2. Functional Roles of the Cattle Depot Artist Village 101 6.2.1. As a historical icon in the community 101 6.2.2. As a base for individual artists and arts groups 103 6.2.3. As a “gimmick” in the district redevelopment plan 108 6.2.4. Arena for awakening local memory 112 6.3. Historical Influence on the Formation and Transformation of the CDAV 114 6.3.1. Post War Planning in 1948 114 6.3.2. Oil Street Artist Village 116 6.3.3. Grading and regrading of the Cattle Depot 118 6.4. Institutional Implication for the CDAV 120 6.4.1. Institutionalisation through policies and government intervention 121 6.4.2. Internal institutionalisation among the artists 124 6.4.3. Management within site 125 6.5. Summary 132
CHAPTER 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER (FOTANAIAN) 135 7.1. Introducing Fotan Arts Studio Cluster 135 7.1.1. Location of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster 135 7.1.2. Formation and development of the arts studio cluster 137 7.2. Functional Roles of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster 141 7.2.1. Gathering point of the artists 141 7.2.2. Cultural production hub 145 7.2.3. Cultural consumption spot 146 7.3. Historical Influence on the formation and transformation of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster 155 7.3.1. Planning of Shatin new town in the 60s 155 7.3.2. Economic restructuring 160 7.3.3. Outbreak of the SARS 162 7.4. Institutional Implication for Fotan Arts Studio Cluster 163 7.4.1. Institutionalisation through policies and government intervention 163 7.4.2. Internal institutionalisation 171 7.4.3. Management within site 173 7.5. Summary 176 xii
CHAPTER 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 178 8.1. Introducing the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre 178 8.1.1. Location of the JCCAC 179 8.1.2. Formation and development of the JCCAC 180 8.2. Functional Roles of the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre 183 8.2.1. Museum of local industrial and housing history 183 8.2.2. Creative arts hub for new artists/ fresh graduates 185 8.2.3. Arena for vernacular handicrafts and arts 187 8.2.4. Common campus for social issues and community activities 190 8.3. Historical Influence on the formation and transformation of the JCCAC 192 8.3.1. Shek Kip Mei Squatter Fire in 1953 192 8.3.2. Creative turn of development strategies 194 8.3.3. District development strategy 195 8.4. Institutional Implication for the JCCAC 197 8.4.1. Institutionalisation through policies 197 8.4.2. Management within the site 198 8.4.3. Internal Institutionalisation 202 8.5. Summary 206
CHAPTER 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY 208 9.1. Introduction 208
9.2. What role does each creative arts space play in the city and how does each creative arts space foster creative practices? 210
9.3. What are the influences of major historical events in Hong Kong in shaping the creative arts spaces? 214
9.4. How do the artists respond to the institutional implications for the creative arts spaces at various urban scales and with different management modes? 219 9.4.1. Institutionalisation through policies or private sectors 220 9.4.2. Internal institutionalisation among the artists/ regulation within the site 222 9.4.3. Management within site 223 9.4.4. Responses of the artists 225 9.5. Whose Creative Arts Spaces? 231 9.5.1. For the artists 232 9.5.2. For the government 236 9.5.3. For the public 237 9.5.4. Discussion 239 xiii
9.6. Summary 241
CHAPTER 10 CONCLUSION 242 10.1. Summary of findings 242
10.2. Conclusion 246
10.3. Recommendations 251
APPENDICES 253 Appendix 1 – Summary of the links between culture and city 253
Appendix 2 - Interview Questions 254
Appendix 3 - Extracts of policies which mentioned culture-related issue in Hong Kong 259
Appendix 4 - List of Activities in Ngau Pang Shu Yuen 263
Appendix 5 - Schedule of uses for industrial land (as at 13 January 2017) (HKSARG Planning Department, 2017, pp. 18-19) 266
Appendix 6 – List of Historic Buildings and Site of Archaeological Interest in Sham Shui Po 268
REFERENCES 269 xiv
List of Abbreviations
ADC Arts Development Council AVA Academy of Visuals Arts ACDFS Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme BoD Board of Directors CAS Creative Arts Space CDA Comprehensive Development Area CDAV Cattle Depot Artist Village CUHK Chinese University of Hong Kong GIC Government, Institution and Community HKBU Hong Kong Baptist University HKSARG Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government JCCAC Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre MTR Mass Transit Rail TPU Tertiary Planning Unit SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome WKCD West Kowloon Cultural District xv
List of Figures
Figure 2.1 World Exports of Creative Goods and Services (Data Source: UNDP-UNESCO
(2013)) ...... 11
Figure 2.2 Classification of Creative Industries (UNDP-UNCTAD, 2008) ...... 12
Figure 3.1 Conceptual Framework ...... 36
Figure 4.1 Locations of the Selected Cases ...... 55
Figure 4.2 From Left to Right: Cattle Depot Artist Village; Fotan Industrial Area; Jockey Club
Creative Arts Centre ...... 56
Figure 4.3 Research Framework ...... 59
Figure 4.4 Flow of Case Study Analysis ...... 64
Figure 4.5 Coding map ...... 69
Figure 5.1 Map of Hong Kong and Districts ...... 70
Figure 5.2 Institutional Structure for Urban Planning and Cultural Policies ...... 75
Figure 5.3 Hong Kong 2030: Preferred development pattern Extracted from HKSARG
Development Bureau (2006) ...... 78
Figure 5.4 Relationship between Planning and Cultural Policies ...... 81
Figure 5.5 Major Grants and Funding Distributed by Hong Kong Arts Development Council
...... 84
Figure 5.6 Distribution of the Creative Arts Spaces in Hong Kong (Prepared by the author)
...... 86
Figure 6.1 Location of Kowloon City District and Delineation of Major Areas (Prepared by the author) ...... 94
Figure 6.2 Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) of Ma Tau Kok in 2018 ...... 95
Figure 6.3 Layout Plan of the Cattle Depot Artist Village with the size of the units and the vacancies (prepared by the author) ...... 98 xvi
Figure 6.4 Current Appearance of Cattle Depot Artist Village (Photos by the author) ...... 100
Figure 6.5 Cattle Depot Book Fair in 2004 (Photo Source: Asia Art Archive) ...... 105
Figure 6.6 Events and Activities held in the Cattle Depot Artist Village a) Theatre operated
by the On&On Drama (capacity: 80pax); b) Exhibition gallery operated by 1a Space; c) Social
gathering before and after the drama performance; d) Dialogue with the artists and the
curator of the exhibition – “One belongs where one is content” in 1a Space; e) Closing party
of an event held by the Videotage; f) PlayDepot – the making of toys by upcycling abandoned
wood (Photos by the author) ...... 107
Figure 6.7 (a) Contrasting urban landscape (old vs new) surround the Cattle Depot; (b)
Slogan on the advertisement outside a residential construction site (Photos by the author)
...... 108
Figure 6.8 Area Position and Characters in the urban renewal program (HKSARG
Development Bureau, 2014) ...... 110
Figure 6.9 Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) of Ma Tau Kok in 1957 (Source: Kowloon City District
Council (2011); modified by the author) ...... 115
Figure 6.10 Ariel Photo of Ma Tau Kok in 1980s (Photo Source: University of Hong Kong
Archives) ...... 116
Figure 6.11 a) View of the Oil Street Artist Village in North Point (Former Government
Supplies Office); b) Workspace of the artist; c) Exhibition held in the Village (Photo courtesy:
Asian Art Archive) ...... 118
Figure 6.12 Left: The bird view of the Cattle Depot Artist Village; Right: Spatial and Temporal
Distribution of the Cattle Depot ...... 119
Figure 6.13 Illustration of the District Council Signature Project in the Cattle Depot Artist
Village (Source: Kowloon City District Council (2015) ) ...... 123
Figure 6.14 Propaganda made by an artist asking for a better artist village and ease of the
red tapes (Photo Source: Wong (2010) ; Translated by the author) ...... 128 xvii
Figure 6.15 Signposting and Notices of the Cattle Depot Artist Village (Photos by the authors)
...... 130
Figure 7.1 District Boundary of Shatin (Prepared by the author) ...... 136
Figure 7.2 Fotan: (a) Wah Luen Industrial Building with most artist studios in Fotan; (b)
Existing industries in the area; (c) Surrounding Industrial Building (Photos by the author)
...... 140
Figure 7.3 Artists’ studios: (a) Solely owned studio; (b) Typical high ceiling in Wah Luen
Industrial Centre for storage and large scale of paintings; (c) A shared studio of three artists
(Photos by the authors) ...... 144
Figure 7.4 Street advertisements of the art classes (Photos by the author) ...... 148
Figure 7.5 Annual Open Studios: (a) Pottery class for the visitors in 2016; (b) Group of primary students visited the studios in 2016; (c) Installation in the corridor in 2014 and guided tour; (d) Visitors in the artist studio (Photos by the author) ...... 151
Figure 7.6 Location Maps of the participating studios and Posters of the Open Studios in
2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 ...... 152
Figure 7.7 Shatin New Town Land Use Plan in 1976 Extracted from Hong Kong New
Territories Development Department (1976, p. 34; Modified by the author) ...... 156
Figure 7.8 (a) Shatin New Town in 1977 with the reclamation work in progress; (b)
Developed Shatin New Town in 2011 ...... 157
Figure 7.9 Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) of Fotan in 2018 ...... 159
Figure 7.10 Vacancy Rate of Private Flatted Factories in Shatin, the New Territories and overall Hong Kong ...... 161
Figure 7.11 Rent Index (left) and Prices Index (right) of the Private Flatted Factories in Hong
Kong (Data source: HKSARG Rating and Valuation Department (2016); Compiled by the author) ...... 163
Figure 7.12 Estate Adverts - “Erosion of Home” – Installation (Man, 2014) ...... 170 xviii
Figure 7.13 Notices about the regulation in a public industrial building ...... 172
Figure 7.14 Distribution of the Arts Studios (Prepared by the author) ...... 175
Figure 8.1 District Boundary of Sham Shui Po (Preapred by the author) ...... 178
Figure 8.2 Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) of Shek Kip Mei in 2018 ...... 179
Figure 8.3 Shek Kip Mei Factory Building before (left) (Photos by Hulu Culture (2011)) and
after renovation (right) (Photos by the author) ...... 182
Figure 8.4 Industrial displays in the JCCAC (Photos by the authors) ...... 184
Figure 8.5 Activities and Exhibition in the JCCAC a & b) Quarterly Handicraft Fair; c)
Products sold in the artist’s studio; d) Painting class in the studio (Photos by the author)
...... 189
Figure 8.6 a) Community Art Exhibition in the gallery at Level 0; b) Photography exhibition
about coffin housing in Shum Shui Po; c) public area in JCCAC; d) Coffee shop on Level 1
(Photos by the author)...... 191
Figure 8.7 Part of the remaining squatter area in Shek Kip Mei Valley (front part) and some
of the multi-storey buildings of the Shek Kip Mei Resettlement Estate in 1958 ...... 192
Figure 8.8 a) Shek Kip Mei Estate – First Generation of Public Housing (Source: Information
Service Department, HKSARG); b) View from the JCCAC which is surrounded by new high-
rise public housing (Photo by the author)...... 193
Figure 8.9 a) Mei Ho House before and after the revitalisation (Source: Information Service
Department, HKSARG); b) Location map of the JCCAC, Mei Ho House and North Kowloon
Magistracy Building (Prepared by the author) ...... 195
Figure 8.10 Inside the artist studios and galleries ...... 203
Figure 8.11 a) Regulation for the visitors; b) Red line on the floor to show the boundary of
the studio and keep the corridor clear (Photos by the author) ...... 204
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List of Tables
Table 2.1 Classification of different arts spaces ...... 23
Table 2.2 Four modes of urban and cultural policy, 1980-present ...... 25
Table 3.1 Framework for analysing cultural capital ...... 39
Table 3.2 Revised definition of Cultural Capital and Details of the Analytical Framework . 41
Table 4.1 Brief Backgrounds of Three Selected Cases ...... 57
Table 4.2 Sources and Types of Data ...... 60
Table 4.3 Key Informants and Key Issues addressed in the In-depth Interviews...... 63
Table 4.4 Steps of Thematic Analysis ...... 66
Table 5.1 Key Historical Event in Hong Kong...... 71
Table 5.2 List of Historic Buildings and Monuments Reused as Creative Arts Spaces ...... 87
Table 5.3 List of Industrial Areas/Buildings Reused as Creative Arts Spaces ...... 89
Table 5.4 List of Commercial/Residential Buildings Reused as Creative Arts Spaces ...... 90
Table 6.1 Chronology of the Cattle Depot Artist Village Formation ...... 96
Table 6.2 List of Historic Buildings and Site of Archaeological Interest in the Kowloon City
Renewal Program ...... 102
Table 6.3 Number of tenants and art types in the Cattle Depot in 2001 and 2016 ...... 103
Table 7.1 Chronology of transformation of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster ...... 137
Table 7.2 Number of participating artists and studios in the open studio events (2003-2017)
...... 149
Table 7.3 Types of Predominant Uses in Industrial Buildings and its vacancy rates within
Fotan ...... 161
Table 8.1 Chronology of transformation of Jockey Club Creative Arts Cetnre ...... 181
Table 8.2 Units and facilities at each level in the JCCAC ...... 182
Table 8.3 Classification of the artists and arts groups in JCCAC ...... 186 xx
Table 8.4 Themes and Affiliated artists / art groups of the JCCAC Art Festivals (2011-2016)
...... 189
Table 9.1 Summary of the functional roles of CASs ...... 210
Table 9.2 Summary of Historical Events which shape the CASs ...... 214
Table 9.3 Summary of Institutional Impacts on the CASs and Responses of the Artists .... 219 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1. Statement of Problem
Culture and creativity are the core concepts in urban development policy discussion, program design, and research. The United Nations recognises the importance of culture in regenerating cities (e.g., see The State of the World‘s Cities by UN-Habitat (2004)), and uses culture and creativity in designing new development pathways (e.g., see Creativity Economy
Report 2013 by UNDP-UNESCO (2013)). The European Union initiated its European
Cities/Capital of Culture program in 1985, under which the title of “City of Culture” is awarded annually to an individual city which demonstrates “a focus for artistic activity, and a showcase of cultural excellence and innovation” (Griffiths, 2006, p. 417). Key objectives of that program are to regenerate cities and to raise their international profile. Many national governments undertake flagship cultural projects in both forms of new cultural venue (e.g., the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Tate Modern in London and Esplanade in Singapore) and cultural quarters (e.g., Rope Walks Quarter in Liverpool and El Raval in Barcelona. See
Miles (2005a)). Small and localised projects found at the neighbourhood level, where some abandoned buildings or facilities are converted into studios or workshops for creative industries to boost the local economy and to improve social inclusion.
The use of culture and creativity as a policy instrument in urban regeneration and/or development points to a pragmatic relationship between culture and the city, which may serve as a channel to tap on the benefits of culture and creative activities in cities. Many researchers have argued that culture and creativity programs not only transform the physical urban landscape but also bolster the economic development of cities (Garcia, 2005;
Griffiths, Bassett, & Smith, 2003; Miles, 2005a; Miles, 2005b). New “icons" created by the flagship projects are often new landmarks. They change the skyline of cities; they also 2 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
attract visitors and boost the tourism. In the USA and Europe, the growth of the creative
economy and the existence of creative spaces have contributed to city development (Scott,
2006; Towse, 2011). Scott (1999) suggests that the networks of the producers in the
creative economy and their dependencies on the local labour market are a crucial
underpinning of the creative economy. Towse (2011) provides empirical evidence about
the role of creative industries in the creative economies by using economic theories and
concepts. Zheng & Chan (2013) and O’Connor & Gu (2014) investigate how a property-led
cultural cluster in Shanghai affects the inter-company networks and production efficiency.
On top of that, iconic projects trigger the proliferation of the creative industries ranged from
art and design to new media, software, and video games design, for instance (UNDP-
UNCTAD, 2008). These economic effects further spread as creative industries can enhance
the local competitive advantages with both employment and income increment effects
(Scott, 1997). Indeed, the cultural and economic policies are linked with each other (Kong
& O'Connor, 2009), and cities “increasingly rests on the production and consumption of
culture and arts” (Kong et al., 2015, p. 1). Due to the growing importance of the culture and
arts, this research chooses the arts spaces in the city as the focus of the enquiry.
In a broad sense, however, culture and creativity relate to the city not only through the
economic channel. As “a whole way of life” (Williams, 1958, p. 16), culture is material,
intellectual, and spiritual. Culture “is one of the constitutive conditions of existence … [and]
every social practice has cultural dimension” (Hall, 1997a, p. 226). Moreover, culture acts as
a ‘glue’ to connect various aspects of the city (Freestone & Gibson, 2006). Empirical research
on the culture and creativity programs shows that culture and creativity programs that
solely emphasise the economic aspect without adequate consideration of other influences
are likely less successful if not complete failures. For example, the effect of the Guggenheim
Museum project in Bilbao on enhancing the urban prosperity was found exaggerated as the Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 3
actual return of this flagship cultural project was lower than expected. Some flagship projects cause displacement between the economic function and social function, as these projects can act as magnets to attract the migrants with high income at the expense of other social functions which cast benefits to the low-income group (Scott, 2014). In the UK, creative arts spaces such as arts centres in small cities and/or towns are not successful in reaching the social-cultural goals due to the resistance from local artists as well as the local communities. They have a feeling of being excluded due to the lack of ownership of the spaces and excessive intervention from the national government in the planning and development processes (Evans, 2010). However, there are uneven attentions on small projects as the existing literature lean on the large-scale cultural flagship projects.
Therefore, this research sheds light on the small-scale projects which are called creative arts spaces.
Moreover, like many post-colonial and post-industrial cities, Hong Kong as a former British colony, faced challenges which lead to the creative turn of its development strategy.
Economically, Hong Kong is overlying the financial and property sectors so the government attempted to develop other economic sectors such as creative industries (Hutton, 2012).
Culturally, Hong Kong has long been regarded as “cultural desert”. However, Abbas (1997) argues that Hong Kong ’s culture is in the space of disappearance during the colonial period.
Thus, after the handover of the sovereignty to mainland China in 1997, the government sought to reclaim Hong Kong’s culture. Thus, the city has joined the mania in accumulating cultural assets and formulated its own creative industry strategy. In addition, there are groups of spontaneously formed creative arts spaces with government intervention and management modes. Therefore, creative arts spaces in Hong Kong are chosen as the case studies in this research.
4 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
Despite the growing empirical efforts in the literature, understanding of the relationships
between culture and the city is handicapped by the absence of concrete case studies closely
articulated with theories. The research gap is particularly remarkable at the project level,
where discussions are predominately focused on economic impacts. There is little that we
know about the power of local creative arts space in shaping the city and how they respond
to the overall urban changes (Markusen, 2014). There is an insufficient discussion on what
and how the creative projects function in the district and city, why urban policies on creative
arts spaces failed.
1.2. Research Objectives and Questions
This research aims at exploring the relationship between creative arts spaces and city in
Hong Kong. Secondarily, the study analyses the mix of the developmental factors of the
creative arts spaces in affecting the formation and changes of the creative arts spaces. The
focus of this research is the space for vernacular creativity by arts practices which take place
in small and localised venues. They are termed creative art spaces. Creative arts space refers
to highly localised space which is provided for artists and cultural agents to work, to meet,
to exchange ideas and to develop new creative forms. (Evans, 2009a; Zielke & Waibel, 2015).
It is the “birthplace” of innovative ideas and products. Also, it serves the purpose of
regeneration within the community. There are diverse types of creative arts spaces under
different management modes. It can be initiated by the artists/arts groups themselves (i.e.
termed privately-owned creative arts space), the government (i.e. termed publicly-owned
creative arts space) or the partnership between the government and not-for-profit sectors
such as charity or education institution (i.e. termed partnership). Most of the studies focus
on the first two types of the creative arts spaces (e.g., see Bell & Jayne (2004); Kong et al.
(2015), leaving a huge gap in exploring the not-for-profit sector of the creative arts space
(Pratt & Hutton, 2013). Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 5
Hong Kong represents an ideal case study city because the creative arts spaces are less government-regulated in the absence of overall cultural policy and with a piecemeal urban development strategy (Cartier, 2008; Leong, 2013; Ng, 2009; Ng, 2014). The creative arts spaces are currently embedded and scattered in the neighbourhoods where intervention and support from the local authority, namely the District Council1 are observable. Though
“in the case of Hong Kong, the goal of asserting a strong connection with the local is also important” (Stevenson, 2014, p. 111), the influence of local development policies and institutions is missing in research (Kong, 2009a, 2012; Kong et al., 2015). This study uses three creative arts spaces in Hong Kong. Cattle Depot Artist Village is a government-owned creative arts space which is managed and initiated by the HKSAR government. Jockey Club
Creative Arts Centre is managed through a partnership between the HKSAR government and not-for-profit organisations. The last case is Fotan with individual artists clustered in five industrial buildings, termed privately-owned creative arts space.
The overarching question in this research is how the various creative arts spaces interact with the host city over time and on different spatial scales. In particular, the following detailed questions are investigated.
1. What roles does each creative arts space play in the city and how does each creative arts
space foster creative practices?
2. What are the influences of major historical events in Hong Kong in shaping the creative
arts spaces?
3. How do the artists respond to the institutional implications on the creative arts spaces
at various urban scales and with different management modes?
1 Hong Kong is divided into 18 districts for local administration purpose in order to achieve “district issues can be addressed at district level and local opportunities capitalized locally”. (Home Affairs Department, 2015) 6 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
1.3. Research Significance
The research significance can be divided into three aspects: empirical, theoretical and
practical. Empirically, this research can act as a complementary contribution by capturing
how the creative spaces embed in Hong Kong to “uncover some prevalent phenomenon
previously inaccessible to social scientists” (Yin, 2014, p. 48). Meanwhile, it provides a
systematic cross-case comparison of creative spaces with various management modes
because according to Kong et al. (2015, p. 172), “the governance of culture and urban space
plays a critical role in contributing to the sustainability of cultural and social life”.
The role of culture and creativity is prominent in enhancing the vitality of the community
and city. The economic understanding of culture and creativity are well studied, especially
for the “iconic” cultural infrastructures. Theoretically, this research can broaden the
understanding of creative arts spaces in relation to their sitings in the built environment.
Practically, by investigating the relationship between creative arts spaces and the city which
has been neglected by most of the policymakers, some insights can be obtained for further
improvement of both cultural and urban planning policies and make them more
comprehensive.
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 7
1.4. Structure of Thesis
The thesis firstly outlines the current urban development pathway through culture and the key efforts and policies to explain the importance of the creative arts spaces in urban development and the knowledge gaps, both theoretical and empirical. Thus, research questions and aims are set.
Then in the literature review chapter (Chapter 2), the relevant concepts in the field of creative arts spaces analysis and cases studies from international experiences are investigated. This is followed by Chapter 3 which outlines the analytical framework developed to address the research questions.
In the methodology chapter (Chapter 4), the reasons for adopting the qualitative and case study approach in this research are first discussed. Then the study area - Hong Kong is introduced with information about its geographical and historical context as well as the current urban challenges. These information provide the rationale for the selection of case studies. The chapter also outlines the data collection and analysis methods and processes.
Lastly, the chapter discusses the methodological limitations and considerations for minimising the limitations.
Chapter 5 is to sets the scene by discussing the cultural and urban planning policies and portraying the overall arts scene in Hong Kong. After that, the general context of three cases including the geographical and historical development are introduced. The local creative arts scene of Hong Kong is implying that the lack of comprehensive cultural policies in Hong
Kong somehow encourages the spontaneous development of different creative arts spaces in the city.
Chapter 6-8 are the within-case-specific analysis analyses of each selected case. Each chapter is structured by three research questions. Then it is followed by a summary of the 8 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
case. Chapter 6 is the first case study of an artist village in a government-managed historic
site – Cattle Depot. This case presents the vulnerable nature of creative arts spaces and re-
shaped by the district urban redevelopment program. Chapter 7 is the case study on the arts
studios cluster in an existing industrial area. The transformation of the cluster presents the
fate of creative arts space under private ownership that they are sensitive to the socio-
economic situation of the city, especially the fluctuation of the property market and the land
use changes of the surrounding.
Chapter 8 is the case study of the Jockey Club Arts Centre which is the product of the public-
private partnership and operates on a not-for-profit basis. The arts centre aimed at creating
a utopia for the young artists. However, the study indicates that the displacement of the
artists and the leasing system undermines the function and development of the arts centre.
Chapter 9 is the cross-case discussion. Based on these similarities and differences, the
possible theoretical contribution and the supporting/ rival explanation are discussed. Then,
the discussion goes further to identify the expectation gaps in managing and utilising the
creative arts spaces are discussed. The conclusion Chapter 10 summarises research findings
and draws conclusions; it also makes recommendations for contribution and implication in
order to sketch the policy innovation and future research. Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 9
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
This literature review helps delineate the knowledge deficiencies in the realm of creative space analysis. First, it outlines the importance of culture and creativity in urban development as well as discuss the uses of culture in the urban milieu. It is followed by an introduction of the creative arts spaces and the existing knowledge about those spaces.
Then, the existing research on creative arts spaces to consolidate the “backdrop” of this research is reviewed.
2.1. Importance of Culture and Creativity in Urban Development
Culture is a board term which is understood as “a whole way of life, material, intellectual, and spiritual” (Williams, 1958, p. 16). In his definition, William (1958) emphasises the non- static nature of the culture because it is altering while it is responding to the society. Based on this argument, researchers further investigate the meaning of culture in cities as the latter evolves. For example, Zukin (1995) builds upon William’s definition through her research about different forms of cultures in New York. She posits that culture is a “set of aesthetic social practices” and “way of life” to “incorporate into cultural products” (p.270-
271). It stresses the objectification of the culture in terms of “ecological, historical, or architectural materials that can be displayed, interpreted, reproduced and sold” (p.271). This research considers the definition stated by Johnson (2009). She puts forward the point about the objectification of culture through production and defines culture as:
“objects or events which are produced by those defining themselves as artists which in turn encapsulate and give meaning to the particular way of life of a people…what is and who defines a “culture” on which an urban economy can be refashioned into a cultural capital is a key political 10 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
decision, one which infuses and shapes the form, location and “value” of the outcome” (p.5-6).
This definition not only addresses the objectification of culture, but also denotes the
instrument meaning of culture and creativity imposed by the policymakers. They utilise this
instrument in urban planning from an element in urban development during the 80s to a
hegemonic strategy since the 90s (Freestone & Gibson, 2006). Creativity is not only
perceived conventionally as the process and personal traits in generating new idea
(Karlsson, 2011), but also how to utilise the culture and help it “grow” (Landry, 2000). In
this sense, creativity further catalyses the growth of culture and goes hand in hand with
culture.
The United Nations, for instance, recognises the deployment of the culture and creativity in
urban development by establishing the Creative Cities Network in 2004 (UNESCO, 2004).
This Network aims at “strengthening cooperation with and among cities that have recognised
creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development as regards economic, social,
cultural and environmental aspects” (p.1) and covers seven creative fields, Crafts and Folk
Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. One of the key objectives
is to integrate the culture and creativity in the local urban development plan. Similarly, in
the report of “The State of the World’s Cities 2004”, it encourages the redevelopment of urban
spaces in terms of the cultural asset through (i) growth of creative industries and (ii)
flagship projects and small-localised projects. Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 11
2.1.1. Growth of creative industries
World Exports of Creative Goods and Services 2002 and 2011
Visual Arts Publishing New Media Design Audio Visuals Art Crafts All Creative Goods 0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 300000 350000 400000 450000 500000 All Creative Audio Art Crafts Design New Media Publishing Visual Arts Goods Visuals 2011 454019 34209 492 301262 43744 43077 31127 2002 198240 17503 455 114694 17506 29908 15421 In Millions of US$
Figure 2.1 World Exports of Creative Goods and Services (Data Source: UNDP-UNESCO (2013))
Based on the data from the Creative Economy Report 2013 (UNDP-UNESCO, 2013), the
overall export of creative goods and services has been doubled same as visual arts, new
media and design (Figure 2.1). In the conventional definition, cultural industries usually
imply the arts-related industries while creative industries mean the new media, design,
creative services, etc. According to O’Connor (2010), the terminological difference between
cultural and creative industries implies the tensions between culture and economics
because of the market-oriented nature of the industries and the commodification of culture,
especially in the arts sector. It is a transgressive process from cultural industries to creative
industries (Garnham, 2005; Kong, 2014; O’Connor, 2010). This “creative turn” (Kong, 2014)
also implies the growing importance and contribution of creative goods and services. 12 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
Moreover, there are various models to differentiate cultural and creative industries by the
types of industries such as UK DCMS model, Symbolic texts model, concentric circles model
and WIPO copyright model (UNDP-UNCTAD, 2008). For the United Nations, the term
“creative industries” is used to classify both cultural and creative industries into four groups
(Figure 2.2): heritage, arts, media and functional creations as different countries adopts
different systems. For the sake of consistency and ease of terminological translation, the
term “creative industries” is adopted in this research.
Figure 2.2 Classification of Creative Industries (UNDP-UNCTAD, 2008) Meanwhile in the case of Hong Kong, the development of creative industries is presented as
an economic strategy in the Policy Address 2003 -2005 (HKSARG, 2003, 2004, 2005). The
cultural and creative industries sector has grown at the rate of 9.4% annually from 2005 to
2012 which is faster than the nominal GDP growth rate (5.6%) (HKSARG, 2014a). Though
it reveals the overall economic contribution of creative industries in Hong Kong (see also
Mok (2009)), there is insufficient knowledge about the contribution of specific creative
industry in Hong Kong such as arts industry. The HKSAR government has paid tremendous
effort in promoting arts and culture in the city since 1995 and established various creative Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 13
arts spaces in different districts. This research is mainly focused on the arts industry of Hong
Kong existed in the creative arts spaces.
2.1.2. Emergence of flagship projects and small-localised projects
As highlighted earlier, the flagship projects are a kind of cultural asset investment in order to redevelop the urban spaces. It includes building new cultural venue (e.g., the Guggenheim
Museum in Bilbao, Tate Modern in London and Esplanade in Singapore) or converting entire district as a cultural quarter (e.g. Rope Walks Quarter in Liverpool and West Kowloon
Cultural District in Hong Kong). For these flagship projects, it seems that most of the analysis focus on the economic return of the projects including the discussion about the boost of the cultural tourism (Richards & Wilson, 2007), the agglomeration of creative industries (Kong
& O'Connor, 2009), etc.
On the contrary, even though small-localised projects are another form of cultural asset, the discussions are still economic/strategic oriented rather than cultural oriented. Edensor
(2010) regards this kind of project as “spaces of vernacular creativity” and argues that these arts and creative practices can exist in different places such as the suburbs, not just in the city centre. In this research, these “spaces for vernacular creativity” by art practices are termed as creative arts spaces. Creative arts space refers to highly localised space which is provided for artists and cultural agents to work, to meet, to exchange ideas and to develop new creative forms. (Evans, 2009a; Zielke & Waibel, 2015). It has been the “birthplace” of new ideas and products. It can be a group of buildings or even a single building (O’Connor
& Gu, 2014) and serves the purpose of regeneration of community. Markusen (2010) criticises the power of the creative arts space has received less attention from the urban and cultural policy makers. In addition, the existing studies are uncritical in the sense that they did not consider the organisational or material aspect. If we perceive creative arts space as a cultural asset, what other messages can be conveyed through the analysis of those spaces. 14 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.2. Use of Culture and Creativity in the Urban Milieu
According to Baycan, Girard, & Nijkamp (2012, p. 4), city can be understood in four ways: (i)
as a focal point of arts and cultural infrastructure; (ii) as the action place of a creative
economy; (iii) as a synonymous with a strong creative class; (iv) as a place that foster a
culture of creativity. Nowadays, most of the urban development strategies stick with the
first one. The culture-led development which aims at establishing a culturally vibrant city
centre through buildings of arts and cultural infrastructures such as museum and world-
class theatre. Hence, it is important to investigate city development and planning process
through the arts and cultures (Markusen & Gadwa, 2010). Even though the economic
impacts of art and culture have been well understood, Markusen (2014) suggests that the
urban functions and meanings of arts and culture in various planning policies like cultural
district and dispersed cultural groups will be a challenging research question for the
researchers. The first step is to understand the roles of cultures in cities.
Culture acts as a “glue” to connect various aspects of the city (Freestone & Gibson, 2006).
Throsby (2001) identifies five key roles of cultures in development:
(1) providing new opportunities for poor communities; (2) catalysing local-level development; (3) conserving and generating revenues from existing cultural assets; (4) strengthening social capital; (5) diversifying strategies for human development and capacity-building.
The utilisation of creativity and culture in urban development can achieve various aims no
matter it is economic, socio-cultural. Therefore, the impacts of creativity and cultures need
to be explored one by one in order to reify the roles of culture in the city.
2.2.1. Economic Aspect – Culture as an economic simulator
The economic implications of arts and culture in urban development are well studied
(Andersson, Andersson, & Mellander, 2011; Florida, 2003b; Markusen, 2014; Scott, 2014, Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 15
2006). There are mainly three key impacts: the rise of creative industries, change of labour market and agglomeration. First, the rise of creative industries such as high technology industries, cultural industries is flourished due to the existence of revitalised industrial area were provides office space for these industries for example, City of London (Scott, 2006).
Sequentially, the emergence of creative industries gives rise to the creative class which refers to the professionals working in those industries (i.e. super-creative core, thought leadership and creative professionals2). According to Florida (2003b), there is an influx of skilled labours moving to the culturalised city centre as this group is attracted by the efficiency, vibratility, potential growth of the cities. In addition, there is an agglomeration of industries due to the close contacts with clients as well as competitors and enhancement of efficiency between firms which is also cost-effective (Florida, 2003a; Scott, 2006). Moreover,
Scott (2014) suggests that the agglomerations of the industries are not just local, but also going global which implies that the networks formed between firms are globalised which regarded as “cognitive-cultural capitalism3”.
It is undeniable that culture can provide new opportunities by facilitating the development of creative or cultural industries according to Throsby (2001). Culture acts as an economic simulator in city development. The flourishing cultural and creative industries are constituents of the global economy (Scott, 2014). Therefore, there is a surge of interest in investigating the inter-link between cultural clusters and economy. Bassett, Griffiths, &
Smith (2002) study the film-making industries in Bristol and reveal that the smaller cities
2 The super- creative core of this new class includes scientists and engineers, university professors, poets and novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers, and architects, as well as the "thought leadership" of modern society: nonfiction writers, editors, cultural figures, think-tank researchers, analysts, and other opinion-makers. Creative professionals work in a wide range of knowledge- intensive industries such as high-tech sectors, financial services, the legal and healthcare professions, and business management. (Florida, 2003a) 3 The characteristics of cognitive-cultural capitalism can be defined by (1) the new forces of production that reside in digital technologies of computing and communication; (2) the new divisions of labour that are appearing in the detailed organization of production and in related processes of social re-stratification, and (3) the intensifying role of mental and affective human assets (alternatively, cognition and culture) in the commodity production system at large’. (Scott, 2011) 16 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
can establish a self-sustaining cultural production which depends on the degree of
autonomy of local authority. Apart from the specific type of cultural industries, there is
research focused on the creative industries in general. For instance, Gu (2014) and Zheng &
Chan (2013) study the creative industries cluster in Shanghai. The former attempts to
evaluate whether the outcome of the clusters fit into the western cluster theories (Porter,
1998; Porter, 2000) and illustrate development-led approach bring a new perspective to
the urban cultural economy. The latter one identifies the problems associated with the
property-led creative industry cluster by unfolding the company network.
Besides, Kong (2009a) examines the arts sector in Singapore so as to add more nuanced
understanding of the cluster theory which is the importance of the uniqueness of specific
cultural activity and the spontaneity of the cluster. Nevertheless, the inter-links between
different actors in the industries and how the clusters affect the local community are rarely
discussed in the literature. Moreover, the new opportunities are seemingly not for the “non-
creative class”. Instead, those opportunities are for the “super-creative core” which coined
by Florida (2003a). The economic impacts of culture induce heavy social costs which will
be further explored in the following section.
2.2.2. Social Aspect – Culture as a medium of social interaction
The rise of creative class not just changes the labour market, but it also alters the bonding
of the community as the new creative class usually prefers “places with looser networks and
weak ties as it will be more open to newcomers and thus promote novel combinations of
resources and ideas” (Florida, 2003a, p. 6). Even though in conjunction with the view of
Jacobs (1961), Florida stresses on the role of community in urban development, Wilson &
Keil (2008) argue that there is a fallacy of what Florida proposed because it fails to achieve
“tolerance” in the society. There is a displacement of the locals, especially the poor as the
new cultural regenerated area is gentrified by the creative class and displaced the locals. A Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 17
similar view is also shared by Mathews (2014) and Scott (2014). Mathews (2014, p. 1019) research discerns that the culture-led redevelopment project such as Distillery District in
Canada makes “property values rise, the atmosphere shifts and the arts community is displaced” and leading to the social split between the creative class and the low-income class
(Scott, 2014).
In contrast, the culture in urban development can “foster a sense of imagined community among residents” as culture plays a critical role in celebrating the local by “uniting people in democratic ways in public spaces” (Chang, 2000, p. 820). Meanwhile, Kong (2009b) also argues that cultural spaces play an important role in sustaining social life as the spaces become an integral part of the community from the perspective of the artists. However, from the perspective of the residents nearby, the artists from the cultural spaces are the unknown outsiders. It implies that tensions do exist between the cultural groups and the locals.
According to the “circuit of culture” (du Gay, Hall, Janes, Mackay, & Negus, 1997), the social groups play an important role in both production and consumption processes. As consumers, the people are the key actor of utilising the culture no matter in which aspects.
Most importantly, culture becomes the “middleman” between people. For instance, the existence of museum provides a venue for the communities to gather. As producers, the community power produces communal arts space to establish their local characteristics.
The existence of different arts spaces influences the social interaction in both negative and positive ways depends on the type of the spaces. Therefore, whether it can strengthen the social capital is questionable.
2.2.3. Cultural Aspect – Culture as a maker of identity
There are several significances of culture in urban development. First, it helps bring locals into the world. Chang (2000) studies how the Singaporean government builds a “Global City for the Arts” (GCA) and reveals that the GCA can serve both global and local purposes. The 18 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
former one achieves the economic ends by attracting investment and tourists to the city
while the latter one with a socio-cultural end through bringing the local artists and talents
to the world.
To a certain extent, the globalisation of local culture brings pitfall which is the over-
commercialisation and homogenization of the local culture as “the hegemonic pressures of
the global market move forward in the absence of community deliberation and endogenously
agreed-upon cultural transformation” (Nadarajah & Yamamoto, 2007, p. 7). Nadarajah &
Yamamoto (2007) highlight it as one of the urban crisis in the 20th century and are sceptical
about the sustainability of the culture in the cities.
The second significance is that one of the keys for culture-led redevelopment is through
cultural heritage. According to various scholars’ definition o f culture (Chang, 2000; Kong,
2011; Landry, 2000; Markusen, 2006; Sacco, Ferilli, Blessi, & Nuccio, 2013a; Stevenson,
2014; Throsby, 2014), cultural heritage is concluded as a critical cultural asset and as “sum
of our past creativities and the results of creativity is what keeps society going and moving
forward” (Landry, 2000, p. 6). By imposing new uses and meanings in these “old buildings”
(Chang, 2014, p. 1), it can enhance the “cultural viability of landscapes, local identity and
sense of place” (Soini & Birkeland, 2014, p. 216).
The establishment of cultural infrastructures such as museum, theatre tries to keep the
histories, rituals, literature “fresh” so that they can be inherited by the future generation.
Thus, it can serve the functions as a lifeguard and revenues can be generated through
cultural tourism (Throsby, 2014). However, the intrusion of globalised culture hampers the
traditions and makes cities less culturally vibrant (Evans & Foord, 2006).
2.2.4. Strategic Aspect – Culture as a urban development strategy
Montgomery (2003) thinks that cultural quarter or creative space is a mechanism for urban
regeneration and it “tends to combine strategies for greater consumption of the arts and Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 19
culture with cultural production and urban placemaking”. It interests researchers not only because of the associated economic benefits, but also its “destiny’s side effects” (Stern &
Seifert, 2010, p. 263) such as the civic engagement and social organisation. For example,
Montgomery (2004) investigates the cultural quarters in the UK, Australia and Ireland respectively so as to testify what elements contribute to a “good fit” cultural quarters. As a result, three key elements are pinpointed: activity, built form and meaning. A good mix of activities with small and medium business and built form with high permeability are crucial in a good cultural cluster. Apart from the cross-countries comparison, there are also some place-specific case studies. For example, Hillier (2013) studies the use of heritage in
Margate, the UK as a key for placemaking. Mommaas (2004) remaps the cultural planning policy in the Netherlands. His research highlights that those cultural spaces can be problematic in the long run due to the divergence of interests and sentiments among different stakeholders. It shows the overgeneralised understanding of the development strategies in the city. In other words, the city is “copying” from each other without considering the local specificity. It seems that how the local specificity and local policy affect the formation of those spaces are waiting for further discussion.
Singapore as a post-colonial city-state, the government aimed at making it as a “global city of arts” by the year 2000 (Kong, 2000). It implies that the cultural policy in Singapore seems serving both economic and socio-cultural purposes. However, Kong (2000) argues that “the latter does not simply serve the former” due to the discrepancy between state policies and practitioner expectation. A similar argument has been upheld by Chang (2000), he tries to explore the conflict between the going-global and staying-local cultural infrastructures and concludes that there is a need to harmonise the world-class facilities with a local attribute such as the will of the local artists. Apart from the strategic analysis of cultural policies,
Chang (2014) carried out another study in Little India to investigate the notion of arts urbanisation through the Singapore’s Arts Housing Scheme. In this Scheme, the ethnic 20 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
precincts are converted into arts and creative belts. It creates an identity for the local
neighbourhood and generates a source of inspiration for the artists. He concludes that the
social-spatial dynamics within the neighbourhood should be further explored. Nevertheless,
Chang only focuses on the state-managed sites. Therefore, by investigating the partnership
form of creative arts space in Hong Kong can fill this gap empirically.
Stern & Seifert (2010) scrutinise the implications of the cultural clusters in Philadelphia
with the improvement of housing in the neighbourhood. Most of the studies conclude that
there are tensions existed between the policy intent and the outcome of the policies. For
instance, the heritage conservation project in Margate is over-commodified. Consequently,
the sensational experience generated from the project is lacking even though it brings
economic benefits to the district through the boost of tourism (Hillier, 2013). Besides, the
tension between the newly established culture (e.g. creative industries) and the old culture
(e.g. heritage) is another point to note and further investigate.
Melbourne Arts Precincts in Southbank (City of Melbourne, 2014, p. 6) is proposed in order
to provide “a lively, unique and specifically arts-focused environment”. Strategically speaking,
this kind of mega-project only can boost the local economy as well as cultural tourism.
However, O’Connor & Shaw (2014, p. 170) point out that the current discourse is no longer
just about the economic contribution of creative industries. Instead, it moves towards to the
discussion of “good city” by “recognising a ‘community’ as a value over and above the
maximisation of profit that limits can be set to the unfettered power of market capital”. The
linkage between cultural activity, community and city are the gap needs further
investigation. Khan (2013) studies the staff and artists at Multicultural Arts Victoria, which
is an organisation advocating for cultural diversity in forms of artistic activities. The
researcher investigates the role of community-based arts through the notion of cultural
capital and concludes that the strategies for community-based arts are not clear and often
complicated by the problems of ethnicity and economic interest. Also, the research Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 21
broadens Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital in the field of community-based arts as it concerns a range of cultural knowledge which is not considered by Bourdieu in his theory.
Different arts spaces represent the dialogue between culture and the city (Cartier, 2008).
This dialogue is exemplified through how those arts spaces interact with the people as well as the city. As mentioned by Lee (1997, p. 132), “we can describe a city, for example, as having a certain “cultural character”, a cultural character which clearly transcends the popular representations of the populations of certain cities say or that manifestly expressed by a city’s public and private institutions”. It implies that creative arts spaces may be the “arena” for the people to express their interpretation of the city’s urban changes through creative activities. In this research, by studying various creative arts spaces, we can understand the interaction between creative arts spaces and the city as an arena to demonstrate the dialogue between city and culture.
2.3. Contextualizing Creative Arts Spaces
The focus of this study is the creative arts space (CAS) which is highly localised space and provided for artists and cultural agents to work, to meet, to exchange ideas and to develop new creative forms (Evans, 2009a; Zielke & Waibel, 2014, 2015). In other words, those spaces are in the local community and mainly for visual arts. This part outlines the existing studies about the creative arts space and the type of creative arts After that, the relationship between the CAS and policies is discussed. Then the role of artists in creative arts spaces is unravelled, followed by an account of the empirical understanding of the CASs in Hong Kong.
2.3.1. Typology of Creative Arts Space
The existing discussion on the classification of creative arts space only concerns about the hard infrastructure such as facilitates, types of activities available and pays little attention to the soft infrastructure like “cultural ideas” (Keane, 2009), “reputation, repose and rentals” 22 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
(Kong, 2009a, p. 70). Besides, O’Connor & Gu (2014) argue that the definition should also
be able to apply to “small groups of buildings (even a single one) specifically created for
cultural consumption or production”(p. 5). Therefore, the small scale of development should
also be considered. It echoes with the claim coined by Montgomery (2013) that small-scale
development cannot be isolated “from geography and characteristics of urban places”(p.
341).
Arts spaces attract attention from the urban researchers and policymakers since the 1980s.
One of the most influential studies is by Sharon Zukin (1982) about loft living in Manhattan.
It investigates how the artists revitalise the Soho district by combining the working space
with the living space. Besides, the policymakers started to regenerate the former industrial
area by the establishment of the cultural facilitates (O’Connor & Gu, 2014), in Pittsburgh
and Lexington, MA (Florida, 2003b). From the 90s, the focus shifted from regeneration to
cultural/ creative industries. All these paradigm shifts in planning and city development
intrigue the researchers from different disciplines and canvass the relevant issues from
different perspectives through wide-range of case studies.
Mommaas (2004, p. 530) claims that “there is no clear tradition with an established
classification of possible strategic trajectories” due to the short history of the cultural
planning. However, some of the scholars attempt to categorise the arts spaces in their
research. For instance, Kong (2009b) identifies two types of arts spaces: state-initiated and
the organic in her case studies in Singapore and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Ponzini, Gugu, &
Oppio (2014) categorise different cultural districts in Northern Italy into a spontaneous or
planned one. These classifications reflect that how the arts space started is one of the main
concerns in the research. Furthermore, Gu (2014) categorises the arts spaces by the nature
of the buildings: (i) Historical industrial warehouse; (ii) Clustering of lifestyle cultural Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 23
consumption; (iii) Renovation of city’s iconic buildings. However, all these categorisations are over-simplified as the issues related to the arts space is much more complex.
The trend for building a culturally vibrant city triggers the existence of different arts spaces which represent different types of culture in the cities. Therefore, another classification of cultures can be by their scales, macro, meso and micro. The scale or size of the cultural form is another vital consideration when analysing their associated problems and challenges
(Chaney, 1994, 1983). Besides, this method also can combine with the categorisation method suggested by Mickov & Doyle (2013) because the forms of practices determine the scale of these spaces (Table 2.1).
Table 2.1 Classification of different arts spaces
Scale Marco Meso Micro
Cultural district/ Publicly- precinct, funded Mega-event, Heritage objects Cultural facilities Partnership (Theatres,
Museums) Creative industries (radio, publishing, Art galleries Show, Songs Commercial
film, music, design, workshops Practice crafts) Communal art space Traditional festival Home-made Streetlife Heritage objects Folk art, rituals, stories
In addition to the three practices defined by Mickov & Doyle (2013), the practice of forming a partnership in operating the cultural cluster. The above classification implies that the macro-scale publicly funded cultural forms are those which aimed at going-global (Chang,
2000; Luger & Ren, 2017) while micro-scale home-made ones are those highly localised within the communities (Mathews, 2014). The mesoscale ones seem to be something in the middle no matter which practices they belong to. In the real practice, all these cultural forms 24 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
are not mutually exclusive. Therefore, they can be extant in a city at the same time. However,
scholars pinpoint that there are tensions existed between all these forms, especially for the
publicly-funded one and a home-made one. As the former one usually seeks for an economic
end and “art not for the art’s sake”, the latter one tends to lead to a socio-cultural end (Chang,
2000; Mathews, 2014; Soini & Birkeland, 2014; Stevenson, 2014). In this research, the focus
is the small-localised projects.
2.3.2. Creative Arts Space and Policies
In responding to the emergence of various cultural projects, the policies and institutions
become the centre of the discussion. Regardless of the ultimate objectives of those projects,
the policies and institutions are the key agents in manipulating the use of arts and culture
in the city. Such manipulation is linked to urban policies. It also implies the evolution of the
role of culture in urban policies making. Its role transformed from being an element added
to the urban and cultural policies to a prominent aspect of planning and economic
development (refer to Freestone & Gibson (2006)). When Bianchini & Parkinson (1993)
discuss the role of cultural policies in remaking the European cities, it leads to the
emergence of various cultural-related spaces. They emphasise the importance of the
cultural planning 4 and urban cultural policies making. This advocate is responded by
various researchers (See Mercer (2006); Stevenson (2014); Young (2008)). In addition, the
focus of cultural planning is changing as well, from the civilising value of access to the arts
in the 40s-50s to changing the behaviours of individuals and communities in the 2000s. The
shift of the focus implies that the rising importance of culture at the local level. However,
Mercer (2006) argues that there is an uneasy coexistence or disconnection between the
urban and cultural policies especially at the local level. Therefore, the localised cultural
4 Mercer (2006) defines cultural planning as the strategic and integral planning and use of cultural resources in urban and community development. Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 25
projects are worth to investigate how the urban and cultural policies are (dis)connected across different urban scales.
Table 2.2 Four modes of urban and cultural policy, 1980-present Policy Objectives Approach Primary actors Mode • Support artistic • Arts grants • Arts excellence • Cultural facilities organisation Public • Enhance access to • Heritage • Federal, state, patronage the arts preservation and local • Promote national governments identity • Increase arts • Cultural facilities, • Arts funding events and urban organisations Economic • Arts in growth design in • Local impact of coalition redevelopment governments cultural • Attract city centre • Economic impact • Various amenities investment studies development interests • Community • Community • Arts development and cultural organisations participation engagement • Community • Support local • Integrate arts in organisations and Cultural cultural urban planning residents planning expression process • Local • Neighbourhood • Support governments economic neighbourhood development cultural projects
• Engage • Cultural • Cultural firms marginalised industries in and communities redevelopment intermediaries Cultural • Recognition of Rehab industrial Local industries cultural industries districts government beyond “the arts” • Study cultural • Redevelopment • Urban economic production and interests development agglomeration Source: Extracted from: Grodach (2017, p. 84)
Grodach (2017, p. 84) summarises four policy modes for urban cultural policies: public patronage, economic impact of cultural amenities, cultural planning and cultural industries
(Table 2.2). He states that “urban cultural policy has been on a steady path that positions arts and culture as a lure for consumption, property development, and knowledge industries. The 26 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
creative city policy field is the culmination of this path.” (p.89). The creative city policy is now
shifted to creative placemaking which focuses on the community-based creative activities.
However, due to the variation different cities and countries in terms of their definitions,
structures of the cultural economies, policies objectives, central-local relations, the different
forms of the creative arts spaces may have varied transformation processes and outcomes.
2.3.3. Creative Arts Space and the Artists
The creative arts space cannot exist without the artist. The artists are the major user of the
CASs. Identifying their roles in those spaces and the city is crucial in analysing the CASs.
Delgado (2008) coins that there is an artisticization of urban policies. It means that the arts
space is a “must-have” item in the urban policies. The role of artists triggered an intensive
discussion. Scholars argue that the role of the artists in the city and the creative arts space
are highly varied as it depends on the development stages5 of the arts space (Działek &
Murzyn-Kupisz, 2014). For instance, scholars argue that artists play a crucial role in
sustaining the cultural scene in the city with the existence of artists’ network in arts spaces
(Currid, 2007; Markusen & Johnson, 2006; Stern & Seifert, 2010).
Apart from sustaining the cultural scene, Zukin (1982) and Cole (1987) are the forerunners
in discussing the role of artists in the city. Cole (1987) argues that artists are the urban
pioneers who are willing to settle in the run-down areas and form a studio cluster. At the
same time, it changes the land use patterns of the surrounding. In other words, the artists
initiate gentrification. However, displacement takes place after the value of the land is
pushed high. As a result, the artists become the victim of this process. Meanwhile, this thesis
has been challenged by researchers.
5 Działek & Murzyn-Kupisz (2014) identifies four development stages of the artistic quarters: (i) Early stage – alternative and “off” arts scenes; (ii) Intermediate stage – Semi-mainstream with more permanent artist-run space; (iii) Mature stage – Mainstream arts scene and increasingly commercialized; (iv) Declining stage – Evening and night time economy. Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 27
Bain (2016, p. 4) observed that the artists were neither the gentrifier nor the victims because they undergo the neighbourhood artistic disaffiliation which means that “some artists may engage in as residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods”. This observation echoes with Courage (2017) that the artists in the neighbourhood can play an active role no matter in revitalising the community or creative placemaking as the “artists can tell powerful stories through their respective media – and help others do so.” (Borrup, 2013, p. 180).
Therefore, it is important to probe that artistic activism is one of the artists’ roles (Luger,
2017)6.
Based on the above discussion of the literature, it reveals that the discussion of the responses of the artist to the changes of CASs and its surrounding is lacking. If the artists are a powerful storyteller, how their responses varied in different settings of the creative arts space and different urban scenarios?
2.3.4. Creative Arts Space in Hong Kong
Hong Kong, as a former British colony and the present Special Administrative Region of
China under the principle of “one country two systems”, is an entrepôt between the world and China. Thus, Abbas (1997) claimed that the culture in Hong Kong had changed from
“reverse hallucination which sees only desert, to a culture of disappearance”. Hong Kong
Government paid less attention to the culture conservation and development as the development was focused on the free-market economy (Cartier, 2008). After the handover in 1997, the government started to realise the need to preserve the colonial history in Hong
Kong while they promoted the Chinese culture (HKSARG, 1997c). The Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) has the aspiration in promoting Hong Kong into an Asia World City by introducing “Brand Hong Kong” Program. This program tries to
6 Section 9.4.4 provides a brief discussion about how the artists respond to changes in CASs. A more detailed inquiry about artist activism or the role of the artists is beyond the scope of this dissertation and deserves a separate research effort. 28 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
brand Hong Kong as dynamic and culturally vibrant cosmopolitan (Chu, 2010; HKSARG,
2014c).
In echoing with the branding program, HKSARG also put culture as an urban regeneration
strategy. In Policy Address 2003, it kicks off a series of cultural infrastructure development
by creating new cultural spaces in different districts and proposes to develop arts and
culture in Hong Kong. There are different industries in those spaces. However, the arts
industry is the focus of this research as it is the key sector in which the HKSARG is putting
resources since 1995. These spaces facilitate the artists, designers, and art groups’ creativity.
For example, the artist cluster in Fotan industrial area is not initiated by the government
while Cattle Depot Artist Village is government-driven as one of the heritage revitalisation
projects (Development Bureau of HKSARG, 2012). The emergence of the creative arts space
in Hong Kong catches the attention of some scholars. Stevenson (2014) carried out a macro
analysis by comparing three Asian cities, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore and
investigated their hidden agenda behind the cultural policies.
For the case in Hong Kong, she claimed that “the colonial history of Hong Kong shaped a very
distinctive approach to cultural policy and the arts” (p.107) through examining the West
Kowloon Cultural District. The primary aim of her project was to “create an arts and cultural
district with world-class arts and cultural facilities, distinguished architecture and quality
programmes with must-visit appeal” (Stevenson, 2014, p. 107). The locality of constructing
property-led cultural infrastructure which is a “globally circulating formula” is questioned
because she argues that the project is the epiphenomenon of the tensions between the arts
and property development agenda as well as between the local and global. Likewise, Raco
& Gilliam (2012) examines the rationalities of urban politics in the culture-led development
program, the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) in Hong Kong shaped the urban
entrepreneurial and cultural interventions. Besides, it investigates the impacts of local Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 29
politics on governance and management of the project. It brings contentions on how the project should be delivered and how it ties with other cultural programs and facilities.
Consequently, the project has been delayed due to the long-winded debates. The first phase of the project which was originally scheduled to be completed in 2013 will not be accomplished until the end of 2015. One of the arguments is that “culture-led urban programmes can act as vehicles for global investment strategies, while at the same time playing broader roles in changing local political relations and shaping identities, cultural practices and governmentalities.” (p.1429). It happens especially in post-colonial cities and societies because the case represents the struggles of political and social circumstances in the long run. With the contemporary understanding of culture as a “static, narrowly defined entity”, the colonial history is reproduced and reflected (Raco & Gilliam, 2012, p. 1427).
Instead of adopting a macro perspective, there is research focused on creative arts space in
Hong Kong such as Fotan and Cattle Depot Artist Village (Kong, 2012, 2011; Kong et al., 2015) to investigate their social, cultural and economic sustainability with an ethnographical approach. For Fotan, she regarded it as “an unlikely arts cluster in an unlikely city” (Kong et al., 2015, p. 160) because of its organic development without any intervention from the government in an uninteresting suburb. With artist studios scattered in several industrial buildings, they are informally institutionalised into an organisation called “Fotanian” to organise their annual studio open day since 2001. Once they catch the attention of the public, they are facing the dilemma between economic viability and cultural sustainability. On the one hand, the popularity of the site brings rental hikes; on the other hand, the rental hikes affect the affordability of the tenants. Even so, Kong (2012; 2015) applauds this kind of organic development of creative arts space as it retains its independence and sense of community without any interventions from the authorities. However, how the informal institutionalisation such as “Fotanian” affects the spaces and how the spaces sit in Fotan historically and physically are not covered in her studies. 30 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
In contrast, the case of the Cattle Depot Artist Village, a government-owned creative arts
space, demonstrated fractured governance of culture and urban space because of its
overlapping responsibilities between different government departments and unclear
development direction (Kong et al., 2015). Although the tenants had a sense of pride in
occupying the space due to its heritage status, such heritage status created restrictions for
the artist such as the prohibition of photography and the types of activities taken place.
Meanwhile, the tenants faced an uncertain future of the space because the government was
no longer accepting long-term lease anymore. This uncertainty discouraged the internal
interactions among the tenants. Some of the tenants formed a group to negotiate with the
government regarding the management issues. This kind of reaction gave the tenants a
sense of purpose in the site (Kong, 2011). This case illustrates the dynamics between the
government and the tenants, but the local development strategy has been ignored in the
study. According to the “Research on Future Development of Artist Village in Cattle Depot”
initiated by Development Bureau, HKSARG (2009b), the development of the Artist Village
needs to be compatible with the redevelopment program in the district. Therefore, under
the pressure of redevelopment in the surrounding area, it implies that the Artist Village has
a complex relationship with the district and the city. That is one of the gaps to be addressed
in this research.
Cartier (2008, p. 74) suggests that these creative arts spaces are important sites for creating
“dialogue on culture and the city”. However, there is insufficient analysis of the relationship
between those creative arts spaces and city. Besides, will the colonial history also pose an
impact on the formation of these localised arts spaces like the West Kowloon Cultural
District? In addition, Raco & Gilliam (2012) called for a more local sensitive mode of inquiry
in examining the connection between the formation of those cultural programs and history
because the “macro” perspective always underplays the specific local circumstances and
contexts. In this sense, the situations at different urban scales should be considered. Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 31
Also, the study only focuses on two types of creative arts spaces, government-owned and privately-owned. The one in partnership (e.g. Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre) is missing.
Cartier (2008) had a few lines of comments about the management mode of the JCCAC and stated that the JCCAC marked an important breakthrough in the partnership between the public sector and the not-for-profit sector. This comment indicates this kind of partnership is worth noting in terms of their formation and embodiment in the city.
The existing research related to creative arts spaces or creative spaces in Hong Kong mostly focused either on the large cultural flagship projects or the strategic aspect of the CASs. For instance, Tsang & Siu (2016) formulate a model to maintain the sustainability of the creative cluster. Three aspects of sustainability for the creative cluster are defined in the model: cluster, community and creativity. There is insufficient understanding of the overall picture of the CASs by mingling the various urban scale, especially the districts where those spaces are sited.
2.4. Gaps of Knowledge
After reviewing various literature, there are several knowledge gaps identified. First, the existing knowledge about the creative arts spaces leans on the economic/ strategic analysis.
Culture and creativity lead to a new urban development pathway. This advocate is made mostly based on the economic/ strategic perspective. Analysis of how the creative arts spaces are embedded and interacted with the host city has important policy implications but is rarely discussed. For instance, there is little understanding in literature about how the institutional interventions shape and reshape the CASs and how the CASs respond to those interventions. 32 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
The second gap is the insufficient understanding of the localised creative arts space and city.
Most of the analyses are quite optimistic by concluding that the positive impacts of the
insertion of culture and creativity in the urban development and the reshaping of the urban
landscape, especially for flagship projects. However, other empirical evidence is needed to
validate such a claim. The localised creative arts spaces are always overlooked by the
researchers or policymakers. Therefore, in this research, instead of focusing on the flagship
projects, it focuses on the local creative arts spaces to confirm such claim by scrutinising the
embedment of the creative arts spaces in different urban scales.
Thirdly, the focus of the existing research is the outcomes or the best practices of those
projects. For example, Tsang and Siu (2016) investigated the elements contributed to a
sustainable creative space in Hong Kong. However, some scholars stated that there is no
best practice for the CASs as they vary due to their localities (Evan, 2009; Ponzini et al, 2014).
Therefore, it is important to examine the processes/ procedure so as to understand the
transformation of the CAS and its interaction with the host city. In addition, the details on
how the creative arts spaces respond to the urban and policies changes in various urban
scales are lacking. Thus, this research establishes a holistic analytical framework to focus
on the institutional and historical changes at the site, district and city levels.
Furthermore, an analysis of the creative arts space under a partnership between the
government and not-for-profit organisation is needed because Pratt & Hutton (2013)
suggest that the not-for-profit sector is less explored. In addition, there is a lack of literature
in comparing diverse types of creative arts spaces on how they are differentially constructed
and operated. Hence, this research adopts a multiple-case approach in comparing the
similarities and differences between several types of creative arts spaces. In addressing the Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 33
above knowledge gaps, a theoretical lens will be developed and deployed in this research which will be introduced in the next chapter. The notion of cultural capital is revised and utilised as a lens to probe how the creative arts spaces physically, historically and institutionally link to the city. 34 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter presents a framework as a lens to investigate the creative arts space in a
systematic and holistic way. The framework is derived from the notion of cultural capital.
The notion of cultural capital is coined by Bourdieu (1986). Its definition and application
are elaborated in this chapter in order to develop the analytical framework. However, as the
objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between CASs and the host city
by deploying a holistic and systematic analytical framework, the concept is redefined after
reviewing various literature related to cultural capital. The importance of the cultural
capital and how it relevant to this research will be discussed in the first part. The second
part is a literature review of the concept and how it has been utilised in various fields of
research. At last, the research framework will be formulated and defined by putting the
creative arts spaces into the lens of cultural capital.
3.1. Cultural Capital as a lens for analysis
The growing importance of the cultural capital in the urban milieu due to the
instrumentalisation of culture and creativity in cities is the major rationale for choosing the
concept of cultural capital as a lens for analysis. The instrumentalisation of the culture and
creativity leads to the emergence of various forms of the cultural capitals including cultural
projects, ranging from cultural district to creative arts spaces. The cities are taking
advantage of those cultural capitals to fulfil their development agendas and cultural
consumption (Grodach, Foster, & Murdoch, 2016). The proliferation of cultural capital
accumulation leads to the reshaping of the urban landscapes (Kong, 2007; Kong et al., 2015).
As a sociological concept, cultural capital is perceived in three forms: embodied, objectified
and institutionalised (Bourdieu, 1986, pp. 17-18). However, in the realm of planning,
cultural capital is regarded “as a means of conceptualising resources which are used, stored, Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 35
traded and exchanged through policy decisions, development and regulation” (Parker & Doak,
2012, p. 12). The cultural economist, Throsby (2001, p. 46) confers that cultural capital is
“an asset which embodies, stores or provides cultural value in addition to whatever economic value it may possess”. He adds that it is not just resources, but also system and network. The system and network define and link their operation which is similar to an ecosystem
/biodiversity (Throsby, 1999). It implies that the formation and operation of cultural capital is a complex process. It can be contextualised by the deployment of the concept in the analysis.
This research deploys the notion of cultural capital as a lens to analyse the physical siting, historical transformation and institutionalisation of the creative arts spaces in Hong Kong
(Figure 3.1). Three sites in Hong Kong with various management modes (i.e. government- owned, privately-owned and partnership) are chosen as the case studies to compare their responses to the historical and institutional changes as well as their physical sitings.
Through this lens, we can understand the functional roles, historical influence as well as the institutional implication of the CASs. In other words, the historical development of districts and the city acts as a backdrop for the formation and transformation of the CASs. It can then offer a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the CASs and the city. 36 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
Figure 3.1 Conceptual Framework
3.2. Conceptualizing Cultural Capital
This section is aimed at conceptualizing the notion of cultural capital by refining its
definition accordingly to research aims and formulate an analytical framework. The notion
of cultural capital is emerged from the “forms of capitals” by Bourdieu (1986) to illustrate
the social inequalities in education attainment. He identifies three types of capitals in the
social world, economic, social and cultural. In his research, he stresses the convertibility and
transmissibility of the capitals. In other words, one type of capitals can be converted into
another type for the dominant class to maintain their position through social reproduction.
“Capital, which, in its objectified or embodied forms, takes times to accumulate and which, as a potential capacity to produce profits and to reproduce itself in identical or expanded form, contains a tendency to persist in its being, is a force inscribed in the objectivity of things so that everything is not equally possible or impossible.” (Bourdieu, 1986, p. 15).
For cultural capital, it can exist in three dimensions: embodied, objectified and
institutionalised. Embodied dimension means “long-lasting dispositions of the mind and body” Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 37
and cannot be transferred immediately from one person to the other. Also, it is a crucial part of forming habitus7 which is another “signature concept” by Bourdieu (Goldthorpe, 2007).
The second dimension is the objectified one and can be turned into economic capitals and with monetary values. It “presents itself with all the appearances of an autonomous, coherent universe” (Bourdieu, 1986, p. 20). However, it lies in the “capacity to choose and consume” instead of ownership (Dovey, 2009, p. 97). We can buy the objectified one but not its capacity. The last dimension is institutionalised one which is a form of objectification with legally guaranteed recognition.
Bourdieu’s contribution to putting culture into the centre of the research focus is similar to the research focus of urban studies in recent decades. For instance, a cultural economist,
David Throsby (2001, 1997), discusses the conceptual relationship between culture and sustainability. Cultural capital is defined as “an asset that embodies, stores or gives rise to cultural value independently of whatever economic value it may possess” (Throsby, 2011, p.
143). It can be categorised into tangible and intangible one. Tangible cultural capital exists as a form of artwork or artefact such as paintings, building whereas the intangible one means “the artworks exist in their pure form as public goods…and constitute the culture of a group, whether the group is defined in national, regional, religious, political, ethnic or other terms” (Throsby, 2011, p. 143). His interpretation of tangible cultural capital is similar to
Bourdieu’s interpretation of objectified cultural capital as they both emphasise the transferability from a cultural capital to economic capital. The delineation of intangible cultural capital is a bit broad, but it still gives a sense of distinguishing a group of people from another group through their “public good”. Besides, there are four types of cultural capital investments in the urban context: i) single structure or site ii) restoration of the
7 The notion of habitus is the socially constructed set of dispositions which includes practical classification and hierarchies embodied in daily life which determines people’s practices and experiences (Bourdieu, 1990; Dovey, 2009; Goldthorpe, 2007). 38 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
district or historic town centre iii) investment in cultural industries iv) urban revitalization
for social cohesion and identity (Throsby, 2014). He discusses the issues in carrying out an
economic assessment of those investments. He concurs that the notion of cultural capital
can lead to a rigorous framework for analysis, whilst the assessments should be moving
beyond the cost-benefit based. Rather, it should be a multi-dimensional one. The urban
heritage investment project, for instance, has a strong subjective component in terms of the
cultural value assessment. Thus, he suggests a team-based approach to collect views from a
range of experts. For economic assessment, it should be incorporated into planning
procedures and “adopt a systems approach to representing and analysing the urban complex”
(Throsby, 2014, p. 94) in order to be apt the multi-layered urban systems which change
over time. Hence, the time factor and various layers of the urban systems should be
considered in the analysis. In this research, various urban scales (i.e. city, district and site)
are considered in analysing the creative arts spaces.
Furthermore, Kearns & Philo (1993) view the city as cultural capital and attempt to
scrutinise how cities create capital gains from their cultural-historical contexts and discuss
the importance of urban culture as capital in city-making. They address the physical
structures in a place as a constituent in making the local history and culture. The physical
structures such as buildings, streets embed in the neighbourhoods as well as people’s daily
lives. However, the functions of those structures change over time, and such changes reflect
how the city adopt their local history and culture. Therefore, by tracing the historical
changes of the district and city, we can identify how the creative arts space as a physical
structure embeds in the district and city over time.
Therefore, Johnson (2009) attempts to analyse various interpretations of culture in
different disciplines, including cultural studies, cultural geography, economics and tourism
studies and establish an analytical framework for revaluing the role of arts and culture in Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 39
urban regeneration. Johnson (2006) argues that the development of urban culture was similar to Bourdieu’s argument as “artistic production and valuing within specific social and spatial orders which in turn are infused with differential class power.” She compares the value of arts in Bilbao-Glasgow-Singapore-Geelong by using the framework derives from
Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital. The following table illustrates the framework extracted from Johnson’s book titled “Cultural Capitals: Revaluing the Arts, Remaking Urban
Space” (Johnson, 2009, p. 54). It provides a broad framework (Table 3.1) to understand how cultural capitals convert from one form to another.
Table 3.1 Framework for analysing cultural capital
Dimensions Embodied Objectified Institutionalised
“Abilities, talents, styles, Cultural good or language, values, services can be “Structures that can creative labour or Johnson’s “consumed and enhance an individual or images of people in a definition transferred into texts to group’s social or economic group…. may be a derive various positions” (Johnson, 2009, member of the core meanings” (Johnson, p. 53) creative class.” 2009, p. 52) (Johnson, 2009, p. 52)
Individual artist/ Individual artworks Policy framework performer/art maker Education/ training (mostly crew Funding support assistants) Art market Audience-- present and virtual Galleries and other spaces
Groups of artists/ Collective artworks -- Policy framework performers/art theatre, film, gallery Education/ training Details makers Museum, park Funding support Art market Audience-- present and virtual
Designers, planners, Heritage buildings or As above + Arts precinct heritage experts precincts Cultural industries Galleries and Theatres
Organisers and festival Festival or Event As above + Space in which participants event occurs Source: Extracted from Johnson, 2009, p. 54 40 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
Although her research shows the feasibility of applying the concept of cultural capital in the
analysis of creative arts space, it only provides an overall analysis in each city without
addressing how a particular creative arts space contributes to the overall urban settings and
not locally sensitive. As mentioned before, one of the characteristics of creative arts spaces
is highly-localised. The re-valuation should consider the local history. In her research, she
only included the analysis of the historical information at the city level to elucidate why each
of them adopts a particular approach of cultural and urban strategies, but not specifically
on a particular neighbourhood or site. For example, it explained the existence of the cultural
districts such as Chinatown and Little India by introducing the colonial history in Singapore.
It indicated how the policy makers manipulate the history and lead to the change of the
urban landscape. Her discussion was parallel to the view of Kearns & Philo (1993) that local
history was the key ingredient in making the city as a cultural capital. Stevenson & Magee
(2017) analyse artistic consumption pattern in Sydney by highlighting the social and spatial
concentration. They suggest that the investment in community arts venues and facilities
should be enhanced. However, the responses or adaptation of the specific creative arts
spaces and the neighbourhood nearby are overlooked.
Bridge (2006a, 2006b) explore the relationship between the deployment of cultural capital
and neighbourhoods by examining gentrification in Bristol and Sydney. He compares
different interpretations of cultural capital. Florida (2003b) and Landry, Greene, Matarasso,
& Bianchini (1996) view cultural capital as a summation of creative assets in the city. Bridge
argues that cultural capital is not a “homogeneous asset” of which the processes “cannot be
captured by some static audit of cultural resources within a neighbourhood” (Bridge, 2006b,
p. 728). Rather, he proposes to trace the dynamics of three dimensions of cultural capital
which proposed by Bourdieu (1986) at various temporal and spatial scales. To address the
deficiencies mentioned above, the following section attempts to redefine the notion of
cultural capital. Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 41
3.3. Creative Arts Space in the lens of Cultural Capital
Table 3.2 Revised definition of Cultural Capital and Details of the Analytical Framework Revised Historical Physical Siting Institutionalisation Dimensions Transformation Creative arts space is Creative arts space is a Creative arts space is a Revised a part of the physical part of historical part of policies and Definition network in the city. processes. institutions. City-level: City-level: City-level: Physical Siting in the Historical Planning Policies overall creative arts development of the Cultural Policies spaces within city city - Colonial history - Economic - Political - Social District-level: District-level: District-level: Analytical Physical Siting in the Historical Local development Framework district (in terms of development of the strategies the surrounding land district uses and cultural landscape) Site-level: Site-level: Site-level: Physical Siting in the Formation and Regulations or codes site (in terms of the temporal changes of of conduct in the activities within site) creative arts space creative arts space physically and representationally
In the realm of planning, cultural capital can be regarded “as a means of conceptualising resources which are used, stored, traded and exchanged through policy decisions, development and regulation” (Parker & Doak, 2012, p. 12). Thus, this research aims at scrutinising the relationship between creative arts spaces and city through the lens of cultural capital when the creative arts space is perceived as physical space in the city. The definition of cultural capital in this research is redefined based on the literature reviewed above. The three dimensions of cultural capital are renamed for delineating different aspects of relationships between creative arts spaces and city. (Table 3.2)
42 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
Embodied Cultural Capital – Physical Siting
Undeniably, the embodied cultural capital is the most prominent dimension as “most of the
properties of cultural capital can be deduced from the fact that, in its fundamental state, it is
linked to the body and presupposes embodiment” (Bourdieu, 1986, pp. 17-18). However,
Throsby (2001) argues that Bourdieu’s interpretation is only in line with individuals. He
suggests that this understanding is not completed to reflect the reality of the society as a
whole. Nevertheless, there is an overlap between Bourdieu and Throsby. The networks of
support in terms of cultural resource circulation are one of the emphases in Bourdieu’s
thesis (Bourdieu, 1986; Bridge, 2006b). This thesis is similar to Throsby‘s argument that
“intangible cultural capital also exists in the cultural networks and relationships that support
human activity and in a variety of cultural manifestations within communities” (Throsby,
2011, p. 143). The network is seeming to be the core element in cultural capital, and the
network is established through the process of “embodiment, incorporation and accumulation”
(Bourdieu, 1986, p. 18).
In the context of this research, creative arts space is a part of the networks within the city,
district and site with the processes of the embodiment8, incorporation and accumulation.
Coe (2000) suggests that the networks are embedded and constructed at different spatial
scales. Within the city, it means the physical siting of the creative arts space in the overall
creative arts spaces network. Within the district, it implies the physical siting in the district
in terms of the land use distribution and cultural landscape in the district. In this sense, it is
about the physical embedment of the creative arts space in the district. Within site, it is
about the social relationship between the tenants as well as the utilisation of the spaces by
8 Coe (2000) differentiates the notion of “embeddedness” and “embodiment” by explaining how inter-personal networks trigger economic processes in film industry. He argues that Bourdieu uses the term “embodiment” referring the process at organization level. In contrast, the term “embeddedness” stands for similar process at individual level. Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 43
holding various activities. It is believed that the material realities are embedded in a small group of individuals as well as their interpersonal network (Coe, 2000).
Objectified Cultural Capital – Historical Transformation
Bourdieu and Throsby perceive objectified or tangible (in Throsby’s term) cultural capital as the cultural good and services which are the result of the transformation of embodied cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986; Johnson, 2009; Throsby, 2001). Such interpretation seems to favour the anthropocentric view, but ignores how the cultural capital is formed and changed over time. Bridge (2006b) proposes that researchers should trace the time and space deployment of each dimension of cultural capital in order to depict the overall picture of the relationship between the urban spaces and urban development. Hence, this research will interpret objectified cultural capital as a part of historical processes. By tracing the historical development of the creative arts spaces, the district, and the city, it can answer the question how those creative arts spaces emerged and how the historical development of the district and city acting as a backdrop in shaping those spaces. In addition, the changes in the representation of the creative arts spaces are examined as it also reflects the historical transformation of the spaces.
Institutionalised Cultural Capital- Institutionalisation
Instead of defining institutionalised cultural capital as credentials and qualifications which symbolise cultural competence and authority, it is viewed as a part of policies and institutions. In the analytical framework proposed by Johnson (2009) (Table 3.1), she defines the institutionalised cultural capital “in which embodied and objectified cultural capital is directed into structures that can enhance an individual or group’s social or economic position” (p.53). She covers an eclectic range of institutional interventions for arts industry such as policy, art market, and funding support. In this research, a narrower definition will be adopted so as to delineate the scope of this research. Policies and institutions refer to the 44 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
planning and cultural policies at city level while it means local development strategies
within the districts. The last interpretation will be the regulations or codes of conducts
within the sites. Understanding creative arts spaces as a part of policies and institution can
explain why and scrutinise how those spaces respond to the changes of these policies and
strategies at different urban scales.
In the next section, it is going to review the existing research related to creative arts spaces
to develop the analytical framework in more details.
3.3.1. Physical Siting of Creative Arts Space
As defined in the previous part, creative arts space is a part of the physical networks within
various urban scales. In other words, this research attempts to investigate how the creative
arts spaces embody in and connect with different urban levels. Networks, according to
Castells (2009), “constitute the new social morphology” (p.500). This “new social morphology”
is not only constituted by the virtual networks, but also physical/ infrastructural (Karlsson,
2011). The conventional discussion about the network in a creative field is related to the
agglomeration of the creative industries, and it contributes to a global economic discussion.
The agglomeration of industries is due to the close contacts with clients as well as
competitors and enhancement of efficiency between firms which is also cost-effective
(Florida, 2003a; Scott, 2006). Moreover, Scott (2014) suggests that the agglomerations of
the industries are not just local, but also going global which implies that the networks
formed between firms are globalised which regarded as “cognitive-cultural capitalism” 9.
9 The characteristics of cognitive-cultural capitalism can be defined by (1) the new forces of production that reside in digital technologies of computing and communication; (2) the new divisions of labour that are appearing in the detailed organization of production and in related processes of social re-stratification, and (3) the intensifying role of mental and affective human assets (alternatively, cognition and culture) in the commodity production system at large’. (Scott, 2011) Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 45
Apart from the global network of creative practices, at city and district level, it involves both virtual and physical networks. Karlsson (2011) indicated that
“Urban milieus offer many opportunities for strategic network involvement, whether or virtual. Large and dense urban milieus appear to offer fruitful conditions for network behaviour, because of benefits from density, suitable communication modes, and associative cultures. Such milieu – with an abundance of formal and informal contacts –may offer a protective shell for creative activities.” (p.92)
The physical network entails the connections between different creative arts spaces in the city. The physical network is not just about the distribution of the creative arts spaces in the city and district, but also about whether there is cooperation among those spaces to boost the creative practices in the city and the district. Some of the creative arts spaces may be independent of these networks. The virtual networks mean the connection within a particular creative industry in the city as well as the interactions between the spaces and the neighbourhood. All these networks can be either formal or informal, but some studies show that it may not offer a “protective shell for creative practices”, especially for the virtual network between the spaces and the neighbourhood. The existence of the creative arts spaces may not be welcomed by the locals. Creative arts spaces can “foster a sense of imagined community among residents” (Chang, 2000, p. 820). However, Kong (2012) argues that from the perspective of the residents nearby, the artists from the creative arts spaces are the unknown outsiders as shown in the case of Telok Kurau Studios. It implies that tensions do exist between space and the residents. Furthermore, Mathews (2014, p. 1019) discerns that the culture-led redevelopment project such as the Distillery District in Canada makes “property values rise, the atmosphere shifts and the arts community is displaced” and leading to the social split between the community and the artists in the creative arts spaces
(Scott, 2014).
For the network within the industry, Bassett et al. (2002) and Kong (2005) studied the film industries in Bristol and Hong Kong respectively. Both derived a similar conclusion that 46 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
local policy initiatives were crucial to sustain the network within the industries because
those initiatives helped alleviate the funding and physical infrastructures problems.
Moreover, Kong (2005) added that the local policy initiatives often impoverish the networks
among the industry practitioners as the social network was beyond the control of the
policies and being ignored by the policymakers.
For the network among the industry practitioners, it is termed as a social relationship which
includes personal contacts, tacit knowledge and trust relationship (Karlsson, 2011; Kong,
2009a). The personal contacts facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge, and it is a vital input
to creative processes. For instance, the artists in the large cities of Canada, Toronto,
Montreal and Vancouver, come close to each other to seize the opportunities for learning
from their peers and exchange of ideas (Ley, 2003). The transfer and learning processes rely
on frequently face-to-face contact among the artists. The artists in those spaces are forming
communities which are the “repositories of an accumulated cultural capital that is one of the
defining factors of the creative field” (Scott, 1999, p. 809). As a result, the frequent
interactions lead to the formation of trust relationship (Bassett et al., 2002) with “mutual
narrative and emotional disclosure” (Banks, Lovatt, O’Connor, & Raffo, 2000, p. 457). Besides,
if the artists have close personal contact, they will offer “common interpretative context
based on artistic visions, values and memories, which exist in the form of artefacts, routines
and experiences” (Karlsson, 2011, p. 96).
The existing discussion seems to lean on the virtual networks from the global production
network (see for example, Pratt (2008), Scott (2014)) to social networks within a particular
creative industry (see also Wang (2010), Zheng & Chan (2013)). Borrup (2017, p. 46) claims
that the reason for the disconnection between the arts and planning policies is the “lack of
understanding of the various cultures and ways of life within a city result in policy choices and
physical development patterns”. It reinforces that the investigation on the physical siting is Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 47
insufficient. Therefore, this research only focuses on the physical networks of the creative arts spaces at different levels of interests. The unresolved question is whether these physical networks can establish a “protective shell” in fostering the creative practices. If so, in what way they are interdependent? By collecting the distribution of the creative arts spaces and the cooperation among those spaces through events and programs, the question can be answered.
3.3.2. Historical Transformation of Creative Arts Space
Lee (1997) confers the importance of the specificity of a location by arguing that specificity of a location is the “cumulative product of the collective and sedimented history of that location” and location “represents the historically constituted embodiment of particular social meanings, values and attitudes” (p.127). It should be conceived as a dynamic instead of a social component. In this sense, the historical development of a place not just provides a backdrop, but also triggers the formation and reformation of a place (town, city, region, and nation). In addition, Hutton (2015, p. 232) discusses that “the spatial complexity is shaped by the confluence of historical trajectories of urban economic development, by the intimate commingling of social and economic worlds in the cultural economy, and by the daunting array of contemporary pressures on both the industrial and residential elements of the city”.
Therefore, the socio-economic situation should be taken into account in analysing the CASs.
It also responses to Massey (1994, p. 138) mentioned “(Localities) will be defined in terms of the sets of social relations or processes in question. Crucially, too, they are about interaction.
Such interaction, moreover, is likely to include conflict. Localities contain difference and conflict. They may not be related in any immediate way in terms of social relations a-spatially”.
Furthermore, Kong (2012) addresses the importance of “genesis” which means how space is formed. She uses Fotan Arts Studio Cluster in an industrial district of Hong Kong as a case study. Such space emerged due to some key events happened in Hong Kong during the 90s 48 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
and 00s such as the decline of the industrial sector and the outbreak of the SARS (Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome). These events triggered the decrease in rent, and it becomes
one of the pull factors in attracting the artists to move in. However, when we consider the
overall development history in the district, Fotan is planned to be a light industrial area
together with the new town development in Shatin to provide job opportunities for the
residents in the new town (Hills & Yeh, 1989). Consequently, it shaped the development
pathway and physical space in Fotan. It is in contrast with Johnson’s argument that the post-
colonial nation/economy/ community building agenda is a prescription for the creative arts
in the city.
Johnson (2009)’s research adopts the lens of post-colonialism 10 to investigate how the
colonial history and post-independence reality relates to the artistic creations in its public
arts, performances and heritage precincts of Singapore. Singapore is not open and tolerant
enough to be an international creative arts centre. Forum Theatre, for instance, is under
strict censorship and oppression that they have to provide a synopsis to the government for
a license application. Nonetheless, the performances in the theatre are script-less.
Government’s anxiety about performing arts is from their post-colonial agenda of social
stability through wealth creation and maintenance of political dominance of its
authoritarian government.
For the case of Hong Kong, where is a post-colonial city under “One-country, Two-systems”,
will colonial history become a prescription for creative arts spaces in Hong Kong? By
regarding creative arts space as a physical space, this research attempts to exploring how
creative arts space is formed and changed over time. It is not only tracing the formation of
10 Post-colonialism is a “dispersed set of discourses which negotiate the ideological social and material structures of power established under colonialism” and “places are emerging from the colonial experience not only have imprinted on their landscapes and societies this legacy”. (Johnson, 2009, p. 188) Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 49
the spaces, but also capturing the historical evolution of space in responding to the historical development within the district and city.
In addition to cultural capital, the concept of symbolic capital is closely related to the cultural capital as it reflects the “legitimate symbolic representation” (Smart, 1993, p. 393).
Symbolic capital is often the only legitimate way to accumulate resources, but these symbolic resources can themselves be utilised for economic gain. It implies that the possession of cultural capital can be transformed into a symbolic capital which provides a sense of pride or identity to a particular group of people. In the context of urban studies,
Zukin & Braslow (2011) argue that the existence of creative arts spaces, no matter if it is planned or unplanned, they always become a reputed place at least within the arts field.
Therefore, space itself is not only functioned as a cultural capital, but also a symbolic capital in the field. In other words, the symbolic meanings of the spaces can be changed and unstable as “there is no single, unchanging, universal 'true meaning’. The sign is totally subject to history and the combination at the particular moment of a given signifier and signified is a contingent result of historical process.” (Culler, 1976, p. 76). Those meanings are reflected in the changes in the representation of space. (Agnew, 1993; Hall, 1997b). Hence, we should also investigate the changes in the representation of the CAS when we refabricate the historical transformation of the CASs across the urban scales.
3.3.3. Institutionalisation of Creative Arts Space
Institutionalisation of creative arts space appears in three ways: (i) external: institutionalisation through policies and/or government intervention.; (ii) internal institutionalisation among the artists and/or regulations within the site; and (iii) management of the site. When Mommaas (2004) remaps the urban cultural policy in the
Netherlands, he pinpoints that the existing analysis on the policy-side of the culture/ creative program is overgeneralised due to the highly complex policy field. Therefore, this 50 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
research considers analysing the creative arts space from a multi-scale perspective to
capture the whole picture of the complex reality in Hong Kong.
According to Montgomery (2003), creative arts space is a mechanism for urban
regeneration and it “tends to combine strategies for greater consumption of the arts and
culture with cultural production and urban placemaking” (p. 293). It interests researchers
not only because of the associated economic benefits, but also its “destiny’s side effects”
(Stern & Seifert, 2010, p. 263) such as the civic engagement and social organisation. There
is a large volume of studies describing how culture is instrumentalised as an urban
development strategy or urban planning tool in the city. The culture-led development
projects usually integrate with the global city aspiration of the urban policymakers. Evans
(2003) criticises hard branding of the city by perceiving it as “the pre-eminent and strategic
site for collective conspicuous consumption and celebration” (p.436) is a fallacy. The projects
can successfully attract visitors from all over the world. Tate Modern Gallery in London, for
example, had over 5 million visitors in the first year. Associating urban consumption with
revitalised heritage sites, or industrial structures engender some new issues such as
commodification and privatisation of public space. As a result, space for community cultural
activity and amenity shrinks.
Similarly, Sacco, Ferilli, & Blessi (2013) also argue the fallacy of the instrumentalism
approach in culture-led development as it threatens local development potential. The
policymakers have an instrumentalist attitude towards culture: “Culture matters insofar as
it attracts resources and talents, not in or by itself” (Sacco, Ferilli, & Blessi, 2013, p. 2811).
This view leads to an overemphasis on the direct and indirect economic impacts of the
development without facilitating the actual local participation and fastens the social split at
the city level. The research at the neighbourhood level also concludes that there are tensions
existed between the policy intent and the outcome of the policies. For example, Hillier (2013) Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 51
studies the use of heritage in Margate, the UK as a key for placemaking. This heritage conservation project in Margate is over-commodified. Consequently, the sensational experience generated from the project is lacking even though it brings economic benefits to the district through the boost of tourism (Hillier, 2013). The integrations of cultural and urban policies at both city and district level seem unbalanced due to an overemphasis on the economic goal instead of the socio-cultural goals. Besides, Pratt (2011) suggests that
“local conditions require of policymakers a more inventive, or creative, response based upon hard evidence rather than hope and rhetoric” (p.211). It implies that when we view creative arts spaces as a part of policy or institution in the city, there is no universal formula for those projects. The flexibility and sensitivity to the local situation are crucial in the policymaking.
On the contrary, Ponzini (2009) shows the integration of cultural and urban policies through the case of the Mount Vernon Cultural District in Baltimore. In the case study, it shows that the cooperation between the public-private-non-profit organisations in the cultural project can foster the integration between cultural and urban policies because of the existence of common interest or goal. Those organisations in the Mount Vernon concerns about the conditions of the public space in the area so they will react and negotiate promptly to any issues arisen from the urban or cultural policies. Such dynamic exists because they frame the place as a “common campus” in which the members can develop ideas and solve urban problems together. Based on Ponzini’s argument, every creative arts space can be a “common campus” and react to the historical changes as well as the urban and cultural policy changes at both city and district level. However, there is a little exploration of how the spaces react to these changes. Another gap is that the regulations or codes of conduct in the creative arts spaces are rarely discussed in the literature because it affects the routines and operations of both the tenants and the spaces. Thus, this research is going to compare how different spaces respond to the above changes by collecting the 52 Chapter 3 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
information from various policy documents, discourses from newspaper articles and
narratives from the tenants, resident organisation as well as the experts in the related fields.
Moreover, it is worth to note the management styles of the creative arts space as Kong et al.
(2015) highlight that the key challenge is when the creative arts space becomes operational.
Hitters & Richards (2002) compare two creative clusters with top-down and bottom-up
management style respectively. Although both management styles result in identifiable
spatial clusters, in terms of the image and identity, the one with the top-down management
approach is clearer. The scholars explored different management styles and in what ways,
it can be improved. Some scholars call for intermediaries or middle ground in managing the
creative spaces or clusters (Charrieras, Darchen, & Sigler, 2018; Jeffcutt & Pratt, 2002).
However, the role of the middle ground actors is questionable as it depends on the
management of individual creative space and the degree of power of the middle ground
actors. Besides, the existing literature seems to focus either on the top-down management
or bottom-up management. There is limited literature addressing other forms of
management style such as a public-private partnership. Thus, one of the case studies in the
research chosen is under public-private partnership.
Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 53
Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN
This research aims at exploring the relationship between creative arts spaces and city through the lens of cultural capital in Hong Kong. Cultural capital is divided into three dimensions: a physical siting; historical processes; policies and institution at different urban scales (city, district and site level). The research matches with the interpretive research paradigm. This paradigm is about the “understanding of the world in which they live and work…and look for the complexity of views rather than narrow the meanings into a few categories or ideas.” (Creswell, 2013, pp. 20-21). It implies that qualitative data collection techniques are used. The key strength of qualitative research is that “it can use naturally occurring data to find the sequences (“how”) in which participants’ meanings (“what”) are deployed and thereby establish the character of some phenomenon” (Silverman, 2006, p.
44) and that is not achievable in quantitative approach. The questions of “how” and “what” is non- quantifiable. Similarly, this research attempts to investigate how the creative arts spaces and city interact. These questions are not quantifiable as well. That is why qualitative approach adopted. Besides, this research also seeks a comparison between creative arts spaces with different management modes in Hong Kong in terms of their relationships with the city so the case study approach will be adopted.
4.1. Case Study Approach
Creswell (2013) defines case study research as a strategy of inquiry, a type of design in qualitative research. Yin (2014, p. 18) further defines case study which is to “investigate a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident”. Since one of the research aims is to compare the creative arts spaces with different management modes in terms of their relationship with the city, the multiple-case design is chosen. In this research, 54 Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN
three sites in Hong Kong are selected as the case studies. The rationales and details of the
sites selected will be discussed in the following.
4.1.1. Rationales of Study Area Selection
Hong Kong is chosen as the study area because “Hong Kong is an extraordinary case study of
how innovation and entrepreneurship can work in the creative economy.” (Chu, 2010, p. 55).
As mentioned in the introduction part, owing to the colonial background and “One-Country,
Two-Systems” after the handover of the sovereignty, Hong Kong is not only aiming at
becoming Asia’s World City, but also an entrepôt between the world and China. With the
increasing influence and interaction with the mainland China, the HKSARG tries to establish
a knowledge-based economy through developing creative and cultural industries since the
late 90s. In the meantime, even Hong Kong has long been regarded as “cultural desert”
(Cartier, 2008; Chu, 2010), the government ironically utilises culture as an urban
development tool after 1997. Therefore, under such circumstances, Hong Kong is justified
to be a revelatory case in this study.
Another reason is that after the industrial sectors moving to South China in the 80s, there
was a large amount of vacant industrial land in Hong Kong. Hence, the government tried to
utilise the vacant land by rezoning their land uses and loosening the land use restriction.
The selected cases are located in former (Shek Kip Mei and Ma Tau Kok) or current
industrial area (Fotan).
In the case of Hong Kong, three forms of creative space are selected. The examination of
each case represents a particular type of management mode (i.e. government-owned,
private-public partnership, privately-owned) so that we can compare and provide a depth
of analysis on how each type of creative spaces varies from each other in shaping creative
arts scene in Hong Kong (Figure 3.1). The brief details of each selected case are shown in
Section 4.1.3 and Table 4.1. Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 55
4.1.2. Case Selection Criteria
Figure 4.1 Locations of the Selected Cases
i. Year of Operation:
One of the selection criteria for the number of operation years. The HKSAR
government started putting resources in mobilising culture in city development
after the handover in 1997. The long years of operations enable more information
available and more static development status of the site.
ii. Mode of Management:
One of the objectives of this research is to compare the similarities and differences
between the creative arts spaces with different management modes in Hong Kong.
Therefore, three cases representing different management modes are selected for
this research.
56 Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN
iii. Location:
To investigate the localised creative arts spaces in Hong Kong, the cases selected
are not located in the city centre or business area. Instead, they are in the highly
localised area (i.e. Ma Tau Kok, Shek Kip Mei and Fotan)
iv. Type of Activities involved:
Since this research is focused on the creative arts industry, types of activities
existed in the cases should be mainly arts-related. The reason for choosing arts
industries because it is one of the key industries that the government stressed to
develop. Besides, Cartier (2008, p. 79) argues that “Hong Kong art expresses a
range of issues including local identity, politics and meanings of place culture in the
city”. It implies that in order to investigate the interaction between the creative
space and Hong Kong, the arts industry will be a suitable starting point.
4.1.3. Brief Details of the Case Studies
Figure 4.2 From Left to Right: Cattle Depot Artist Village; Fotan Industrial Area; Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre
Case 1 – Cattle Depot Artist Village (CDAV)
The first case study is the Cattle Depot Artist Village (CDAV) and it was established in 2001.
The village was a former slaughterhouse and quarantine in Ma Tau Kok which is in the East
Kowloon area. The premise is listed as a historic building in 1994 and re-graded in 2009. It
provides 19 studios for leasing after the revitalization. The artist village is looked after by a
subcontracted property management company under the Development Bureau. The village Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 57
is currently occupied by 12 artists and arts groups. The artist village includes studios, exhibition galleries and a mini-theatre which are converted by the tenants.
Case 2 – Fotan Arts Studio Cluster
Fotan is an industrial area in a new town, Shatin which established during the 70s and located in the North-eastern part of the New Territories. The Fotan Arts Studio Cluster started to develop in 2000. It was initiated by a group of professors and students from the
Department of Fine Arts in the Chinses University of Hong Kong due to cheap rent in the industrial buildings. It gradually attracted other artists moving in and form an art studio cluster in the industrial area. The studios are scattered in different industrial buildings. The cluster is privately owned and managed by the artists.
Case 3 – Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC)
The JCCAC is in Shek Kip Mei where is a grassroots community and a public housing hub.
The arts centre is converted in 2008 from an abandoned 9-storey flatted factory building which was owned by the government. The project is a partnership between the government, tertiary institute and charity. The arts centre offers 139 studios with exhibition spaces and theatre. The arts centre is operated as a self-sustained organisation.
Table 4.1 Brief Backgrounds of Three Selected Cases
Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Cattle Depot Artist Fotan Arts Studio Jockey Club Name Village Cluster Creative Arts Centre Size (Approx.) 1.52 ha 16.3ha 0.252 ha Year of 2001 2000 2008 Operation Government-owned Privately-owned Partnership between Mode of government, charity Operation and tertiary institute Adaptive-reuse of Artist Studio Cluster Revitalised Flatted Form Heritage Building Industrial Building 58 Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN
Ma Tau Kok Fo Tan Shek Kip Mei (Area with the mix of (Mainly industrial (Mainly residential District residential, land use) land use) commercial and industrial land uses) Government, Industrial Residential (Type Current Land Institution or A)11 use Community + Open Space Open Closed Open (Everyday 10am- (Open upon (Everyday 10am- Openness 10pm) request/by 10pm) invitation) - Exhibition Space - Artist Studio - Artist Studio - Theatre - Galleries - Theatre Activities - Artist Studio - Exhibition Space - Café - Exhibition Space
4.2. Data Collection
The fieldwork was carried out from the end of March to mid-June 2016. In this research, a
qualitative approach is utilised in order to obtain an in-depth picture of the case (Creswell,
2013; du Toit, 2015). It intends to capture different kinds of information with various
qualitative techniques. Hence, the within-method triangulation which “uses multiple
techniques within a given method to collect and interpret data” can achieve “cross-check the
internal consistency or reliability” (Jick, 1979, p. 603). Therefore, various data collection
techniques are used so as to collect data from diverse sources. The main data sources
include documentary collection, direct and participant observation, as well as semi-
structured in-depth interviews to address different dimensions of cultural capital (refer to
Figure 4.3 and Table 4.2).
11 According to the outline zoning plan in Shek Kip Mei (Planning Department HKSARG, 2014, p. 11), “This zone is intended primarily for high density residential developments. Commercial uses are always permitted on the lowest three floors of a building or in a purpose-designed non-residential portion of an existing building”. Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 59
Figure 4.3 Research Framework 60 Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN
Table 4.2 Sources and Types of Data
Sources of Secondary Dimensions of Urban Sources of Primary Data Data Cultural Capital Scales (Interview and Observation) (Documentary Research) Within Direct observation - Government City - For distribution of CAS Yearbooks Participant observation - Hong Kong Visual - For events or programs held Arts Year Book by the CAS in city Within Direct observation - Government District - For distribution of CAS Yearbooks Participant observation - Hong Kong Visual - For events or programs held Arts Year Book Physical Siting by the CAS within the district - Official Reports of Interactions and In-depth interview CAS and District network - Management team Councils (both distribution - Artists in CAS - News articles and landscape) (1998-2015) Within Participant observation - Government Site - For events or programs held Yearbook (1998- by the CAS within the site 2015) In-depth interview - Official Reports of - Management team CAS and District - Artists in CAS Councils - Visitors/ Participants in the - News articles site (1998-2015) Within N/A - Government City Yearbook (1998- Within In-depth interview 2015) District - District Councillors - Local Studies/
Research Reports/ Historical Within In-depth interview Site - Management teams Books Transformation - Annual reports of Historical - District Councillors - Artists the art groups / CAS Development - News articles (1998-2015) - Published materials - Photos Within In-depth interview - Land use maps City - Government officials - Government policy - Planners / Researchers addresses after - Cultural/ Art experts 1997 Institutionalisation Within - District Councillors - News articles Policies and District - Planners / Researchers (1998-2015) Institution - Government Within - Management teams Yearbooks (1998- Site - Artists / Art groups in the 2015) creative spaces - Cultural/ Art experts
Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 61
4.2.1. Documentary Collection
Documentary collection enables the researcher to save time to collect the data which have been collected by someone else (Creswell, 2003). One of the research objectives is to investigate the relationship between creative arts spaces and city through historical and institutional aspects. Therefore, documentary research is carried out by analysing mainly historical records, the current urban and cultural policies, annual reports and research done by relevant organisations, the government as well as news articles after 1997. The handover of the sovereignty to China marked the critical changes in the government policies. For the historical development of various urban scales, the histories after the Second World War will be traced because the planning concept did not exist in Hong Kong after the Second
World War (Hong Kong Lands Department. Town Planning Division., 1984; Lai, Hong Kong
Centre for Economic Research., & Hong Kong Economic Policy Studies Forum., 1997).
However, this timeframe is still flexible depending on the selected site. The data about the distribution of creative arts spaces are collected through observation and Government
Yearbooks. The documentary research is undertaken from Public Library of Hong Kong,
University of Hong Kong Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library, and
Government Records Service.
4.2.2. Direct and Participant Observation
According to Kitchin & Tate (2013), observation is aimed at “interpreting what is happening and why by the observer and a systematic noting and recording of events, behaviours, and artefacts in a social setting” (p. 220). There are two sorts of observation: direct observation and participant observation. Both are adopted in this research. For the direct observation, it uses for recording the distribution of the creative arts spaces in each selected district to understand the physical embodiment of the creative arts spaces at the district level. For the participatory observation, the research takes part in the events held in the creative spaces 62 Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN
in order to obtain the first-hand experience and talk to the organisers. It can push forward
to “the felt, touched and embodied constitution of knowledge” (Crang, 2003, p. 501). After
each observation, the data are turned into descriptive field notes.
4.2.3. In-depth Interview
The interview is a commonly used data collection method in interpretative research. It is “a
conversation with a purpose” (Valentine, 2005, p. 111) and “can provide rich sources of data
on people’s experiences, opinions, aspirations and feelings” (Kitchin & Tate, 2013, p. 213). In
order to collect their narratives and views regarding the creative arts spaces from different
dimensions and informants, interviews are adopted in this research. The list of key
informants and key issues are addressed in the interviews are shown in Table 4.3. The
interviews are semi-structured and mostly conducted in Cantonese, except one in English.
The interview questions are attached in Appendix 2. The total number of these interviewees
is 38. The length of the interviews ranged from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours. Non-users are urban
planners, cultural experts and district councillors. Their views towards the development of
the creative arts spaces at various urban scales are sought. Furthermore, their opinions
towards government policies on urban planning and cultural development are extracted
from the interviews. The users are the management people from the creative arts spaces,
the artists or art groups and visitors/ participants. Their narratives of their studios and daily
operations, changes and regulation of the spaces were noted in order to investigate how the
creative arts spaces as a cultural capital, physically, historically and institutionally
embedded in the city.
Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 63
Table 4.3 Key Informants and Key Issues addressed in the In-depth Interviews
Total Key Informants Key Issues Number
Cultural Experts 2 - Factors affecting the creative arts space formation and development - Opinions about current cultural policies - Cooperation between creative arts spaces,
district and city
District 3 - Past development of the district users - Councillors in (1 per - Opinions on creative arts space - Non Shek, Kip Mei, Fo site) Cooperation between creative arts spaces Tan and Ma Tau and district Kok - Future development of the district
Representatives 3 - Development process of the creative space from the (1 per - Formation and structure of the management site) management team team in each - Daily operation/ Regulation creative space - Ways to co-operate with the artists - Ways to interact with the visitors and - Difficulties in the management process Artists / Art 15 - Narratives about the historical groups in the (5 per development of the district and the creative creative spaces site) arts spaces - Daily operation/ Regulation - Reasons for choosing that creative arts
space - Opinion and expectations about the creative
Users spaces - Cooperation between creative arts spaces - Difficulties in the creative space - Ways to interact with the people and the city Visitors/ 15 - Activities they participated in the creative Participants in (5 per space the creative site) - Reasons for visiting the creative space spaces - Particular personal experience - Opinions and expectations about the creative arts space
64 Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN
4.3. Data Analysis
The section outlines the steps of both case study analysis (Figure 4.4) and thematic analysis
(Table 4.4).
4.3.1. Case Study Analysis
In-Depth Portrait of Cases
Stage 1 Stage 2A Stage 2B Steage 2C Stage 3 Stage 4 Overall Cross-Case Case Case Within -Case Asseertions and Context in Theme Analysis Context Description Theme Generalizations HK Analysis Thematic Case 1 Case 1 Simiarities analysis of Themes Case 1 Case 2 Case 2 Differences Thematic Themes analysis of Case 3 Case 3 Case 2 Themes Thematic analysis of Case 3 Figure 4.4 Flow of Case Study Analysis
Since there are three cases in this research, Stake (1995) reminds that there should be
“progressive focusing” by the researcher in the interpretation process. In other words, it
will include observations, renewal of the inquiry and explanation. Besides, “multiple
realities” should be preserved by maintaining interpretations from both researcher and
informants. The stages of the case study analysis are based on the analytical framework in
Chapter 3 as well as the flow proposed by Creswell (2013). Stage 1 of the analysis is to
capture the overall context in Hong Kong which is the city-level analysis in the framework.
Stage 2A-2C are the district-level and sites analysis and these stages are repeated in each
case. In each case analysis, thematic analysis is adopted in processing the data collected. The
details of the thematic analysis are introduced next section. Stage 3 is a cross-case theme Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 65
analysis by comparing the themes emerged in each case. Lastly, the result will link with the concepts and propositions in this research to investigate the relationships between CAS and city.
4.3.2. Thematic Analysis
Qualitative data analysis is “an inductive, open-ended process of assembly-line steps, formal guidelines which are useful in a learning context” (Lofland, 2005, p. 181). After the data collection, data obtained from interviews are summarised in the language of which the interviews are conducted in. Then all qualitative data (including textual and visual data from other data collection methods) are managed and stored in the computer. In this research, a thematic network approach is adopted (Figure 4.5). It aims “to unearth the themes salient in text at different levels and facilitate the structuring and depiction of those themes” (Attride-
Stirling, 2001, p. 387). Boyatzis (1998) suggests that thematic analysis is not only a way of seeing and analysing the qualitative information systematically. Another reason such approach is adopted because it enables the researcher to link various concepts and opinions of the informants and highlight the similarities and differences across different sets of data
(Alhojailan, 2012; Braun & Clarke, 2006). It helps facilitate the process of case comparison at the later stage.
Step1: Code Materials
The data including visual and textual are coded and annotated. According to Saldaña (2009), coding is the very first step before having a more “evocative analysis” and links the data with the ideas. Also, it is an action to organise data into meaningful groups (Braun & Clarke,
2006). The codes are data-driven through summarising and going through the data. (Table
4.4).
66 Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN
Step 2-3: Identify Themes and Construct Thematic Network
Emerging themes can be identified through grouping related codes. In the meantime, the
relationship between codes, between themes as well as between different levels of themes
can be identified. Thus, a thematic map is developed (Figure 4.5).
Step 4-6: Analyse and Interpret Thematic Networks
Step 1-3 are repeated in each case study. First, a case context and description are formed by
describing and exploring the network in full (Stage 2A-2B in Figure 4.4.). Besides,
triangulation with other sources of information is carried out to review the networks.
Second, the interpretations are undertaken by bringing the deductions of the summaries of
all networks together and compare them in order to identify the significant themes. After
that, the arguments grounded in the network can be articulated with the theoretical
interests and research questions.
Table 4.4 Steps of Thematic Analysis ANALYSIS STAGE A: REDUCTION OR BREAKDOWN OF MATERIALS Step 1. Code Material a. Familiarise the data – Reading and re-reading the data, Noting down initial ideas b. Breaking down materials c. Generate initial codes from data Step 2. Identify Themes a. Abstract themes from coded segments b. Refine themes Step 3. Construct Thematic Networks a. Arrange themes b. Select Basic Themes c. Rearrange into Organizing themes d. Deduce Global Theme(s) e. Illustrate as thematic network(s) f. Verify and refine the network (s) ANALYSIS STAGE B: EXPLORATION OF TEXT Step 4. Describe and Explore Thematic Networks a. Describe the network b. Explore the network Step 5. Summarise Thematic Networks ANALYSIS STAGE C: INTEGRATION OF EXPLORATION Step 6. Interpret Patterns Source: Modified from Attride-Stirling (2001) and Braun & Clarke (2006)
Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 67
4.4. Limitations
4.4.1. Subjectivity
A qualitative interview also has its drawbacks. Firstly, different people may have different interpretations towards the same term. It affects how the interviewees answer the questions. Secondly, the reliability of the information given by the interviewees may vary.
In order to compensate for the above drawbacks, there are some remedial methods. It means that multiple methods were adopted to gather similar information so as to corroborate a finding with evidence from two or more different sources and minimise the subjective interpretation of the data. It is assumed that the questions asked in the interview have the same meaning for each interviewee. Once the problem of reliability occurs, the information given by the interviewees can be verified with empirical evidence. That is why documentary research is one of the research methods. Another problem is the questionable objectivity and credibility of the data collected. Thus, the data from different sources and informants are triangulated with each other in order to “enhance our belief that the results are valid and not a methodological artefact” (Jick, 1979, p. 602).
4.4.2. Recordings of Interviews
Some of the informants are not willing to have the interview recorded. The researcher can only keep the notes during the interviews. The loss of information is minimised by reorganising the notes right after the interview. Also, reconfirmation of the information with the interviewees may be carried out if it is necessary.
4.4.3. Translation Issues
Since most of the interviews are conducted in Chinese, the interview quotes are translated into English by the author in the writing process. The translation may not be able to reflect the exact meaning of the respondents. The respondents and professional translator are 68 Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN
consulted if it is necessary in order to minimise the loss as well as distortion of the
information provided.
4.4.4. Limitation of the analytical framework
A systematic analysis through a standard framework is deployed in this research. There is
a drawback of such approach that the framework cannot cover all the aspects which might
be relevant to the research topic and discuss them in the whole thesis. Therefore, there is
an extended discussion (Section 9.4 and Section 9.5) in Chapter 9 to address some of the
relevant topics such as the role of artists. Some of the issues which are not covered in the
thesis have been stated as “recommendations” in Section 10.3. Chapter 4 RESEARCH DESIGN 69
Codingmap
5
.
4 Figure
70 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
“The change in status of culture in Hong Kong can be described as follows: from reverse hallucination, which sees only desert, to a culture of disappearance, whose appearance is posited on the imminence of its disappearance.” (Abbas, 1997, p. 7)
Figure 5.1 Map of Hong Kong and Districts This chapter provides a background about Hong Kong in focusing its cultural context in
order to set the scene for the consequent chapters. The focus of this chapter includes the
geographical and historical background of Hong Kong, and the policy-making process which
is relevant to the urban and cultural development. Most importantly, this chapter
introduces the creative arts scene in Hong Kong. By canvassing the distribution of creative
arts spaces, the cradle of the artists, and the management of the cultural facilities at city
level, this chapter argues that the historical background and the loopholes in the urban
policy as well as cultural policies cultivate an environment for the development of the Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 71
existing creative arts scene in Hong Kong. This chapter aims to reveal that first, Hong Kong is an extraordinary site for investigation. Second, all these conditions enable the emergence of the cases and the dilemma of which Hong Kong is now facing.
5.1. Geographical and Historical Background of Hong Kong
Table 5.1 Key Historical Event in Hong Kong Year Key Historical Events 1842 Hong Kong, a small fishing village, became a British colony 1860 Kowloon peninsula was ceded to Britain 1898 New Territories ‘leased’ to the British government for 99 years 1941-1945 Hong Kong under Japanese occupation “Transferred” industrialization following the establishment of the People’s 1945-1950s Republic of China on the mainland Export-led industrialization 1960s- 1970s Baby Boom (The population in Hong Kong increased from more than 3 million in 1961 to more than 4 million in 1970) 1967 1967 Leftist Riots 1970s- Economic restructuring and tertiarization of the economy Deindustrialization and rapid economic integration with the China Late 1978 mainland; intensified economic restructuring Reversion of Hong Kong to Chinese rule and establishment of the Hong 1997 Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) 1997-1998 Asia Financial Crisis Economic downturn caused by the outbreak of the SARS (Severe Acute 2003 Respiratory Syndrome)
Source: Modified from Ng (2005, p. 117) “Today’s HK boasts a bold juxtaposition of contradictions in a highly compact area: skyscraper jungles and forested mountain slopes, noisy jam-packed streets and tranquil bays and islands, wet markets and designer shopping malls, bamboo scaffoldings and glass-and-steel monoliths, Chinese traditions and contemporary cultural expressions, Chinese heritage and a Western colonial history.” (Leong, 2013, p. 27)
The above quote reveals the geographical and historical disposition of Hong Kong. As a former British colony, it sits as a gateway between China and the world after the World War 72 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
II (Yeh, 2012). The colonial history of Hong Kong started in 1842. A small fishing village
became a British colony until the reversion of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997. Rapid city
development in Hong Kong was triggered by the industrialization in the 50s. Hong Kong
became a world leading export and re-export hub. Starting from the 70s, the economy
restructured, and the development was more focused on the tertiary sector. The open and
free economic system enables Hong Kong becoming a global financial centre. Meanwhile,
the industrial sector was shrinking due to the cheap cost of production in the mainland
China. It led to the increment of vacant industrial buildings. As a result, the reduction of rent
in the industrial buildings attracts the influx of artists to the industrial areas such as Chai
Wan, Kwun Tong, Ngau Tau Kok and Fotan.
Thus, the government positioned Hong Kong as an “Asia ‘s World City” and one of the
policies intends is to shape it into a cultural metropolis by providing world-class cultural
venues. One of the significant projects, the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), reveals
the aspiration of the government in positioning Hong Kong as a global city with strong civic
infrastructure and a vibrant cultural landscape.
5.2. Overview of Urban Planning and Cultural Policies in Hong Kong
Creative arts space is viewed through the lens of cultural capital in this research. The
cultural capitals are shaped by the institutional milieu (Siu & Ku, 2008). It is necessary to
understand the institutional setting in Hong Kong. As in this section, both cultural and urban
planning policies (before and after 1997) are investigated so as to establish a link between
the formation of the creative arts space and city-wide institutional setting.
Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 73
5.2.1. Institutional Structure for Urban Planning and Cultural Policies
Figure 5.2 shows the institutional structure for both urban planning and cultural policies.
The Policy Address, outlining the policy direction in every aspect, is delivered by the Chief
Executive every year. Every term of the Chief Executive adopted a different approach to address the culture-related issues. For example, the first chief executive, Mr. Chee-Hwa
Tung revealed the aspiration of making Hong Kong as an Asia World City and cultural metropolis while the second Chief Executive, Mr. Donald Tsang, took a more proactive approach by implementing explicit measures to develop creative industries and made creative industries as one of the key economic sectors in Hong Kong. Other policies address extracts can refer to Appendix 3. The urban planning and cultural policies are executed by different bureaus. The former is overseen by the Development Bureau while the Home
Affairs Bureau is responsible for the latter. Under each bureau, there are eclectic departments undertaken the role of policy execution. Planning Department and Lands
Department under the Development Bureau are two key entities for shaping the urban landscape. Two statutory bodies, Urban Renewal Authority and Town Planning Board, which are under the Planning Department, play a predominant role in fostering urban regeneration and decision making in the planning process respectively. However, the subordination of the Urban Renewal Authority and Town Planning Board to Planning
Department without Lands and Development Advisory Committee implies that the planning and management of land resources in Hong Kong are separated. It may hamper the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall planning in Hong Kong.
The responsibilities of the Home Affairs Bureau are eclectic in spite of arts and culture affair.
They include “social harmony and civic education”, “district affairs and public relation” as well as “recreation, sports and entertainments”. Hence, under this bureau, there are two relevant organisations, District Council (DC) and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council
(HKADC). According to the Basic Law Article 97, “district organizations which are not organs 74 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
of political power may be established in the HKSAR, to be consulted by the government of the
Region on district administration and other affairs, or to be responsible for providing services
in such fields as culture, recreation and environmental sanitation.” (HKSARG, 1997b, p. 31).
It implies that the District Council is an advisory body and acting as a bridge between the
government and the citizens in order to engage the locals in the political and social-wide
decision-making process.
Hong Kong Arts Development Council is founded in 1995 and aiming at “planning,
promoting and supporting the broad development of the arts including literary arts,
performing arts, visual arts as well as film and media arts in Hong Kong” (Hong Kong Arts
Development Council, 2014, p. 2). By providing grants, programs, arts education and
research, the Council becomes the only statutory body to foster the development of arts
scene in Hong Kong. The existence of advisory and statutory in the institutional structures
is a very distinctive feature of the HKSAR government. The purpose of having such entities
is to “tap professional expertise from the community and to encourage public participation
in the decision-making process”. (Lam, 2012, p. 122). Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 75
Policy Address (Chief Executive)
Urban Planning Policy Cultural Policy
Development Home Affairs Bureau Bureau
Leisure and Commissioner for Planning Lands Department Home Affairs Heritage Cultural Service Department Department Department
Urban Renewal Antiquities and Authority Monuments District Council Office
Town Planning Hong Kong Arts Board Development Council
Figure 5.2 Institutional Structure for Urban Planning and Cultural Policies
5.2.2. Urban Planning Policy in Hong Kong
The understanding about the transformation of urban planning policy in Hong Kong is vital
in two ways: first, it provides a background of the development process of each case study.
Second, it reveals the mentalities of the government in planning the arts spaces which are
treated as cultural/ community facilities. The distribution of the art spaces, thus, is partly
shaped by the urban planning policy.
Before 1997- Catering for socio-economic needs
Hong Kong, as a former British colony, its policy was not forged in the British government,
but in Hong Kong fused with local aspirations (Siu & Ku, 2008). However, the planning
system in Hong Kong before the handover was “closed-door” and dominated by elites and
professionals in the society (Ng, 1993). The first territorial planning was carried out in 1948 76 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
by Sir Patrick Abercrombie. The report outlined different physical planning proposals in the
city including the development of industrial zones and residential zone as well as railway
relocation (Hong Kong Lands Department. Town Planning Division., 1984). That’s paved the
way for new town development in the 60s and 70s. In order to facilitate urban economic
and population growth, the urban planning policy in Hong Kong was focused on facilitating
economic growth and providing sufficient housing (MacLehose, 1978; Wigglesworth, 1986).
New town development was one of the key strategies in order to establish a self-sufficient
town with both housing and job opportunities at that same time. As a result, most of them
were industrial new towns such as Sha Tin, Tuen Wan, Kwun Tong. Before the 70s, the
planning in Hong Kong was not paying attention to the development of cultural facilities.
There was a change of focus during the 80s. The government identified a group of
neighbourhoods with the poor living condition and the paucity of recreational/ community
spaces so they proposed plans for urban renewal (Taylor & Kwok, 1989). However, planning
of recreational and cultural facilities12 was the responsibility of another department, Urban
Services and Regional Services Department, rather than the Planning Department. Such top-
down and administrative-based planning practice in Hong Kong not only triggered the rapid
economic growth and urban development, but also shaped the future planning policy after
the handover in 1997.
After 1997- Embracing market-led development
Lee (2012) highlights the features of the urban policy after 1997: a market-oriented policy
and combating economic restructuring. These features can also be reflected in the planning
policy of Hong Kong: Hong Kong 2030. Ng (2005) even commented that the planning policy
12 Cultural facilities refer to facilities for “the accommodation of arts activities including dance, music, theatrical arts, film and media arts, traditional performing arts, visual arts and literary arts” including libraries, museums and theatres. Commercial and entertainment venues such as cinema and disco are excluded. (Planning Department HKSARG, 1999) Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 77
in Hong Kong is embedded with a market-led development ideology and uncoordinated planning. “Hong Kong 2030” is the first territorial development strategy after 1997. It aims at envisioning the long-term development in Hong Kong. Apart from improving the living environment and fostering economic development through economic integration with the
Mainland, one of the objectives of the plan is to “promote arts, culture and tourism to ensure
HK continues to be a world-class cultural destination” (HKSARG Development Bureau, 2006, p. 23). The development of cultural infrastructure and facilities are listed under the
“Changing Economy”. That revealed the aspirations of the government in bolstering cultural and creative industries13 to combat the economic restructuring and crisis. Through the forging of cultural infrastructure and facilities, it helps “generate employment and support intra-regional and international cultural network…. we need to identify different user needs and plan for their accommodation and infrastructure requirements accordingly” (HKSARG
Development Bureau, 2006, p. 12). In the plan, there are four major development areas and axes (Figure 5.3). The Metro Core is where most of the “battlefields” for place-making located. The proposal of the West Kowloon Cultural District is one of these battlefields and echoed with the goal of becoming a “world-class cultural destination”. The District is a comprehensive development project with cultural, commercial, residential and infrastructural land uses on 40-hectare reclaimed land. It provides M+ Museum for Visual
Culture, Xiqu Centre and Lyric Theatre Complex. Still, the project received a lot of criticisms from the locals due to its disconnectedness with the local community and local arts community. For example, the executive director of the M+ is employed from overseas without any understanding about the local art community whilst the voices from the local community are ignored in the planning process (Kong, 2007). Apart from the cultural facilities in the District, residential development is one of the prominent elements. The
13 The term “cultural and creative industries” is utilized and broadly refers to “industries with value added through creativity” (HKSARG Development Bureau, 2006, p. 12). This definition is based on the international statistical guidelines proposed by the United Nations. 78 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
private sector is invited to participate in this project as they are responsible for the
management and financing of the project. In return, the private developers receive a 50-
year land grant (Ng, 2010). The land-grant allows the developers to develop the district with
both commercial and residential buildings in addition to the 20-hectares open spaces and
cultural facilities. Therefore, Siu & Ku (2008) argue that the project is a product of
“institutional paternalism”, but also a product of market-oriented development strategy.
Figure 5.3 Hong Kong 2030: Preferred development pattern Extracted from HKSARG Development Bureau (2006)
5.2.3. Cultural Policy in Hong Kong
The cultural policies and urban spaces are shaped by the complex colonial history in Hong
Kong (Hutton, 2012). This section outlines the development of the cultural policy before
and after the handover and how the policies responded to key historical events and socio-
economic situation. Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 79
Pre-handover – Reactive Policy
Under the British rule, Hong Kong was developed without nurturing cultural and political participation as the development was focused on the free-market economy (Cartier, 2008).
The development of the creative arts scene is not prospered after the handover of the sovereignty in 1997. The main reason is that the British Hong Kong Government adopted a minimal interference approach in terms of the cultural development (Tseng, 2004).
Therefore, the efforts paid by the British Hong Kong government are limited in the realm of cultural development. Colonial government narrowly defined culture as the “high culture” -
Western performing arts and visual arts (Chin, 2008). The turning point was the Leftist Riot in 1967. The blue-collars fought for labour rights and social welfare. After that, the British government started to adopt a reactive cultural policy. It implies that the role of government in cultural development was a catalyst and coordinator in the provision of cultural facilities.
The establishment of each cultural facility was a response to the demand from the artists or the locals. The number of cultural facilities jumped from two in 1977 to seventeen in 1993
(Tseng, 2004). The cultural facilities in Hong Kong were regarded as community facilities for recreation purpose during the colonial period. Besides, there was no deliberate planning regarding the cultural development. It caused Hong Kong bearing the name of “cultural desert” throughout the colonial period.
Post-handover – Descriptive Policy
Abbas (1997) claimed that the culture in Hong Kong was in the space of disappearance. After the handover in 1997, the government started to realise the need to preserve the colonial history in Hong Kong while they promoted the Chinese culture (HKSARG, 1997c). Hong
Kong is facing numerous challenges after the handover. First, the city is looking for a new identity in the post-colonial period. Second, the cultural activists are demanding for a more explicit and concrete cultural policy to replace the reactive one. Third, the economic restructuring and Asia Financial Crisis after the handover alerted the government that the 80 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
economy in Hong Kong over-relied on the four pillars: financial services, tourism, trading
and logistics, and professional and producer services. In response to these challenges, the
SAR government undertook a series of research and program in developing Hong Kong into
a culturally vibrant city by promoting cultural and creative industries, for instance, Cultural
Audit (HKSARG Central Policy Unit, 2011), and Creativity Index in Hong Kong (HKSAR Home
Affairs Bureau, 2004). In 2003, a consultation report of cultural policy called for a
formulation of cultural policy and suggested six principles for the policy: people-oriented,
pluralism, freedom of expression and protection of intellectual property, holistic approach,
partnership as well as community-driven (HKSARG Culture and Heritage Commission,
2003). Nonetheless, the feedback from the government acknowledged the principles
without formulating an actual cultural policy (HKSARG Home Affairs Bureau, 2003). Hence,
the cultural policy becomes descriptive. A descriptive cultural policy means a set of
piecemeal policies dispersed all over. Although the policy is no longer reactive, the
government still adopts a minimal interference approach including the arts development
and establishment of cultural facilities. Furthermore, the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region Government (HKSARG) has the aspiration in promoting Hong Kong into an Asia
World City by introducing “Brand Hong Kong” Program. This program tries to brand Hong
Kong as dynamic and culturally vibrant cosmopolitan (Chu, 2010; HKSARG, 2014c).
Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 81
5.2.4. Relationship between Planning and Cultural Policies
Provide overall policy direction Policy Address and Urban Planning Policy (“Top-down Approach”)
Provide cultural infrastructures Coordination between different (e.g. venues, studio spaces..) bureaus and departments
Provide city-wide and district- based funding Cultural Policy (“Descriptive Approach”) Rely on the partnership between the government and private sector / NGO
Figure 5.4 Relationship between Planning and Cultural Policies
The figure above illustrates the relationship between the urban planning policy and cultural policy. It seems that they are complementary to each other. The former one provides the hardware while the latter one offers the software. However, the reality is not that perfect.
Due to the executive-led and weak coordination among different departments and bureaus, the voices of the art practitioners and the community are always neglected by the government. The policies cannot correctly address the needs of the artists and the locals.
82 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
5.3. Creative Arts Scene in Hong Kong
The scene is depicted from three perspectives: arts education, arts funding and market as
well as the distribution of creative arts spaces in Hong Kong.
5.3.1. Cradle of Artists – Arts Education in Hong Kong
Arts education is the cradle of artists. Data from the World Cultural Cities Report (World
Cities Culture Forum, 2015) show that the number of students in various arts and design
institutes is over 7,000 in Hong Kong. The mainstream training for artists is at the tertiary
education level. There are various tertiary institutions in Hong Kong held arts programs to
nurture the artists and the creative workers. The research-based institutions such as the
University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Baptist University
of Hong Kong have Fine Arts Programs. Some other institutions which are more emphasised
on the skills training such as The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City University of Hong
Kong as well as Hong Kong Design Institute dedicated in training creative workers by
providing both Bachelor and Higher Diploma programs in contemporary arts, fashion,
digital media and product designs. Besides, there is a bachelor program in the Education
University of Hong Kong (former Hong Kong Institute of Education) in training Arts teachers
for secondary school as well as workers in arts administration. The Hong Kong Academy for
Performing Arts was founded in 1984. In addition to the local based institutes, Hong Kong
attracted the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) from the US to offer art and design
degree programs in a revitalised former North Kowloon Magistracy in Sham Shui Po District
since 2011. It is one of the successful cases in “Revitalising Historic Buildings through
Partnership Scheme” for government-owned historic buildings. Apart from tertiary
education, the British Hong Kong government founded Jockey Club Ti-I College in 1989. It
becomes the first and the only secondary school in Hong Kong which provides holistic
training for students who are talented either in sports or visual arts. In 2006, Hong Kong
Institute of Contemporary Culture, a non-profit making and community-based organisation, Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 83
forged Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity provide high school education with the emphasis on creative arts subjects.
These institutes are playing a vital role not only in nurturing the creative talents, but also in catalysing the development of the creative arts spaces in a planned way or spontaneous way.
For example, due to the proximity of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Fotan, it created an opportunity for the artists in the University to locate their studios in Fo Tan.
5.3.2. Source for Living – Arts Market and Funding
Funding
Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) is a major funding body which allocates most of the government-owned project funding for cultural activities. The duration of the funding ranged from 1 year to 3 years. According to the annual reports of HKADC (1999-
2017), the total amount of project grants for small and medium arts groups has grown from
HK$51,088,683 in the Year 1999-200 to HK$ 83,988,97014 in the Year 2016-2017. However, the artists criticised the funding period is too short. It is hard to sustain the project in order to have the far-reaching effect on the arts community. Therefore, the Council established 2-
Year Grant in the Year 2009-2010 as well as 3-Year Grant in the Year 2014-2015 so as to uphold long-term development of small and medium arts groups. Besides, the multi-project grant is available from the Year 2007-2008 to support fledgeling artists and arts in executing their visionary ideas for two years (Figure 5.5). The number of funded projects is
272 while the number of arts group under the sponsorship of 1/2/3-Year Grants are 53 in the Year 2016-2017(Hong Kong Arts Development Council, 2017). The funding recipients are from different fields in arts such as exhibitions, media arts production, literary, performance, publication, cultural exchange, grants for emerging artists, as well as arts education and promotion. Apart from the government funding, there are some funding
14 The figures excluded the proactive funding of which the projects are initiated the HKADC. 84 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
opportunities from the private sector, such as the Sino Group, the Hong Kong Jockey Club
Charities Trust.
Major Grants and Fundings Distributed by Hong Kong Arts Development Council (1999-2017) Year 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013 2011-2012 2010-2011 2009-2010 2008-2009 2007-2008 2006-2007 2005-2006 2004-2005 2003-2004 2002-2003 2001-2002 2000-2001 1999-2000 $0 $20,000,000 $40,000,000 $60,000,000 $80,000,000 $100,000,000 Hong Kong Dollars
Project Grants 1-Year Grant 2-Year Grant 3-Year Grants Multi-project Grant Figure 5.5 Major Grants and Funding Distributed by Hong Kong Arts Development Council (Data Source: Hong Kong Arts Development Council (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009a, 2010a, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017); Compiled by the author)
Market
Hong Kong is the third largest art market in the world, following New York and London
(World Cities Culture Forum, 2015). The turnover of Fine Art selling in Hong Kong is
$1,157.2 million in 2015. Leong (2013) identifies several factors in Hong Kong which drives
to the current creative arts market. The first factor is the proximity to the rapid growth
especially in mainland China. It attracts both buyers and sellers from mainland China. The Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 85
World Cities Report 2015 reveals that Hong Kong possesses one of the top three arts markets in the world. The market heavily relies on the trading of contemporary Chinese arts work. (World Cities Culture Forum, 2015). The second factor is the respect for the freedom of speech and artistic expression. Without any censorship, the artists are free to present and create their art pieces on any occasion. This provides a suitable platform for the artists with different political views and cultural backgrounds. The third factor is the fusion of Western and Chinese influences. Such mixture enables Hong Kong having capacity in accepting and tolerating various forms of artistic expression. The last factor mentioned is the business- friendly policies such as a very low tax rate which benefits the trading of artworks.
Nonetheless, there is a dark side to be one of the top three arts markets in the world. One fact cannot be ignored is that most of the local artists in Hong Kong have day jobs to earn their living. It is not only because of the unstable income from art selling, but also upholding their freedom of expression. Some of the respondents reveal that the more money they obtain from the funding bodies, the more obligations and limitations they will have in terms of their creations. For example, funding from the private sector, especially for the property developers, will have lots of limitations in terms of themes, materials and forms of their art pieces. Some artists think that the best way to sustain their freedom of expression is to have a stable day job. 86 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
5.3.3. Place of Living – Distribution of the Creative Arts Spaces
Figure 5.6 Distribution of the Creative Arts Spaces in Hong Kong (Prepared by the author) The “place of living” of the artists and their artworks means the creative arts spaces where
provide space for their creation and showcases of their work. There are 20 creative arts
spaces in Hong Kong. It shows that the distribution of the creative arts spaces in Hong Kong
is highly centralised in the central area of Hong Kong where are key government
headquarters and business offices sited. Such pattern echoes with the “Central District
Values” which advocates growth, efficiency and prosperity in the city, especially in the
central business district (Chu, 2010). This study is attempting to move away from the
projects with the “central district values”. Instead, it focused on the creative arts space
which is more localised and sited away from the central district.
Apart from the distribution, the types of buildings where those spaces are located are worth
noting. Those spaces are mainly located in 9 historic buildings, 6 industrial areas, 3 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 87
commercial buildings and 2 school buildings. The adaptive reuses of these vacant buildings are initiated by different sectors including government, not-for-profit organization, private companies or partnership between various sectors. i. Historic Buildings
Table 5.2 List of Historic Buildings and Monuments Reused as Creative Arts Spaces Name of Site Location Year of Year of Grade of Original Use Building Conversion the Site Fringe Club Wyndham St, 1892 1984 Grade I Old Dairy Farm Central, Hong Depot Kong Cattle Depot 63 Ma Tau 1908 2001 Grade II Ma Tau Kok Artist Village Kok Road, Animal Kowloon, Quarantine Hong Kong Depot Hong Kong 74 Stone 1920 2007 Grade I Wah To House of Nullah Lane, Hospital Stories Wan Chai, (Blue House) Ground Floor Savannah 292 Tai Po 1960 2010 Grade II North Kowloon College of Art Rd, Sham Shui Magistracy and Design Po Building Hong Kong Oi! (Oil street 12 Oil Street 1908 2013 Grade II Clubhouse of Art Space) the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Comix Home 7 Mallory St, 1920s 2013 Grade II 4-stoery Base Wan Chai, Canton-style Hong Kong residential building (Green House) PMQ 35 Aberdeen 1862 2014 Grade III Former Street, Hollywood Central, Hong Road Police Kong Married Quarters Luen Wo Luen Wo 1951 2015 Grade III Wet Market Village Market, 46-58 Wo Fung Street, Fanling Central Police Hollywood 1864 Late 2016 Declared Former Central Station Road 1913 Monument Police Station, Compound 1841 Central Magistracy and Victoria Prison 88 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
There are overall 1444 sites graded as historic buildings from Grade I to III15 in Hong Kong.
The grading criteria include the historical interest, architectural merit, group value, social
value and local interest, authenticity and rarity (HKSARG, 1997a). Nine of the historic
buildings are converted into creative arts spaces (Table 5.2). Most of the conversion
happened in the 2000s because the HKSAR government was keen to revitalise the preserved
historic building through adaptive reuse. The Heritage Conservation Initiatives proposed
the Revitalizing Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme in 2007 in order to “put the
historic building into good and innovative use” (HKSARG Development Bureau, 2007). Even
though this scheme offers “laudable policy initiative that is action-oriented, innovation-
driven, and partnership-based” (Chung, 2011, p. 983) and various CASs have emerged, it is
overemphasised on financial competence and lack of public engagement. Thereby, the
converted CASs offer limited rooms for unleashing and nurturing the vernacular creativity.
The earliest converted arts space is Fringe Club in the heart of Hong Kong which is a former
Old Dairy Farm Depot. The Cattle Depot is the first government-owned artist village and the
historic building is converted into artist studios and exhibition venues away from the
central area. “Hong Kong House of Stories” is managed by a not-for-profit organization, St.
James Settlement and sponsored by the Hong Kong Bank Foundation. It aims at conserving
local traditions and community culture in a diversified and interactive way such as arts and
culture promotion activities. The “Community Classroom” adopts a skill-based learning
approach by teaching the visitors about craft skills of the old community. The Savannah
College of Art and Design converted a former North Kowloon Magistracy Building into a
world-class arts and design school. PMQ and the Central Police Station Compound are the
parts of the large-scale conservation project, “Conserving Central”. One of the aims of the
15 The definitions of the grading are: Grade I – Buildings of outstanding merit, which every effort should be made to preserve if possible; Grade II – Buildings of special merit, efforts should be made to selectively preserve; Grade III – Buildings of some merit, but not yet qualified for consideration as possible monuments and are recorded as a pool for future selection (HKSARG, 1997a). Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 89
project is to transform Central into “a hub of heritage, arts, culture and tourism” in addition to its status of global financial center (HKSARG Development Bureau, 2010). The PMQ is more focused on creative industries such as design, fashion and filmmaking while the
Central Police Station Compound is targeted at the visual and performing arts by providing arts galleries and theatres. The Comix Home Base is a hub for animation and comic production. It is renovated by Urban Renewal Authority and managed by Hong Kong Arts
Centre. Lastly, Luen Wo Village is a handicraft market which is founded by a group of voluntary craftsmen and artists in 2015. As they realised there is no space for them to sell and share their handicrafts with the public, they negotiated with the government to lease the abandoned market to them and turned it into a “home” for handicrafts. ii. Industrial Buildings
Table 5.3 List of Industrial Areas/Buildings Reused as Creative Arts Spaces Name Location Year of Establishment Chai Wan Chai Wan Industrial City Phase 1, 60 Wing Tai Road, 2000 Chai Wan Fotan Wah Luen Industrial Centre 2000 Universal Industrial Centre Yue Cheung Centre Wah Lok Industrial Centre Sui Fai Factory Estate Kwun Tong Kwun Tong Industrial Area 2000
Ngau Tau Ngau Tau Kok Industrial Area 2000 Kok
Jockey Club 30 Pak Tin Street, Shek Kip Mei, Hong Kong 2008 Creative Arts Center (JCCAC) ADC 12/F, Genesis, 33-35 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong 2014 Artspace Chuk Hang
The conversion of the industrial buildings into arts spaces in Hong Kong occurred due to the recession of the industrial sector and economic restructuring in the late 70s. The factories 90 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
moved to the mainland China so as to lower the production cost. Thus, the vacancy rate in
the industrial building was soaring in the 90s. The Planning Department carried out a
rezoning of industrial areas in 1999 by either complete shift of the use or enlisting more
other uses16 for the industrial buildings. In 2008, the overall vacancy rate of the industrial
building was 6.5%, about 0.69 million m2 GFA. However, it is a semi conversion on a
spontaneous basis. In other words, only part of the industrial building is transformed into
arts spaces without any government intervention. It also implies that there is a wide range
of uses including arts studios, food production, and metal workshop within an industrial
building. Fotan is the first and largest privately and spontaneously managed arts studios
cluster in Hong Kong as shown in the survey by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council
(Hong Kong Arts Development Council, 2010b). Not until 2008, the government proposed
to revitalise the flatted industrial building in Shek Kip Mei and establish a creative arts
centre with the Baptist University of Hong Kong and Jockey Club. This is the first arts space
conversion project in an industrial building under a partnership.
iii. Commercial Buildings
Table 5.4 List of Commercial/Residential Buildings Reused as Creative Arts Spaces Name Location Year of Establishment Green Wave Art G/F, 404, Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei, 1999 (Former: Woofer Ten) Kowloon Foo Tak Building 365 Hennessy Rd., Wanchai 2003 House of To Kwa Wan 16 Hung Fook St 2014 Stories
Green Wave Art is an art space commissioned by Hong Kong Art Development Council.
Because of the length of the contract, the art groups residence in the space changed for few
16 “Other uses”, according to the Planning and Standard Guideline, refers to a unit wholly or predominantly for use(s) other than manufacturing/workshop, warehouse/storage and office such as show room, wholesales center, research and development center, studio, gallery, recreational facilities. (HKSARG Planning Department, 2015) Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 91
times. Fo Tak Building is an exemplar of vertical art villages converted from a residential building in the heart of the metro area. The establishment of this art community is due to the generosity of the landlord who is willing to lease some of the units in the buildings in supporting the development of arts. The arts spaces are now managed by an arts NGO.
House of To Kwa Wan Stories is a spontaneous art space founded by a group of urban planners, social workers and artists to promote community-based planning and art in
Kowloon City where is undergoing urban renewal. iv. School Buildings
The usage of abandoned school buildings is the most recent approach used by the
Government in order to provide more studio spaces for the artists and art groups. The abandonment of school buildings is a result of the persistently low birth rate in Hong Kong.
Some schools with low enrolment rate are forced to close by the government. These schools are usually located in residential areas. Thus, the reuses of those sites for other purposes are difficult. For example, they are not suitable for converting to commercial uses as the provision of shops has already been addressed in land use plans. In addition, school belongs to “Government, Institution and Community (GIC)” use according to Hong Kong Planning and Standard Guidelines (HKSARG Planning Department, 1997). Therefore, in Policy
Address 2015, the chief executive proposed to run a pilot project in converting abandoned school buildings into an arts centre in Tai Po (HKSARG, 2015).
5.4. Summary
This chapter outlines the development of the creative arts scene in Hong Kong. First, the overview of key historical events, which influenced the city development such as the deindustrialisation, Asian financial crisis and the outbreak of the SARS, indicated that these event catalysed changes in term of economic development strategy as well as the overall 92 Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG
planning strategy of the city. Then, the scope was moved to the institutional settings of
urban planning and cultural policy as both policies are highly relevant to the development
of the creative arts scene in Hong Kong. The approaches adopted before and after the
handover reveals the shift of development strategy in planning as well as the traces of
colonial practices in cultural policymaking. Before 1997, the planning policy mainly catered
socio-economic needs while the policy is embracing the market-led development. For the
cultural policy, Hong Kong had long been without a concrete cultural policy since the
colonial period. The cultural policy was reactive and culture was narrowly defined as “high
culture”. Thus, more resources were put into developing performing arts and visual arts.
After 1997, the cultural policy changed to a descriptive one, but still the mentality of the
policy is non-interventional. Such mentality paved the way for nurturing a free environment
for arts development. Some of the respondents indicate that without a comprehensive
cultural policy, it is difficult to have sustainable growth and development of the spaces.
However, when we analyse the cultural policy after the handover, we can still find some
traces of colonial legacy. Such colonial legacy, non-interventionism in terms of the
management and financing of cultural development, forms a free environment in nurturing
the spontaneous development of creative arts spaces.
Besides, Hong Kong has been regarded as a “cultural desert”. Abbas (1997) states that Hong
Kong’s culture was in the space of disappearance during the colonial period. Therefore,
Hong Kong after the handover seeks its own new identity. For instance, by framing Hong
Kong as an Asia World City after the handover in 1997, it reveals the aspiration of the Special
Administrative Region (SAR) Government in instrumentalising culture and creativity. It led
to the emergence of various cultural projects in both large scale and small scale in Hong
Kong. The small-scale ones, creative art spaces, are mainly converted from various types of
buildings such as heritage, industrial buildings, abandoned schools and commercial
buildings. Thus, the distribution of the creative arts spaces is scattered. There is no specific Chapter 5 CREATIVE ARTS SCENE IN HONG KONG 93
pattern can be identified. Moreover, the arts market and funding are two sources for the artists to survive in the industry. The fiscal sponsorship of arts projects is mainly governed by a statutory body, Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC). The arts market in
Hong Kong is focused on trading the Chinese contemporary arts. The market for vernacular arts seems not active. Therefore, being an artist is a hard career which faces instability and uncertainty.
94 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
“I treasure the beauty of the organic development here …Just leave us alone.” – Artist in The Cattle Depot Artist Village
This chapter discusses one of the three cases, Cattle Depot Artist Village (CDAV) which is a
government managed artist village in Hong Kong. The first part of this chapter illustrates
the geographical and historical background of the artist village and its associated district.
Then, the formation of the artist village is introduced. This is followed by the analysis
organised by the research questions one by one. First of all, the functional roles of the artist
village are examined. The key historical events are highlighted in the second part to
scrutinise how they influence the formation and transformation of the artist village. Lastly,
the policy impacts and the responses of the artists are discussed.
Figure 6.1 Location of Kowloon City District and Delineation of Major Areas (Prepared by the author) Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 95 ARTIST VILLAGE
6.1. Introducing the Cattle Depot Artist Village A brief background of the Cattle Depot Artist Village (CDAV) and the associated district are introduced in order to understand how the CDAV is formed.
6.1.1. Location of the artist village
Figure 6.2 Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) of Ma Tau Kok in 2018 (Data Source: Town Planning Board (2018); Map: produced by the author) The artist village is in Ma Tau Kok - one of the eight areas in Kowloon City District Council
(Figure 6.1). The eight areas are: Kowloon City, Kai Tak, Ho Man Tin, To Kwa Wan, Ma Tau
Wai, Hung Hom, Kowloon Tong and Kai Tak. Ma Tau Kok, Ma Tau Wai and To Kwa Wan are adjunction to each other with similar development pattern: high density and hybrid land use. In other words, incompatible land uses such as residential and industrial area are close to each other or even mixed together. The current physical setting around the Cattle Depot in terms of the land uses and cultural landscape of the district.
Figure 6.2 shows that current land use distribution of Ma Tau Kok. Most of the land has been converted into a residential area. The old industrial area now is the comprehensive 96 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
development area (CDA) which implies that the development of 13 Street and the old
industrial area will be incorporated into a wholesome development.
One of the features in most of the old neighbourhoods in Hong Kong is devoid of cultural
and community facilities due to the avoidance of cultural development during the colonial
period (Chin, 2008; Ho, 2017). Therefore, during the deindustrialization process in the area,
more open spaces are planned, such as the area along the coast and the recreation ground
at the back of the Cattle Depot. Thus, half of the Cattle Depot is the Government, Institution
and Community (GIC) land use while another half is open space.
6.1.2. Formation and development of the artist village
Table 6.1 Chronology of the Cattle Depot Artist Village Formation
Year Events 1908 Cattle Depot and Slaughter House were built. 1956 The rear portion of the Cattle depot expanded. Cattle Depot no longer served as a slaughterhouse. It only functioned as 1969 a quarantine base and cattle trading. It is listed as a Grade III historic building by The Antiquities Advisory 1994 Board Mid-1999 Cattle depot is closed and moved to Sheung Shui in the New Territories. Artists and arts organizations temporarily moved to Cheung Sha Wan 1999-2001 Abattoir and Old Kai Tak Airport. Renovation and conversion works took place and the artists from Oil 2001 Street moved into the Cattle Depot and established Cattle Depot Artist Village, excluding the rear portion. It is listed as a Grade II historic building by The Antiquities Advisory 2009 Board Management authority changed from the Government Property Agency 2011 to the Development Bureau Cattle Depot is proposed as the District Signature Projects in Kowloon 2015 City by revitalizing the rear portion of the Cattle Depot.
Source: Compiled by the author based on the data collected in the field works Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 97 ARTIST VILLAGE
Scholars think that Cattle Depot Artist Village has the potential to develop in the community
(Charrieras et al., 2018; Kong, 2011; Kong et al., 2015). Nevertheless, its potential has not delivered due to the fragmented management of arts and urban space (Kong et al., 2015).
This reason only depicts one side of the coin. Another side of the coin has been overlooked by the researchers. That is the reason why and how the artist village forms. The formation of the artist village can be conveyed through two storylines: i) from an abandoned facility to a graded historic building; ii) from the Oil Street Artist Village17 to Cattle Depot Artist
Village (Refer to section 6.3). Table 6.1 illustrates the chronology of the formation of the artist village. The artist village was formed in 2001 and it was resettlement of 19 artists from the Oil Street Artist Village. Before the artists moving in, the Cattle Depot was a group of abandoned red-brick premises as an animal quarantine and abattoir which relocated to
Sheung Shui in 1999 (Figure 6.3 and Figure 6.4).
After the formation of the Cattle Depot Artist Village, In the case of Cattle Depot Artist Village,
Kong (2011) states that the interactions, collaborations are piecemeal and periodic. Its development can be divided into three different periods according to the events and activities held in the village.
Period 1 – Continuation of the Spirit of Oil Street Artist Village (2001-2006)
The resettlement of the artists in the Cattle Depot marks the start of the “second life” of the
Oil Street Artist Village. It also made the artist village becomes a new hot spot within the arts industry. The artists and arts groups in the village were still active in holding activities in the village during these five years. The existence of the key players in the artist village facilitates the joint exhibitions and activities at CDAV.
17 The Oil Street Artist Village established after the Government Supplies Agency relocated. The abandoned building was leased to a group of artists on a short-term basis. It attracted a number of active artists as well as art groups moving in. The artist village formed organically without any intervention form the government. 98 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
Period 2 – Neither fish nor fowl: Seeking for the way out (2007-2010)
In the second period, the artist village was getting “lost” that the artists and arts groups
were frustrated by various unfavourable conditions outside or within the village. Because
of the red tapes within the historic buildings and lack of the intermediary to facilitate the
activities in the village, the future development of the CDAV was uncertain. Although the
government carried out studies to investigate the future development of the village such as
Research on Future Development of Artist Village in Cattle Depot (2009b), the government is
reluctant to reveal its intents regarding the development of the village due to the planned
redevelopment program. The individual artists and arts groups attempted to seek for the
way out by seizing the development opportunities outside the artist village.
Period 3 – Challenges from the urban renewal (2010-current)
The last period is captured the recent development of the village, but also is the turning of
the village. There are three major moves within the district: (i) the shift of the management
agency of the village; (ii) construction of the MTR; (iii) Kowloon City District Redevelopment
Program. The management of the artist village was formerly in-charged by the Government
Figure 6.3 Layout Plan of the Cattle Depot Artist Village with the size of the units and the vacancies (prepared by the author) Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 99 ARTIST VILLAGE
Property Agency. The management was shifted to the Commissioner of Heritage’s Office under the Development Bureau18 in 2011 due to the review of the culture and heritage policy. The red tapes of the heritage are eased. Another two moves are the construction of the MTR and the district urban redevelopment program which bring challenges and opportunities to the artist village. The accessibility of the village will be improved due to the construction of the MTR, but the redevelopment program increases the precariousness among the tenants of the village due to the lack of development direction.
18 The Development Bureau is responsible for the urban planning and renewal, land administration, housing, infrastructure development and heritage. 100 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
a h
b
g c
d
e f
Figure 6.4 Current Appearance of Cattle Depot Artist Village (Photos by the author) a) Entrance of the Cattle Depot Artist Village; b) Piazza – former holding area of the cattle; c) the largest unit in the village – Unit no. 12; d) the interior of Unit No. 12; e) the fenced off area; f) Unit No. 1-5; g) the interface between the village, gas plant and new residential building; h) retained metal ring for securing cattle and the drinking pod for the cattle in the piazza
Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 101 ARTIST VILLAGE
6.2. Functional Roles of the Cattle Depot Artist Village In this section, the functional roles of the Cattle Depot Artist Village are presented through interrogating the physical siting of the artist village in different urban scales. The physical siting means how the site and the users of the sites interacted. Through investigating the event and activities within site as well as the interactions among the artists, the functional roles of the CDAV is revealed. In addition, by emphasizing the importance of the physical siting, this chapter examines if the creative arts space has fostered and formed a protective shell for creative practices (Karlsson, 2011). In the case of the CDAV, it performs various roles both inside and outside the arts field. However, its functions were evolving due to the alterations of its surrounding. The non-static functional roles of the CDAV led to the failure in forming the protective shell for creative practices.
6.2.1. As a historical icon in the community The Cattle Depot is surrounded by a group of historic sites (Table 6.2). There are 10 graded historic buildings and archaeological sites in the area forming a rich cultural landscape in
Ma Tau Kok. It also reflects that the rich historical background of the district. For instance, the Kowloon Walled City is an old settlement built in the Ming dynasty (Kowloon City
District Council, 2011). The Eastern Cotton Mills Ltd is a landmark of the textile industry development in Hong Kong.
102 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
Table 6.2 List of Historic Buildings and Site of Archaeological Interest in the Kowloon City Renewal Program Grading Number Sites Grade 1 1 - Former Yamen Building of Kowloon Walled City - Kowloon City Ferry Piers, Vehicular Pier - Kowloon City Ferry Piers, Passenger Pier Grade 2 3 - Ma Tau Kok Animal Quarantine Depot (Cattle Depot Artist Village) - Old Far East Flying Training School Grade 3 2 - Eastern Cotton Mills Ltd. Government Historic Site 1 - Sung Wong Toi Inscription Rock identified by AMO Site of - Kowloon Walled City Site Archaeological 3 - Kowloon Walled City South Gate Remnants Interest - Lung Tsun Stone Bridge
Given the fact that the Cattle Depot is an integral part of the community, it is not only
functioned as an artist village, but also as a historic icon within the area. According to the
Historic Building Appraisal Report (Antiquities Advisory Board, 2009), the Cattle Depot is
the only surviving pre-war cattle slaughterhouse in Hong Kong. The report implies that the
historical values of the sites and the representation of the local development. The Cattle
Depot also marks that the growth of the offensive trade and tannery in Ma Tau Kok. The
offensive trade includes the fellmongery, leather dressing, tanning, glue making, size
making and gut-scraping (Government Records Office, 1918). In the 60s, other industries
not leather-related grew there as well. A resident in 13 Streets recalls the surrounding
environment:
“There were many factories and the air quality there was very poor. Back then, there was a uniquely unpleasant smell specific to each type of industrial area. For example, areas around the cattle depot were filled with the smell of slaughtered pigs. Homes near the Nanyang Tobacco Company were filled with the aromas of cigarettes and smoke. Near the site of what is now Sky Tower (former Gas Plant No.1) was a cow bone Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 103 ARTIST VILLAGE
factory whose production of fertilizers produced the most unimaginable stink”. (Lin, 2010)
Besides, one of the artists in Cattle Depot who has lived in the area for more than 40 years says, “the area was very prosperous in the 60s. There were many food stalls at 13 Streets.
The factory workers liked visiting the stalls during lunchtime”. It indicates that the meld of different activities and land uses energised the area in the 60s and 70s. After the 1980s, the relocation of the textile industries in the areas marked the declines of the area (Centre for
Architectural Heritage Research, 2009). Such historical background of the district reinforces the historical significance of the Cattle Depot as it witnesses the changes of the area. The Cattle Depot is transformed from an abandoned historic building to an artist village. Such transformation help reclaim the historical value of the Cattle Depot.
6.2.2. As a base for individual artists and arts groups Table 6.3 Number of tenants and art types in the Cattle Depot in 2001 and 2016 Number in Number in Art types 2001 2016 Art Group + Gallery 2 2 Multi-media 4 3 Installation 3 3 Paintings 2 2 Graphic Design 4 0 Fashion Design 1 0 Performing art (drama) 1 1 Photography 1 1
Total 19 12 Source: Asia Arts Archive and author’s field observation; Compiled by the author) When the artist village first established in 2001, there were 19 artist groups/ artists moved into the Cattle Depot and named themselves as “Cattle Depot Artist Village” (Table 6.3)
(Chan, 2000). It has been going through different periods. During the first period of the artist village (2001-2006), the artists and art groups were still very engaging in having various 104 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
kinds of collaborations and activities. The focus and types of activities are varied. It became
a new spot within the arts industry.
Zuni19 established Ngau Pang Shu Yuen (牛棚書院) during 2001-2003 (Appendix 3) aimed
at providing arts education through workshops, talks and exhibitions. Another of the active
art groups in the village is the Artist Commune which is a key player in coordinating the
events in the artist village as well as an alternative platform for solo art exhibitions. They
rented the largest unit (No. 12) in the village so it provided sufficient space for holding
exhibitions. The Cattle Depot Artist Village Open Day (八九十 • 十一牛棚藝術村開放日) in
2002 was the first event organised by the artists to celebrate the opening of the artist village.
The theme of the open day was “a cultural platform in urban space”. It reveals that the
initiation of the artist village was to establish a closer link with the community and the city
instead of being discrete. The Festival was held only in 2002 and 2003. “Cattle: Can All the
Tenants Laugh Efficiently (牛皮偏軟──牛棚業績公佈)” in 2005 was a joint exhibition of the
individual tenants in the village. The artworks addressed the relationship between the
economy and the arts development as well as presenting the view of the artists regarding
the artist village. Then took over by the Cattle Depot Book Fair (2003-2006) which co-
organised by 1a space, Zuni and Ngau Pang Shu Yuen. The book fair was not just about the
visual arts, but also about literature, music and culture. It became a platform for the
community to engage in the cultural activities and break the stereotype of the arts/ cultural
activities which are only for the middle-class or well-educated citizens due to the narrowly
defined culture in the cultural policy during the colonial period (refer to Section 5.2.3.). In
addition, the interviews with the visitors reflect:
19 Zuni is a not-for-profit cultural organization which is specialized in experimental performing arts based in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, they are also dedicated in arts education, cultural exchange and book publishing. Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 105 ARTIST VILLAGE
“I am an ordinary citizen and know nothing about arts. It is only something for well-educated people even if I go and visit the exhibitions. I don’t think I can comprehend what they are doing.” (Interview, Visitor in Cattle Depot)
Therefore, the breakthrough of making a cultural platform in local neighbourhood apart from being a new spot within the arts industry was significance in the development history of the artist village.
a b
Figure 6.5 Cattle Depot Book Fair in 2004 (Photo Source: Asia Art Archive)
However, starting from the second period of the village, the artists and arts groups moved to other arts spaces due to the absence of development direction of the village and red tapes brought by the historic buildings (refer to Section 6.4). The tenants were frustrated by these unfavourable situations. By 2016, there were only 12 tenants left (Table 6.3). The vacant units are open for short-term leasing because in the original lease, once the existing artists or art groups moved out, there would not be any new tenant replacing the old tenant. It also indicates the lack of synergies among the artists as well as the lack of the intermediary agents in the village. Even so, the remained tenants and the artist village survived and developed in their own ways. Some of the artists and arts groups have used their units mainly for storage and base of their organizations. 106 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
“I, as an installation artist, need to have more spaces for storing my artworks. I put most of the non-commercial artworks in the Cattle Depot (Artist Village). I go back sometime for tidying up the art pieces as well as meeting some of my old friends there.” (Interview, installation artist in Cattle Depot Artist Village)
“We are doing multimedia. The studio here becomes the data storage as well as the archives for old artwork. Meanwhile, it will be used as the function room for visitors. (Why do you move to a bigger place?) We do have another office for our current projects, but we don’t want to give up this place. Once we move out, we can’t move back in again.” (Interview, multimedia artist in Cattle Depot Artist Village)
In addition, as illustrated in Figure 6.6, the On & On Theatre which is a drama group uses
the Cattle Depot as the campus for actor training, rehearsals and drama play. They convert
one of the units into a mini theatre which can cater approximately 70 people. Another unit
is used as its office. 1a Space Gallery which is a non-profit organisation converts the unit
into the gallery for exhibition and post-exhibition activities. Furthermore, the largest unit
in the village (No. 12) (Figure 6.4) is originally occupied by the Artist Commune 20. It was
left idle in 2012 due to the dismissal of the Artist Commune. This unit, as well as the piazza,
become two of the most important venues for short-term leasing. Even though some of the
artists or arts groups originally in resident has moved out, it brings other organizations into
the village through holding exhibitions and events there. The temporary occupancy of the
units facilitates new creative practices within the artist village such as PlayDepot project
which is a community arts project (further elaboration in section 6.2.4.).
20 The Artist Commune was founded in 1997 by a group of artists for Hong Kong Young Artist Academy. It is an independent art group promoting the ink wash painting as well as facilitating the discussion of social issues through arts. The Artist Commune is dismissed in 2012. (Lai & Man, 2015) Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 107 ARTIST VILLAGE
Within these 16 years, the artist village has been struggling in terms of its positioning and rebuilding its reputation within the arts field as well as the public. However, things do not go smoothly. The tension and contestation between the artists and the government make thing even more difficult for the Cattle Depot to reach another peak like Period 1.
a b
c d
e f
Figure 6.6 Events and Activities held in the Cattle Depot Artist Village a) Theatre operated by the On&On Drama (capacity: 80pax); b) Exhibition gallery operated by 1a Space; c) Social gathering before and after the drama performance; d) Dialogue with the artists and the curator of the exhibition – “One belongs where one is content” in 1a Space; e) Closing party of an event held by the Videotage; f) PlayDepot – the making of toys by upcycling abandoned wood (Photos by the author)
108 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
6.2.3. As a “gimmick” in the district redevelopment plan As mentioned in section 6.2.1, the Cattle Depot as a graded historic building, is also
surrounded by other graded historical buildings in the area. In addition to the graded
historic buildings, the Home of To Kwa Story is a local story museum established by a group
of artists and urban planners to showcase the local lifestyle through workshops and arts. All
these elements intertwine and form a cultural landscape of old Kowloon neighbourhood.
Nevertheless, the CDAV is in an unsettling status, due to urban redevelopment program and
the construction of the MTR in the area.
a b Figure 6.7 (a) Contrasting urban landscape (old vs new) surround the Cattle Depot; (b) Slogan on the advertisement outside a residential construction site (Photos by the author)
Smart & Tang (2014) suggest that the liminal dimension of space reveals the unsettling
status of space. The artist village sits in a district between the old and new neighbourhoods
and at the edge of tremendous urban redevelopment implies its liminal nature (Figure 6.7a).
The liminal nature of space does not just exist in Ma Tau Kok or Cattle Depot, but also the
whole district. The changes of the urban landscape facilitated by the urban renewal program
in Kowloon City. The Kowloon City District Council and the Development Bureau uphold the
new planning strategy associated with the new development of the Old Kai Tak Airport. The
vision of the plan is to “conserve history and culture; synergize with surrounding development;
optimise land resource; and create quality living environment.” (HKSARG Development
Bureau, 2014, p. 13). With the complement of the new MTR line, Shatin-Central Link, the
whole district will be divided into 4 areas in order to carry out various redevelopment and Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 109 ARTIST VILLAGE
revitalization project (Figure 6.8). The Cattle Depot is used as one of the themes in the program in order to shape the character of the area nearby.
Ma Tau Kok (Orange circle in Figure 6.8) falls into the list of “Redevelopment Priority Area” which implies that the buildings will be dilapidated. The positioning of the area is to act as
(i) a cultural and art living district, (ii) a gateway to Kai Tak Development Area from To Kwa
Wan and (iii) with better integration between the new and old. Such positioning is questionable as the plan is to redevelop the area instead of revitalizing the area. Thus, the plan attempts to build a new community instead of preserving the old community. As reflected from one of the slogans of the new MTR line, “New Rail, New Community” (新鐵路．
新社區), it entails that the urban renewal plan is mainly aimed at destroying the old community and creating a new one.
110 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
Figure 6.8 Area Position and Characters in the urban renewal program (HKSARG Development Bureau, 2014) Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 111 ARTIST VILLAGE
The district is now facing a “planning limbo”. Such limbo applies when the place is transformed from a deep-rooted community to another. In addition, the new buildings and image of the district are still going through unsettled processes of formulation and implementation (Smart & Tang, 2014). It reinforced what Tang (2014) suggests, the urban development of Hong Kong forms “subjectivity” due to the colonial land system and practice as it is still in use after the handover. In this case, the liminality of the district intensifies such “subjectivity’ because the district is not only facing the struggle of “Keeping the old:
Building the new”, but also how to integrate arts and culture in both new and old community without adding any odd. Even though the district and the artist village are facing challenges brought by the urban renewal, the program does bring opportunities to the artist village as reflected from the interviews of the respondents:
“I think the issues of Cattle Depot (Artist Village) are the location and the mix of the tenants. The location of the Cattle Depot is not convenient. At the same time, the tenants are not active in doing something together again. They just work on their own. Some even rented the place for storage and seldom appears in the village. How can the artist village be alive?...... The short-term lease makes the artists insecure about their future, so it is hard to attract newcomers to move in although the rent is relatively cheaper in comparing with the market rent. (Interview, cultural expert)
“The recent development (new MTR line) may bring opportunity for the artist village as the “remote” (inconvenient) location was one of the disadvantages of the artist village. Hope that with the new MTR, its pedestrian flow can be enhanced.” (Interview, artist in the CDAV)
Kong et al. (2015) argue that “interactions within the community hardly take place, and there is poor recognition eternally among immediate neighbourhood” (p.171). Their claim may be still valid if there is no ongoing urban renewal plan. Nonetheless, the neighbourhood is facing a drastic change. With the help of the renewal plan and better accessibility due to the 112 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
new MTR line, the Cattle Depot in the eye of the community, not just an abandoned facility
and with a group of “unknown” people doing “something”, but also make the community
become more alert how drastic the changes are. The artists from the outside start using art
to bring the urban issues into the community in order to raise the awareness which will be
explained in the following section.
6.2.4. Arena for awakening local memory Year 2011 is a turning point which also marks the beginning of Period 3 for the CDAV
because the management of the historic buildings was transferred from the Government
Property Agency to the Commissioner of Heritage which is under the Development Bureau.
In addition, the Development Bureau started the public consultation on The Kowloon City
Renewal Program. All these changes trigger the tenants in the village as well as the
community to engage in the community affairs. Therefore, the activities and events carried
out in the village shifted to reach the community. The target audience of the activities and
events change through time from arts-field-only events to more community-oriented events.
For instance, My To Kwa Wan Festival in 2010 (土人土事) was the collaboration between
the community centre and some of the tenants in the village.
“I organised several activities to engage the community, especially residents in the 13 Streets, to raise the awareness of the redevelopment program in the district. The activities were showcasing the traditional way of life of the community. Meanwhile, we discussed the redevelopment program and its possible impacts on the community”. (Interview, Artist in the Cattle Depot Artist Village)
These community events held in the Cattle Depot acts as a wakeup call for the community
about the historical value and local identity in the neighbourhood. Moreover, Fun Art and
Culture in Kowloon City District (2014) and Art @ Kowloon City District (2015-2017) were
both organised by the district council with the funding support from the Home Affairs Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 113 ARTIST VILLAGE
Department. Though arts-field-events are still held in the village, the local/ community organizations are keen to make use of the village or cooperate with art groups in order to facilitate community engagement through arts.
In addition to the art-related activities, other activities are observed in the artist village. The village is very quiet with very few visitors on weekdays. Events and activities usually held during the weekends. Also, during the weekends, some photography lovers come and take pictures in the artist village. Some residents nearby bring some plants to a little corner in the village. Although the interaction between the neighbourhood and the artist village are sublet, it still represents that the Cattle Depot has been a part of the community instead of an isolated one.
“I dropped by the Cattle Depot. The place is quite small, so I finished my visit quickly. I wonder why there is no one in the village even for the gallery, I am not sure if it is open for visitors.” (Interview, Visitor of Cattle Depot Artist Village)
“Last time when I visited the Cattle Depot with my friends, she said there was a studio doing ceramic plates. We are surprised by the place as we lived in the same district and didn’t know there is a place can make ceramic plates. Why doesn’t the government promote the place more?” (Interview, Visitor of Cattle Depot Artist Village)
In the eyes of the visitors, the Cattle Depot is still a “new” place for them. The increasing number of community arts activities carried out in the village bring the “outsiders” into the place. With more community engagement activities, the CDAV is no longer a place only for the artists and for cultural production. People are connected to the village through the arts and the local issues. The most recent development of the artist village is that some local groups which advocate local crafts moved into the village regardless of the short-term lease.
Besides, a community art project by the Hong Kong Baptist University turned the Cattle 114 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
Depot into a “Play Depot”. The artists teach the children to make toys through upcycling the
waste (Figure 6.6f). This kind of community arts may not fully solve the problem in the
Cattle Depot, but it would be a way out for the Cattle Depot by giving it a new function.
6.3. Historical Influence on the Formation and Transformation of the CDAV This section is to discuss the historical events which influence the formation and changes of
the Cattle Depot Artist Village. During the formation and transformation of the CDAV, they
are just influenced by various key events within the site, in the district and in the city. Kong
(2012) stresses that it is important to consider the formation of the arts spaces. However,
the CASs, as an integral part in the district and the city. Therefore, the scope of the discussion
was expanded to those occurred in both district and city.
6.3.1. Post War Planning in 1948 As mentioned in the previous chapter, the planning and cultural policies before 1997 in
Hong Kong shaped the distribution of the creative arts spaces. The planning policy also
moulded urban character and functions of each district (He, 2016; Hong Kong SAR
Government). Hence, they triggered the formation and changes of the creative arts spaces.
Even though the Cattle Depot was built in 1908, the post-war planning in 1948 shaped the
surrounding of the Cattle Depot and laid the ground for its transformation. Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 115 ARTIST VILLAGE
Kowloon City is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Hong Kong (Faure, Hayes, & Birch,
1984; Hayes, 1966; He, 2016). The development of the area started after the Second World
War. As shown in the post-war planning proposed by Sir Patrick Abercombie (1948), Ma
Tau Kok was zoned as a trading estate and major industrial zone in Kowloon. Hung Hom served as a prominent area for shipping and ship manufacturing. Meanwhile, Abercombie
(1948) suggested reverting some parts to the residential area without removing the existing industries. This plan shaped the urban landscape and development direction of the district in the future.
Figure 6.9 Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) of Ma Tau Kok in 1957 (Source: Kowloon City District Council (2011); modified by the author) Figure 6.9 shows the initial land uses of the area in 1956. The industrial areas were mixed with residential land use. Kai Tak was the old airport which was built in 1925 and stopped operating in 1998. These areas along the coast formed a transport and industrial hub in
Kowloon during the industrialisation period. The post-war planning not only fixed the 116 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
functions of the area as an industrial and residential hub, but also formed a highly
complexed and mixed land uses.
Figure 6.10 captures the urban landscape of Ma Tau Kok in the 1980s. Some of the mixed
industrial and residential areas have been redeveloped into a residential area such as Wyle
Garden. The closure of the factories was due to the decline of the industrial sector in the late
80s-90s. The area changed dramatically from an industrial based area to a residential area.
Wyle Garden is one of the earliest large-scale residential redevelopment projects in the area.
The Gas Plant No. 1 was demolished in 1993 to redevelop into a private housing estate.
Hence, the development of residential high-rise creates a contrasting interface between the
Cattle Depot of this surrounding (Figure 6.7a). This contrasting interface intensifies the
incompatibility of the Cattle Depot with the surrounding.
Gas Plant Wyle No. 2 & 4 Garden
Figure 6.10 Ariel Photo of Ma Tau Kok in 1980s (Photo Source: University of Hong Kong Archives)
6.3.2. Oil Street Artist Village Although the artist village is owned and managed by the government, the emergence of the
artist village is not initiated by the government. Its formation is not just a story happened Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 117 ARTIST VILLAGE
in a graded historic building in an old Kowloon neighbourhood, but it is also a story about a group of active artists in the 90s started to get together in Oil Street where the artist villages are initially and organically formed. The emergence of the Oil Street Artist Village is the origin of the Cattle Depot Artist Village. One of the involved artists reveals:
“The origin of the Cattle Depot (Artist Village) was a group of artists including myself in former Oil Street Artist Village. At that time (in the mid-1998), some of us were interested in creating something together but the problem was where we could work together. We found a list of empty properties from a government website (Government Property Agency) for lease and the rent were very cheap…We rented the former Government Supplies Department at Oil Street in North Point.” (Interview, artist in Cattle Depot)
The “life” of the Oil Street Artists Village only lasted for 14 months (from late 1998 to late
1999). Then 19 artists and arts groups were relocated to the Cattle Depot by the government in 2001. The artist village was managed by the Government Property Agency. The Oil Street
Artist Village was the first self-organised artist village in a government-owned property
(Figure 6.11). Even though the artists had stayed in this old government building only for a short period of time, it reflects one of the most prosperous periods in the contemporary arts history of Hong Kong.
Without any support from the government, the artists in the village carried out several exhibitions and collaboration with the artists from overseas. However, the government asked the artists moving out in 1999 as the land would be auctioned. Under such circumstance, the artists started to negotiate with the government and the Hong Kong Art
Development Council (HKADC) to seek for the opportunity to resettle the artist village.
Apart from having a negotiation with the government, the artists held a large-scale exhibition, titled “Save Oil Street” (救油街聯合行動) in order to draw the attention from the public and the press. The exhibition ended up with immense success. It sped up the 118 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
negotiation and the government finally set back with resettlement suggestion (Hong Kong
Society for Education in Art, 2009).
“Many people think that we were crazy at that time as the government was not interested in art at all, but we didn’t want our efforts in vain. That’s why we insisted to bargain with the HKADC (Hong Kong Arts Development Council) and got positive feedback from them. The (HK)ADC certainly couldn’t make any decisions as the land was controlled by the government. After a year, the government proposed some abandoned facilities to resettle us. One was Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir. Another one was the old Kai Tak Airport. Some of us went to Cheung Sha Wan. However, Cheung Sha Wan (Abattoir) was totally unacceptable in terms of the hygiene and amenity. The atmosphere there is ghostly and haunted. Then we talked to the government again. We moved again to Cattle Depot after its renovation.” (Interview, oil painting artist in Cattle Depot Artist Village)
Therefore, without formation of the Oil Street Artist Village and artist-initiated negotiation
with the government, the Cattle Depot Artist Village would not exist. Besides, it also reflects
the government ‘s reactive approach to the arts and cultural affairs.
a b c
Figure 6.11 a) View of the Oil Street Artist Village in North Point (Former Government Supplies Office); b) Workspace of the artist; c) Exhibition held in the Village (Photo courtesy: Asian Art Archive)
6.3.3. Grading and regrading of the Cattle Depot The Cattle Depot listed as a Grade III historic building in 1994 and regraded as Grade II in
2009. The grading of this abandoned facility offered the opportunity for the Depot to
embrace a “new” life as an artist village in 2001. The 1.7-hectare red-brick slaughterhouse Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 119 ARTIST VILLAGE
was built in 1908. It was a relocation of the original slaughterhouse in Hung Hom due to the construction of the railway. According to the Historic Building Appraisal Report (Antiquities
Advisory Board, 2009), it stresses that the Cattle Depot is the only surviving pre-war cattle slaughterhouse in Hong Kong. It implies that the historical values of the sites and the representation of the local development. Besides, it also marked that the growth of the offensive trade and tannery in Ma Tau Kok. The offensive trade included the fellmongery, leather dressing, tanning, glue making, size making and gut-scraping (Government Records
Office, 1918). In the 60s, other leather not related industries grew there as well.
Figure 6.12 Left: The bird view of the Cattle Depot Artist Village; Right: Spatial and Temporal Distribution of the Cattle Depot
The site includes five Victoria red-brick blocks which meld with the Chinese and Dutch architectural features. The Cattle Depot expands in 1956 (rear portion in Figure 6.12). The rear part abandoned due to the move of the slaughterhouse to Cheung Sha Wan and fenced off. Only the front portion was serving as the quarantine and cattle trading. Although the
Cattle Depot is listed as Grade III historic building in 1994, the site was left idle after the closure of the quarantine in 1999 without any plan for future development. Its historical and architectural values of the Cattle Depot are recognised by the government through the grading system. However, similar to many historic buildings in Hong Kong, the historical 120 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
building grading is just a grading system without any mechanism to plan the future use of
the building. Scholars (Abbas, 1997; Ingham, 2007) argue that Hong Kong is facing cultural
amnesia due to the non-prescient heritage conservation policy. It is true that the grading
system of heritage conserves the buildings physically, but neither imposing a new meaning
to the building nor reinforcing its link to the community in this process.
Until 2001, a group of artists in Oil Street Artist Village resettled in the Depot and converted
it into the first government managed artist village in Hong Kong. Since it was only temporary
resettlement, the future of the artist village was very uncertain. Also, as a Grade III historic
building, it was “not yet qualified for the consideration as possible monuments and are
recorded as a pool for future selection” (HKSARG, 1997a). If its grading is not promoted, it
still has the risk of being demolished. Therefore, with the regrading of the Cattle Depot in
2009 from Grade III to Grade II of which selective preservation is required. The regrading
was triggered by the heritage conservation policy reformed in 2009. It included the
reassessment of 1444 historic buildings in Hong Kong. The heritage conservation policy
reform also led to the shift of the management of the artist village from the Government
Property Agency to the Commissioner of Heritage’s Office in 2011. This shift led to the
institutional changes in the village (refer to section 6.4.3).
6.4. Institutional Implication for the CDAV This section is organised to discuss the institutionalisation of the CASs, including the
processes and issues relating to (i) external: institutionalisation through policies and/or
government intervention.; (ii) internal institutionalisation among the artists and/or
regulations within the site; and (iii) management of the site. The incidents occurred within
the site, in the district as well as the city are just the epiphenomena of the institutional
setting of the case study so as to avoid overgeneralisation of the analysis (Mommaas, 2004). Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 121 ARTIST VILLAGE
Thus, through investigating the institutionalisation processes from different dimensions, we can have a more thorough understanding of the case study.
6.4.1. Institutionalisation through policies and government intervention In the case of the CDAV, the major institutional influence is from the district council. The
Kowloon District Council held the District Festival and used arts as one of the “gimmicks” to engage artists and the community in addition to the district redevelopment program.
However, some of the artists are still sceptical about this kind of cooperation:
“I don’t support community arts even though some of my friends are doing that as well. The community arts is not arts in my opinion. I used to participate in the community art program held by the district council by teaching the elderly to do oil paintings, but I realised that it spent me a lot of time to prepare. Then I stopped to take part in the program. I would rather focus on my own work.” (Interview, Artist in the Cattle Depot Artist Village)
The artists, eventually, are not only sceptical about the community arts, but also doubtful about the intentions of the district council in holding all these projects when the neighbourhood is facing the urban renewal. Some of the artists carried out activities to engage the community directly instead of collaborating with the district council. It shows the instrumental value of the arts in terms of the urban planning and community building.
However, the events and activities somehow are manipulated by the district council which is the source of the funding.
“The Home Affairs Department and District Council provide funding for carrying out community art projects. The applicants for the funding may not be the artists in the Cattle Depot. Usually, the projects turnout will invite the artists to participate in the projects as the artists/ art groups in 122 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
the artist village are not active in participating in these kinds of art projects.” (Interview, Kowloon City District Councillor)
Another intervention from the District Council can also be reflected from the District Council
Signature Project21 which plans to revitalise the rear part of the Cattle Depot (refer to Figure
6.13).
“We (the district council) tried to cooperate with Cattle Depot especially in the District Festival. Some of the councillors think that the Cattle Depot is not functioning well as no one go there. That’s why we are planning to revitalise the rear part of the Cattle Depot so that the uses of the artist village can be more diverse. It is mainly because we lack the recreation space for the residents.” (Interview, Kowloon City District Councillor)
The aim of the project is to revitalise the abandoned part of the Cattle Depot and expand the
Depot for the recreational use. Therefore, the plan illustrated in Figure 6.13 shows that the
artist village is neither expanding nor renewing. This plan was submitted to the government
without formal consultation with the tenants.
“I knew what’s going on when I opened my mailbox one day. The management office told us that the project might create noise and influence our working environment…. I can’t understand why the government is not expanding the artist village by using the rear part. It can give hope to this place.” (Interview, Artist in the CDAV)
21 The Signature Project Scheme is a one-off grant ($100 million Hong Kong dollars) sponsored by the Home Affairs Department of Hong Kong SAR Government for each district council in Hong Kong to implement one or two large scale projects which “will cause significant impact on the district having regard to the needs of the district”. (Home Affairs Department HKSARG, 2013, p. 1) Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 123 ARTIST VILLAGE
Figure 6.13 Illustration of the District Council Signature Project in the Cattle Depot Artist Village (Source: Kowloon City District Council (2015) )
The project has been approved by the government and the district council and will be completed in 2018. It is valid to claim that the project would bring visitors and the community into the artist village after completion by improving the accessibility of the village. However, the core problem of the artist village has not been addressed – the positioning of the artist village. The government is still reluctant to express their intention.
The artists are passive in responding to the intervention from the district council. Some tenants are afraid of losing the village once they confront with the government and the district council, so they just adopt “wait and see” attitude. Some of them are contented with the current status of the village as they just want to focus on their creation.
“I see the beauty of the organic development in Cattle Depot (Artist Village). The formation of the artist village is spontaneous. Although it is criticised that the village lacks a clear position, I believe the randomness 124 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
of the village nurture a free environment for us to focus on what we want to do.” (Interview, artist in Cattle Depot)
This also unravels in the relationship between the artists and arts groups within the village
which will be further elaborated in the next part.
6.4.2. Internal institutionalisation among the artists During Period 1 (2001-2006), there were some intermediary agents such as Artist
Commune and Zuni to facilitate the internal institutionalisation through organising joint-
exhibitions and events. After the end of the Cattle Depot Book Fair in 2006 and the
intermediary agents becoming inactive, the artist village was getting lost in terms of its
position in the community as well as in the arts industry. The artist village has been
criticised for not functioning well in the community as well as in the arts field.
According to the minutes of the District Council meetings, many of the CDAV was not fully
utilised and not connected to the community. Meanwhile, the government started to review
the heritage conservation policy in 2006. The artists were afraid and suspected that the
government would terminate their leases. At that time, the government intended to move
the artists again to the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre and turn the Cattle Depot into a
performance venue in 2007. That triggered the discussion about the future development of
the artist village. Facing such circumstance, the activities held in the artist village were
focused on “showing off” the value of the artist village. The March in the Cattle Depot in 2008
and 101 Cattle – Cattle Depot Art Festival in 2009 are examples of the activities.
“We (the artists) bought the materials and tools in one of the local stationery shops, but the shop has been closed. We also used to gather in a cha chaan teng (literally: tea restaurant) nearby for lunch or tea. I heard that the cha chaan teng would be closed very soon as well. I feel sad as all these memories and social network are disappearing.” (Interview, artist in Cattle Depot) Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 125 ARTIST VILLAGE
Even though the lack of intermediary agents was an issue to the development of the artist village, in this “lost” period (2007-2010), the artists and arts groups in the village sought their own ways to survive by seizing the opportunities outside the village. Some of the groups such as 1a Space and Videotage, in Cattle Depot were focused more on the activities outsides the village by holding various programs and workshops. Their responses to the lack of synergy among the tenants imply that the activities in the CASs should not only be limited within the CASs. These activities should also facilitate the building-up and expansion of tenants’ networks outside the physical space.
6.4.3. Management within site As mentioned in the previous section, the lack of synergies among the artists seems is one of the explanations for why the site has become inactive. Despite lacking synergy among the artists, its management approach also handicapped the development of the village.
Red- tapes – changes of management
The lack of synergy among the tenants and the absence of the middleman to coordinate are contributed to the “lost” of the artist village. Apart from these, the institutional factors are the determinants for the fall of the artist village; they also frustrated the artists/ arts groups in the village. They also exemplify the tension between the new culture (i.e. arts industry) and the old culture (i.e. historic buildings) (Hillier, 2013; Stern & Seifert, 2010).
Even though the development of the artist village was quite organic, the village had been going through an institutionalisation process after the artist village settled in the Cattle
Depot. Such process is mainly caused by various regulations in the site due to its government-owned and heritage nature. This section attempts to unseal how different stakeholders in the site contribute to the process of institutionalisation and the transformation of the site in terms of formal and informal regulation. 126 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
As mentioned, the Cattle Depot (i.e. Former Ma Tau Kok Animal Quarantine Depot) is listed
as Grade II historic building in Hong Kong. The historic building status has imposed some
restrictions on the tenants’ activities in the village to a certain extent. For example, the
interior of the premises cannot be altered. It is problematic especially when the artists
would like to decorate their workspaces to suit their needs. Kong (2011, p. 460) argues that
“heritage is a liability, imposing unreasonable constraints on activities and behaviour, ceding
the advantage it could have generated”. From the perspectives of various parties involved,
however, heritage may not be a liability, but an asset for the past and current development
of the artist village.
“My studio is not the red-brick house. In comparing with those using the red-brick house, I have less restriction. I can decorate the studio, but some of the structures in the house can’t be changed.” (Interview, artist in the Cattle Depot Artist Village)
“The major difficulty in holding an exhibition in the premises (Cattle Depot) is that we are restricted by the physical setting in the premises. As the gallery is used to be the area for cattle rearing, the curators have to be careful how to present the artwork without harming the physical structures of the building. (Interview, Gallery Director in the Cattle Depot Artist Village)
Undoubtedly, the management of the artist village is fragmented without coordination
between various parties (Kong, 2011). Although the Cattle Depot is a historic building, the
management is by the Government Property Agency after the abandonment and the
establishment of the artist village. However, arts and cultural affairs are overseen by the
Home Affairs Bureau. The initial intent of the government is to resettle the artists in Oil
Street in a temporary-basis of three years. Thus, the artist village is established without
future vision and planning. The government manages the site as a property rather than an
artist village. Meanwhile, the establishment of the artist village can be regarded as a Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 127 ARTIST VILLAGE
response to the “Brand Hong Kong Program” 22 in 2001. In this program, culture and arts development is stressed to promote Hong Kong as an Asia World City. The government seized the opportunity to preserve a platform for nurturing the local artists and art groups.
Aligning with the Hong Kong 2030 Strategic Plan, the cultural development stresses on the framing Hong Kong as an international cultural metropolis through preserving the cultural uniqueness and providing more arts venues so as to uplift the international profile and competitive edge of Hong Kong. In terms of the provision of art venue (HKSARG Planning
Department, 2002, p. 3), “arts venues serving community needs are essentially those at the community level of residents, schools, community groups, local performing groups, voluntary associations and other special interest groups and societies. These facilities require proximity to workplaces and residential districts to encourage community participation”. Nonetheless, the criteria mentioned in the above quote does not exist in the Cattle Depot. The “red tapes” under the management of the Government Property Agency and shortening the length of the lease from three years to three months. Zukin & Braslow (2011) suggest that it was a type of social control over the artist village. The existence of the “red tapes” reveals the due to rigidity and inflexibility of the policies and heritage management. Also, arts matter is overseen by the non-art related professional.
The artists formed a concern group to protest and negotiate with the Government Property
Agency in order to strike for a better environment in the CDAV. The artists also created some artworks and held forum such as “Cattle Depot Artist Village and Community Forum” in responding to the rigidity of the management. Their major requests were: (i) open the Artist
Village to the public; (ii) strengthen the connection between the village and the community;
(iii) monitor the future development of the Cattle Depot with public discussion. Figure 6.14 is one of the propaganda created by one of the artists and expressing their requests for
22 See Chapter 5, Section 5.2 128 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
improving the artist village. The triggering point of the protest was that in 2010, the
Government Property Agency suddenly tightened the regulation by asking the artists to one
of the artworks which hung on the wall within the village. It provoked the discontent of the
artists and led to the protests.
English translation – Nine Suggestions for My Dream Cattle Depot Artist Village (The cattle need water.) 1. Legitimatization of the Village with formal entrance badge and in the government documents 2. Multi-languages – inclusive environment for the ethnic minorities 3. Securities – not guarding the place/ helping the visitors 4. Information board introducing the history of the Cattle Depot 5. Allow photography 6. Build resting areas for the public and the artists 7. Toilets papers 8. Hold a regular tenant meeting and engaging the public 9. Property management only. Other activities which are not harmful to the people and the property shouldn’t be prohibited. Figure 6.14 Propaganda made by an artist asking for a better artist village and ease of the red tapes (Photo Source: Wong (2010) ; Translated by the author) The transfer of management from the Government Property Agency to the Commissioner
of Heritage took place in 2011. The daily management is subcontracted to a property
management company. The old red tapes are removed such as visitor registration, ease of
the use of public space. With these regulatory changes, the tenants still cannot proactively
engage in the management and planning of the artist village even though the management
office fulfilled their basic needs.
“I, personally, am fine with the property management cooperation, as they have to do their jobs. The issue is about how we can raise our Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 129 ARTIST VILLAGE
opinions. There is no official and direct channel for that. (What happen if you have any complaints to make?) I have been here for a long time (more than 10 years). I don’t have any problems with the place now as most of the problems have been addressed when we first moved in. For basic amenities, just talk to the management office. Usually they will help us.” (Interview, artist in Cattle Depot)
“If the tenants (the artists) have any issues about the management of the Cattle Depot, it is better for them to complain directly to the senior officers and then they can pass the message to the government (Development Bureau). It is hard for us to handle those complaints” (Management representative in Cattle Depot)
Besides, the length of the lease is still three months. In other words, the tenants have to renew the lease with the government every three months. The artists/ art groups still stay in the village because the rent is still lower than the market rent, but the tradeoff is without a sense of security and lack of new energy in the village.
“We need some new blood here! Otherwise, I can’t see the hope of this place (The Cattle Depot Artist Village). Although I can still work on my own, the development of the village is necessary if the government is supporting the arts industry. The artists really lack workspace. I can’t understand what the government wants from this place. If the government really supports arts, please do something for the artists.” (Interview, artist in Cattle Depot Artist Village) 130 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
Naming of Place –legitimation process
a b
c
Figure 6.15 Signposting and Notices of the Cattle Depot Artist Village (Photos by the authors)
Changes in the naming of the artist village convey its legitimation process and
representation of the CDAV. When the artists and arts groups first moved in, the name,
“Cattle Depot Artist Village” is not officially recognised by the government. The rear portion
of the Depot is still fenced off. The Cattle Depot was re-graded into Grade II historic building
in 2009 and the government carried out research to canvass its future use. The study
suggests that the artist village should be kept and further explore the possible ways to its
operation. From Figure 6.15, there are three different versions of the naming of the artist
village, (a) Ex-Ma Tau Kok Animal Quarantine Depot, (b) Cattle Depot Artist Village and (c)
Cattle Depot. Such inconsistencies are not only reflecting the fragmentation of the
management of the heritage, but also revealing the legitimation of the artist village. From
heritage conservation perspective, the name depicts the function of the historic building.
Therefore, it is named as Ex-Ma Tau Kok Animal Quarantine Depot. From the perspective of Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 131 ARTIST VILLAGE
the community, the residents call the place as “Cattle Depot”. From the District Council perspective, in order to promote the place to the outsiders/ tourists, the signpost on the street would name the place as a “Cattle Depot Artist Village”. However, the name of “Cattle
Depot Artist Village” did not exist in any government documents before the protest of the artists in 2010. In the protest, they asked for a proper acknowledgement of the artist village from the government and formal entrance badge. As the government was reviewing the future development of the Cattle Depot, the legitimation process was halted. Until now, the government only regards the “artist village” as one of the usages of the Cattle Depot and open for other proposal. The reluctance of the government in acknowledging the artist village further deepened the distrust between the government and the artists.
“(Localities) will be defined in terms of the sets of social relations or processes in question.
Crucially, too, they are about interaction. Such interaction, moreover, is likely to include conflict. Localities contain difference and conflict. They may not be related in any immediate way in terms of social relations a-spatially” (Massey, 1994, p. 138). This quote offers a depiction of the key storyline for the Cattle Depot Artist Village. If we regard the artist village as an integral part of the district, the formation and transformation of the artist village is the outcome of the contention between the government and the artists since the Oil Street
Artist Village. If the artist did not fight for the village, it would have died gradually. It also echoes with Zukin & Braslow (2011) that the local politicians and local government should re-establish trust with the artists before having any intervention.
“Self-organisation” is undoubtedly a key element of the former Oil Street Artist Village, an autonomous space created with artists’ extreme passion and dedication which go far beyond the government planning. However, the activities in the Cattle Depot cannot be without someone with a leading role. The current situation of the Cattle Depot reflects that a key person/ group is absent in the village.” (Leung, 2014, p. 4) 132 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
“Governance of culture and urban space plays a critical role in contributing to the
sustainability of cultural and social life.” (Kong et al., 2015, p. 172). This statement highlights
that the government plays a prominent role in sustaining the arts space. Nonetheless, the
localised arts space like the Cattle Depot Artist Village may prove more complex than at first
it may seem. Zukin & Braslow (2011) suggest that the importance of the local factors such
as social and political ones handicapped the development of the creative district in New
York. Similarly, the role of the government in the Cattle Depot Artist Village is transformed
from a pure landlord with red tapes to a more open-minded landlord by starting to envision
the future development of the village due to the urban redevelopment strategy as well as
the local politics. However, the distrust between the government and the artists/groups
make the Village fall into a deadlock. Thus, most of the criticism and discussion about the
future of the Cattle Depot Artist Village are focused on how to revitalise and reactivate the
village. The proposal makes by the government and the District Council are not really
addressing the needs and concerns of the artists. It seems there is no way of expressing their
views as the village is managed by the government subcontracted agency. Meanwhile, the
artists themselves also lack unity in handling the issue related to the whole village. The
prosperity of the village is periodic.
6.5. Summary Cattle Depot, a graded historic building cluster in an old neighbourhood in Hong Kong, was
revitalised after a group of passionate artists from Oil Street resettled there in 2001. This
historic building cluster has been known as the Cattle Depot Artist Village (CDAV) since then.
The conversion of historical premises to artist villages is one of the common ways to
revitalise heritage (Throsby, 2001) and it brings positive influences on the community and
the artists. However, the organic and unplanned entity in a restricted premise is seemingly Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT 133 ARTIST VILLAGE
not working well in the Cattle Depot. The artist village becomes a “forgotten” creative arts space in the community and creative milieu.
The functional role of the CDAV is non-static. From the three development periods of artist village, it shows that the functions of the village changed because of the alteration of the surrounding as well as the institutional changes. Even though the Cattle Depot is a historical icon in the community and “witness” all changes in the district, this role is not fully reflected in the development process of the village. The urban renewal program in the district gives an opportunity to the artists in the village to engage themselves and interact with the community for developing a shared understanding of the urban issues and for awakening local memory of the history. At the same time, it casts pressure on the artists in the village regarding the future of the village. The tenants in the village found their own ways to survive by developing their studios in CDAV as a base for their projects outside the village.
In addition, the historical events such as the post-war planning, Oil Street Artist Village and the grading of the Cattle Depot influenced the formation and transformation of the artist village. The Post-war planning in 1948 shaped the local function and character. Hence, the
Cattle Depot is in a community with highly complexed and hybrid land uses. Such land use pattern makes the Cattle Depot as an artist village difficult to interact with the community.
Furthermore, the establishment of CDAV is a result of the negotiation between artists in Oil
Street Artist Village and government. The historic building grading of the Cattle Depot determined the fate of artist village to a certain extent. In 1994, it was graded as Grade III which implies that demolishment is allowed. The management of those government owned
Grade III historic building had just treated them as property. It was re-graded as Grade II in
2009 and means that conservation effort should be made. It also triggered the change of management in 2011 and red-tapes used to be imposed in the artist village were eased. 134 Chapter 6 CASE 1 – FROM MA TAU KOK ANIMAL QUARANTINE DEPOT TO CATTLE DEPOT ARTIST VILLAGE
The CDAV has long been facing uncertainty. The government just treats it as a facility in the
community and ignores the local arts ecology. Heritage may be a “burden” for the artists
(Kong, 2011). However, the reality reflects that the “burden” is brought by the reluctance of
the government in giving clear direction in terms of the future development of the artist
village as well as red tapes in property management, but not the heritage itself. The synergy
from the Oil Street could not be transferred successfully to the Cattle Depot; they were lost
gradually because the intermediary agent is absent in the village. Such an agent is important
to the village as it helps facilitate joint activities among the artists in the village.
Furthermore, there is an expectation discrepancy between the government and the tenants
regarding the functional roles of the CDAV. The former would like to make the village more
open to the public and be a part of the gimmick in the urban renewal program while the
latter would like to have fewer red tapes and a more secure environment for their creation.
Moreover, the CAS is sensitive to the changes in its surrounding as its functions are shaped
by the historical events as well as the institutional changes. Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 135
Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER (FOTANAIAN)
“Arts needs space. Artist needs room for thinking and creation.” – Artist in Fotan
This chapter discusses the second case study – Fotan Arts Studio Cluster, which is privately managed and spontaneously formed in an industrial area, Fotan. The first part of the chapter introduces the arts studio cluster by outlining its location, background and development processes. The subsequent parts address the research questions one by one. Then the last section summarises.
7.1. Introducing Fotan Arts Studio Cluster This section provides background information about Fotan and scrutinises how its location and historical background serve as a “backdrop” for the formation of the arts studio cluster.
This arts studio cluster locates in an industrial area of the first-generation new town, Shatin.
It went through three development periods and transformed from an organically formed cluster in the early 2000s to a more organised entity – “Fotanian” and then back to an organically developed cluster in recent years.
7.1.1. Location of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster The Foatan Arts Studio Cluster is in Shatin. Shatin district, where is in the northeast of Hong
Kong, is comprised of six areas includes, Shatin, Tai Wai, Ma On Shan, Fotan, Siu Lek Yuen and Ma Liu Shui (Figure 7.1.). Shatin and Fotan are located at the river mouth of the Shing
Mun River in the northeast of Hong Kong. Their place names reflect their geographical locations. Shatin means sandy field while Fotan in Cantonese pronounces like “Hotan” which means riverbank. Its geographical location enables the district to be developed into a new town due to the propinquity to the old urban areas in Kowloon and the connection with another new town through major roads and railway (Wigglesworth, 1971). The industrial 136 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
area is surrounded by the village type development and other residential areas. Those
villages are mostly Hakka settlements which have settled in Shatin and Fotan since the late
1800s (Cody & Richardson, 1997). Before the new town development, there were 42
villages23 in Shatin. Under the development of the new town, five of the villages in Fotan
were resettled in the new town. The existing Fotan village as well as Wo Sheung Heung are
two of the “survivors” from the intensive development. Other residential developments are
mainly private middle-class housings.
Figure 7.1 District Boundary of Shatin (Prepared by the author)
23 There are three spatial forms of the villages: walled village (wai); unwalled (tsuen) with regular houses sharing same fengshui; unwalled with irregular houses arranged along the slope of a hill (Scott, 1982). Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 137
7.1.2. Formation and development of the arts studio cluster
Table 7.1 Chronology of transformation of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster
Period Year Events Post-1980 Industrial sector gradually moved to the mainland China Started by a group of professors and students from the Pre-Fotanian 2000 Department of Fine Art at The Chinese University of Hong Kong 2001 First Fotan Open Studios Event (in Jan every year) Renamed as Fotanian 2003 Outbreak of the SARS Turmoil of the property market 2007 Sponsorship from the property developer, Sino Group 2009 Revitalization of Industrial Buildings Fotanian 2010 Establishment of Factory Artists Concern Group 2012 Fotanian registered as a limited company Successfully applied for “Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme” or the Home Affair Bureau, HKSAR 2012-14 Government Formation of Board of Directors Dismissal of Board of Directors 2015 Annual Open Studios in March instead of January Annual Open Studios without the support neither from 2016 Post- cooperate or government Fotanian 2017 Annual Open Studios without using the name “Fotanian” There are two open studio events. One is in January as usual. 2018 Another is in March as a response to the invitation from the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Source: Compiled by the author based on the data collected in the fieldworks Table 7.1 shows the chronicle of the development processes of the arts cluster. The conflation of various economic and social factors triggered the spontaneous development of the cluster as well as the shaping of the cluster spatially and physically. The development 138 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
processes can be divided into three main spans: (i) Pre-Fotanian; (ii) Fotanian; (iii)Post-
Fotanian.
Pre-Fotanian – From Campus to Industrial Building (1980s-2002) The anecdote of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster began with a group of professors and students
from the Department of Fine Arts in the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) which is
located one train stop away from Fotan industrial area. Unlike other artistic clusters in other
cities, the formation of the cluster and the influx of artists were not only because of the
abandonment of the industrial buildings starting from the 80s which led to the affordable
rent, but also because of the changes in the socioeconomic situation in Hong Kong. The SARS
outbreak led to the turmoil in the property market. The price and rent of the industrial
buildings dropped tremendously. Hence, it offered an opportunity for the artists to settle in
Fotan. The industrial area in Fotan, on the contrary, is neither deindustrialised nor
depopulated. As the area is still mainly for industrial uses, it is hard to realise the existence
of the arts studios as the studios are meld with other industries (Figure 7.2). There are
different activities such as food processing, warehouses, offices, and metal workshops in the
various units on a typical floor. In 2001, around 20 artists from the Department of Fine Arts
in CUHK causally organised a small open studio event to showcase their artworks. The
visitors of the event were from the same department and friends of the artists. This event
marked the start of the cluster.
Fotanian (2003- 2014) – Flourishing development of the cluster After the first open studio event, the artists decided to hold this event annually. The event
was held twice in 2003. The second one was held in December 2003 as a part of the side
event of the Hong Kong Arts Biennial Exhibition. Some of the artists who first moved into
Fotan formed an organising committee for this annual open studio and renamed the event
as “Fotanian” (In Chinese: 「伙炭」) which means people in Fotan. The open studio events
held in January every year. It gradually attracted other artists who were not from the CUHK, Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 139
but mainly from the field of fine arts, moving into Fotan industrial area. The number of artists participated in the open studio events increased from 18 in 2003 to 100 in 2007. The development of the cluster caught the attention of the private corporation. The event attracted sponsorship from the private sector in 2007. Meanwhile, the government carried out a review of the industrial land use in Hong Kong and proposed the revitalization scheme of industrial building in 2009 so as to optimise the land use. The scheme triggered the concerns of the artists who have studios in industrial areas. They formed a concern group to express their opinions regarding the scheme. In 2012, the artists applied “Arts Capacity
Development Funding Scheme” from the Home Affairs Bureau in order to promote the cluster as well as the annual open studio event. “Fotanian” was registered as a limited company to manage the funding which lasted for 2 years (2013-2015).
Post-Fotanian (2015-current) – Back to Basics After the end of the funding, the board of directors dissolved in 2015. At the same time, due to the roar of the rent, the artists moved to other industrial areas such as Kwun Tong, Kwai
Chung, Ngau Tau Kok and Chai Wan. The organization of the annual open studio is back to an organic model. The scale of the event was smaller than in previous years. The number of participating artists dropped drastically from 170 in 2015 to 48 in 2017. The event only promoted through social media. In 2017, the event no longer used the name, “Fotanian”. The annual open studio event 2018 were held twice in January and March respectively. The one in March was a response to the invitation from the Hong Kong Tourism Board to complement “Hong Kong Arts Month”. 140 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
a b
c
Figure 7.2 Fotan: (a) Wah Luen Industrial Building with most artist studios in Fotan; (b) Existing industries in the area; (c) Surrounding Industrial Building (Photos by the author) Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 141
7.2. Functional Roles of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster This section addresses the first research question regarding the functional roles of creative arts spaces and how it can foster creative practices. Fotan Arts Studio Cluster acts as a gathering point for the artists formally and informally; it also serves as a hub for cultural production and consumption.
7.2.1. Gathering point of the artists The conventional explanation of creative industrial clusters is in accordance with the economic clustering theory (Porter, 2000). Thus, the co-location of creative industries benefits from the scale economies associated with sharing facilities. However, the case in
Fotan conveys another story. The cluster was started as the artists worked with their friends, but not because of the economic benefits of clustering. According to the respondents of the interviews, there are four types of artists/ arts groups settled in Fotan: (i) established artists who are well known in the industry and not actively engaged in the social activities; (ii) new artists who usually shared the studios with other new artist; (iii) semi-established artists who take any opportunities to make themselves standing out from the crowd; (iv) artists who actively hold various art classes in their studios in order to earn their livings. The mix of the artists/ arts groups determines the variation of the activities and interactions among the artists.
At the early stage of the development, the arts studios were mainly concentrated in two industrial buildings: Wah Luen Industrial Center Block A & B (華聯工業中心 A 座及 B 座) and Wah Lok Industrial Center (華樂工業中心). Unlike the previous case of the Cattle Depot
Artist Village, the Fotanian was even more disorganised and loose in terms of the interaction and types of activities held.
“Many people think that Fotan (arts studio cluster) is started by a group of students and professors from the CUHK (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) on purpose. The formation of Fotan (arts studio cluster) is 142 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
rather spontaneous as they were looking for a collaborative and private space to work. In addition, the rent is cheap at that time. Once they settled, it became a hotbed of artistic creation and attracted other artists to settle in Fotan.” (Interview, cultural expert)
Besides, from the interviews of the artists, the reason why they set up their studios in Fotan
is that that they were appealed by the synergy and creative environment established in the
district. Meanwhile, this form of arts studio cluster had not existed before in Hong Kong.
They were curious to see how it would work.
“I had studios in both places (Cattle Depot and Fotan). The one in Fotan was set up in 2003. When I saw some of my friends moved there, I was curious to experience the liveliness and collaborative environment here (Fotan).” (Interview, artist from Fotan and Cattle Depot)
“I moved to Beijing after I got married. One day, I considered moving back to Hong Kong. Some of my friends told me that Fotan was a good place and some of them had already started to work there. I decided to move to Fotan and bought this unit until now.” (Interview, oil painting artist in Fotan)
In 2003, these artists renamed this open studio event as Fotanian (in Chinese: 伙炭). This
new name has a two-fold meaning as it is a play on words. In Chinese, 伙炭 (literally
meaning “partnership” and “charcoal”) is a homophone of 火炭 (literally meaning “fire” and
“charcoal”). With 火炭 (in English: Fo Tan) also being the name of the industrial area, it
reiterated where this open studio event was held. The ideas of 伙 (partnership) and 火 (fire)
together brought out the very essence of the event – when a group of artists are united and
gathered together at one place, that passion and enthusiasm will keep the charcoal fire
burning bright. Hence, “Fotanian” becomes the common identity for the artists in Fotan as
well as the “bridge” to communicate with the public (Fotanian, 2007). Even though it was Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 143
only a name of the annual open studio event, “Fotanian” had become a representation of the cluster and a collective identity shared by the artists in Fotan for more than ten years.
A studio is not only a place for art production, but also a place for the artists to think and organise their works. Being interactive with other artists is also one of the reasons why the artists chose to settle in Fotan.
“My studio has multi-usage. One part of it is the workspace. Another part is a small gallery for every one of us displaying our works so that we can give opinions to each other’s works, especially when one is preparing his/her exhibition. That’s our practice in the studio.” (Interview, painting artist in Fotan)
“There are two reasons why we need spacious studios. First, some of our works need a large area to create or to store. Second, we need networks to promote ourselves and exchange ideas.” (Interview, installation artist in Fotan)
The above quotes imply that the artists from the shared studio benefit from the ideas exchange and criticism process. Hence, synergy is engendered. The interaction among the artists in some casual occasions formed an unusual scene, especially during the after-hours of the industrial buildings.
“The interesting bit of Fotan is that you could find a “non-industrial” scene in the area during the night time. Some of us were part-time artists so we only came back to our studios at night or during the weekend. At night we went upstairs and downstairs to “disturb” our friends in the building. But, it is past tense now…… [Why did you move out?] It [the rent] was just too expensive and some of my friends moved out as well. Thus, I moved out and relocated to Kwun Tong [another industrial area in Kowloon].” (Interview, Former artist in Fotan)
“I don’t know the newcomers as they just close the doors and work. Sometimes, I would have some updates through the chitchat with the 144 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
security guard of the building, so I will roughly know who has moved in. Those who can afford the rent here usually are more established artists and just would like to have privacy to work on their own or more money- spinning industries such as architecture firm or design company.” (Interview, gallery owner and artist)
Nevertheless, the social relationship among the artist collapsed after the Fotanian period
due to government intervention. The loss of the bonding among the artists becomes one of
the reasons why the cluster is no longer flourished. The breakdown of the bonding was
triggered by the failure of the institutionalisation of the cluster which will be discussed in
section 7.4.
a
c b Figure 7.3 Artists’ studios: (a) Solely owned studio; (b) Typical high ceiling in Wah Luen Industrial Centre for storage and large scale of paintings; (c) A shared studio of three artists (Photos by the authors) Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 145
7.2.2. Cultural production hub Most of the artists in the cluster rent their studios. Some of them share their studios with other artists in order to share the rental burden, especially for fresh graduates and part- time artists. The modes of the studio ownership depend on the artists’ preferences. Figure
7.3 a and c show the sole ownership and shared studio respectively. Figure 7.3 b illustrates how the artists in Wah Luen Industrial Centre utilise the space in the studio and the high ceiling in the industrial centre is distinctive in the area. Therefore, Wah Luen and Wah Lok have a larger cluster of arts studios.
The initiation of the arts studio cluster imposed a ripple effect to other industrial areas in
Hong Kong such as Kwai Chung, Kwun Tong, Chai Wan. The survey done by the Hong Kong
Art Development Council in 2010 disclosed that the top three districts with the largest number of the artists occupied in the industrial building are Fotan (20.5%), Kwun Tong
(19.6%) and Ngau Tau Kok (12.7%) (Hong Kong Arts Development Council, 2010b)24. Fotan has become the largest artist studio clusters among different industrial areas in Hong Kong.
The clustering effect of arts studios not only enables the closer contacts among the artists
(Markusen, 2014; Scott, 2014), but also facilitates the contacts with other agents within the arts industry such as commercial galleries as reflected from this case study.
Th artists who can afford the rent and remain staying in Fotan have commercial links with the galleries. These galleries are agents to artists by selling the artworks. Some commercial galleries established their own offices in Fotan during the early 2000s even though some of them moved to other industrial areas. The contacts and relationships are still sustained as the production is still active in the cluster.
“Some managers from the galleries made appointments with me to see my works. [So, will they buy your works from time to time?] Not really. It
24 The total number of surveyed artist/ art groups using industrial buildings are 434 (Hong Kong Arts Development Council, 2010b). 146 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
depends on their “appetites” and their judgement about my “investment values”, but it is good to keep in contact with them. Once I created something new, I can contact them to come and see.” (Interview, painting artist in Fotan)
“My art pieces are exhibited in different places. Some of the buyers are overseas and they would like me to create something for their new homes as decoration. Since I am doing the sculpture, the artwork is usually very bulky. It is not suitable for fitting one’s home in Hong Kong. [How did the overseas buyers get your contact?] They usually see my works in the galleries and then get the contact from the galleries or just through the personal network.” (Interview, sculpture artist in Fotan)
Besides, since the cluster was started by a group of professors and students from the Fine
Arts Department in the CUHK, the artists were focusing on fine arts such as paintings,
sculpture, ceramic, etc. The building-up of a reputation as an artists’ cluster also attracted
the artists from other fields such as multi-media, design and comics. The reputed cluster
expanded the cultural offers in the cluster which can foster the growth of the creative
industries (Evans, 2009a; Evans, Aiesha, & Foord, 2009; O’Connor & Gu, 2014), but this
benefit cannot be sustained due to the influence of other factors such as fluctuation of the
property market which will be further discussed in section 7.4.1.
7.2.3. Cultural consumption spot The production-oriented arts studios not only serve the purpose of artwork production, but
also function as a consumption space for the public, arts lovers as well as artwork buyers.
There are several types of consumption space through daily practices and the open studio
event: (i) classrooms for arts classes; (ii) showcases of artworks for the public; (iii) tourist
spot for arts lovers.
The first type of the consumption space is the classrooms that are converted from studios
by some artists. These classrooms are open to the public and the classroom teaching Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 147
generate income. The advertisements of some arts classes such as comics drawing, oil painting and drawing classes for kids are found on the streets and the notice boards of the industrial buildings (Figure 7.4). From one of the participant observations in a figure drawing class, the participants are quite diverse for those art classes. Many of them are professionals, and some are foreigners. They are attracted by the relatively low class fee25 as well as the special environment within the industrial area.
“I can’t find any place for learning oil painting in Hong Kong, especially for foreigners. Those in Central (one of the districts in Hong Kong) are extremely expensive. The class fee here is cheaper. Fotan is a vibrant place for art lovers.” (Interview, class participant in Fotan)
“In the studio, the artist placed some of her works as a demonstration. While the artist was teaching the drawing, she was also chatting with her students about her life in the art industry and the meanings of her artworks.” (Interview, sculpture artist in Fotan)
“I held various arts classes in my studio including sculpture, watercolour painting. Although they take me a lot of time and cannot earn much from teaching, I am willing to spend the time in doing art education and share ideas with my students. Art is for everyone, not just for the artists.” (Interview, oil painting artist in Fotan)
“Holding art class is not a problem. The problem is the intention of holding the arts classes. If their intentions are only for making money, it “pollutes” the art ecology within Fotan. The public only come here to have fun, but not really want to know more about arts… I think Fotan is a space for creation and thinking.” (Interview, oil painting artist in Fotan)
25 According to the interview respondent, the class fee of adult live drawing lesson in Fotan was $1000 (Hong Kong Dollars) for 4 sessions (2 hours per session). The class fee in Central would be up to $2000 for four sessions. 148 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
Figure 7.4 Street advertisements of the art classes (Photos by the author) Some of the artists are sceptical about commercialising the studios into a consumption
space for the public. Instead, they prefer to maintain the studios as a pure production-
oriented space. However, The artists who commercialise the studios and run the art classes
consider that the commercialisation is an opportunity for them to earn a living at the same
time to promote arts in the society. Tang (2015) argues that the absence of spatial
contradiction in Fotan led to the failure of cultural regeneration in this semi-vacant
industrial area. Fotan, as a part of Shatin new town, is functionally separated from the
surrounding such as the residential area. In other words, there is no “clash” of spatial
practices between the artists in Fotan and the residents in Shatin. Hence, the lack of spatial
contradiction within Fotan handicapped the role of the cluster as a cultural consumption for
the public. Nonetheless, this argument is flawed as the artists in Fotan were not intended to
regenerate the industrial area (refer to section 7.2.2 for details). Instead, they just want to
have a stable place to work. Besides, the formation of the cluster formed a “mini and hidden”
ecology in the area.
Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 149
Table 7.2 Number of participating artists and studios in the open studio events (2003-2017) 26 Period Year Artists Studios Date Remarks The name of the event is “Fotan 2003 18 4 24-26 Jan 2003 Gathering” (老火新炭) This open studio event is part of 2003 61 14 6-7, 13-14 Dec 2003 the side event of the Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition 2003. 27-28 Nov, 4-5 Dec, 2004 70 20 11-12 Dec 2004 2005 N/A 2006 n.d. 22 14-15, 21-22 Jan 2006 2007 100 28 13-14, 20-21 Jan 2007 This event was celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong by engaging the public to experience 2007 n.d 11 27 May. 2-3 Jun 2007 the working environment of
Fotanian artists and understand the different approaches and styles of the teachers, students and alumni of the Fine Arts Department of CUHK. 2008 160 34 12-13, 19-20 Jan 2008 2009 170 49 10-11, 17-18 Jan, 2009 2010 224 59 9-10, 16-17 Jan, 2010 2011 260 70 8-9, 15-16 Jan, 2011 2012 300 80 7-8, 14-15 Jan 2012 5-6, 12-13, 19-20 Jan 2013 300 88 2013 11-12, 18-19,25-26 Jan 2014 250 88 2014 Art Basel Hong Kong 15-17 March27 2015 170 70 7-8, 14-15 March 2015 Art Central 14-16 March28 Asia Contemporary Art Show 13- 15 March29 2016 116 48 23-24, 30-31 Jan 2016
Fotanian 2017 48 37 14-15, 21-22 Jan 2017 -
50 33 20-21, 27-28 Jan 2018
Post 2018 *Invited by Hong Kong Tourism 30 20 31 March 2018* Board as part of “Hong Kong Arts Month” Source: Compiled by the author based on archival research
26 The information is from various sources collected and compiled by the author. The sources include materials from Hong Kong Visual Arts Yearbook, Asia Art Archive, University of Hong Kong Archive as well as pamphlets of the open studio events. 27 Art Basel is an international art fair based in Switzerland. Art Fairs will be held in Basel, Miami and Hong Kong every year. In 2015, Art Basel was rescheduled in March instead of June. 28 Art Central is an international art fair founded in 2015 and held at the harbourfront in Central, Hong Kong. 29 Asia Contemporary Art Show held twice a year, spring (March) and fall (September). In spring, there are a series of art fairs and events. In autumn, it is the auction season of the contemporary arts. 150 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
The second type of the consumption space was targeted by the public and arts lovers. The
annual open studio event is a key event for showcasing the artworks. From Table 7.2, the
open studio event holds every year regardless of its scale. It usually holds in two weekends
in January. The annual open studio event, which was named as Fotanian in 2003, become a
major opportunity for the artists to exchange ideas and interact with other artists within
and outside the cluster. In the early years, 2001-2003, of the event, the organization was
quite random and loose. The idea of the annual open studios was from a casual dinner
among the artists.
“We were having dinner at Dai Pai Dong (cooked-food stall) near our studios. Someone came up with the idea that we should have a joint exhibition to showcase our works. That’s the beginning of the Fotanian. In 2001, we had the first joint exhibition and open studios.” (Interview, sculpture artist in Fotan)
“At that time, each artist who would like to participate in the open studios contribute few hundred dollars (Hong Kong Dollars) for the operation cost of the event. Some of the artists volunteered to design the posters. Artists are perfectionists. Designing a poster could be taking forever to finish. The more people involved the more opinions you can get. It is even harder to please everyone. There was a lot of work in organizing the open studios.” (Interview, painting artist in Fotan)
This first move of the open studios marked the beginning of the cluster and its growth. From
2004, the event was more organised with proper pamphlets, posters and volunteers for the
coordination work. In comparing with the joint exhibitions in Cattle Depot Artist Village,
there is no specific theme for the event. It is purely an opportunity for the artists to reach
the public and interact with the arts lovers. Figure 7.6 shows the posters and the location
maps of the open studios in various years. The distribution of the participating studios
changed from only concentrated in a few buildings in 2004 to overall 10 buildings in the Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 151
areas in the recent years (Figure 7.14). The open studios were held in two or three of the weekends during January. The number of participating studios and artists increases all through the years. Especially after the cluster received the sponsorship from the property developer in 2007-2010 and the government in 2013-2015, the number of participating studios and artists increased drastically (Table 7.2). During this period, the activities were more diverse. There were talks delivered by the artists and public engagement activities such as pottery class and guided tours (Figure 7.5). The extra resources were put in promotion which helped the public to know more about the cluster. The promotion included the promotion banners in the district, advertisements in the MTR stations and the promotion trucks. It made the “unseen” seen by the public. From the field observation of the
Open Studios in 2015 and 2017, the Annual Open Studios attracts the younger generation, especially primary high school students in addition to the arts lovers. After the end of the funding from the government, the number of the participating dropped due to increasing pressure from the rise of the rent as well as the loss of the synergy among the artists. The cluster entered the post-Fotanian period.
b
a d c Figure 7.5 Annual Open Studios: (a) Pottery class for the visitors in 2016; (b) Group of primary students visited the studios in 2016; (c) Installation in the corridor in 2014 and guided tour; (d) Visitors in the artist studio (Photos by the author)
152 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
Figure 7.6 Location Maps of the participating studios and Posters of the Open Studios in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 (Source: University of Hong Kong Archive, Asia Art Archive and www.fotanstudios.org)
Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 153
In the post-Fotanian period, the annual open studios were still held, but on a smaller scale.
The number of participants was declining year by year. Some of the artists insisted that the event should go on as it became the tradition of Fotan and many people were expecting it every January.
“Since the Fotan is well-known, the Open Studio becomes a “tradition” every year. Even though they don’t have any momentary support from other parties in recent years, they still insist on organizing the event. However, the mix of the participating studios is more diverse now. Sometimes, they are not just fine arts studio. Some of them are doing animation and graphic design. We will organise the open day no matter if it is in a small or big scale.” (Interview, painting artist in Fotan)
“In recent years, we have a WhatsApp group for our communication. Every year when January is approaching, someone will initiate to start the preparation for the annual open studio event. As long as the artist has time to join, everyone is welcomed. We are very casual.” (Interview, ceramic artist in Fotan)
Although some of the well-established and active artists are no longer participating in the open studios, some of the artists are still keen to keep this “tradition” to organise the open studios. The organization of the open studios returns to a spontaneous and voluntary basis like the earliest stage of the Fotanian. From the lists of the participating artists and studios in the recent years (Table 7.2), it reveals the mix of the artists is not just limited to those from the realm of fine arts. It also includes designers and multi-media artists. In the post-
Fotanian period, the activeness of the cluster is hampered by the loss of the synergy among the artists (refer to Section 7.4 for the further discussion) and the influx of other small businesses. Even so, one thing cannot be denied is that the open studio event is prominent to the artists by turning the usual industrial space into an artistic consumption space for the public. 154 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
The last type of consumption space is that used for tourists. As discussed, the open studio
event is in the foreground of showcasing the artworks to the public. At the same time, it is
also a platform for the cultural tourists who may be the potential buyers of the artworks. In
2015 and 2018, the open studio events were held in March. The former one was the
suggestion from the artists as they thought it would attract more potential buyers from
other global arts fairs carried out in the same month. The artists discontinued holding the
open studio event in March after 2015 as the outcome was not as good as they expected.
Visitors were attracted to Fotan as the usual visitors expected that the open studio was in
January, but not in March. The one in 2018 was a response to the official invitation from the
Hong Kong Tourism Board. The month of March is officially recognised by the government
as “Hong Kong Arts Month”. With the promotion of the Tourism Board, the overseas visitors
were attracted to Fotan and some of the galleries even organised tours for the tourists to
visit the studios.
The cluster acts a consumption space for the public, tourists and arts lovers. Culture is a
node connecting the people and the space through consumption (du Gay et al., 1997). The
consumption activities encouraged the artists to actively seize the opportunity to promote
their works to the others and facilitate the exchange among the artists such as by opening
their studios during the Arts Month. The arts classes expanded artists’ sources of income.
However, such connection may not only cast positive impacts to the cluster. Somehow, there
are negative impacts on the cluster. For instance, the open studio event may cause
disturbance to the artists as the intention of visitors are not purely for arts appreciation.
Some of them may come for property inspection. Moreover, the government involvement in
sponsorship and promotion begot the suspicion among the artists as well as between the
government and the artists.
Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 155
7.3. Historical Influence on the formation and transformation of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster This section depicts the historical events which influenced the formation and transformation of Fotan arts studio cluster. There are three major events that paved the way for or triggered the formation and changes of the cluster. As mentioned by Lee (1997), the specificity of a place is a collection of the historical attributes. In addition to the importance of how the CAS is formed (Kong, 2012), it is also vital to understand how the CAS is shaped by the overarching development of the district as well as the city.
7.3.1. Planning of Shatin new town in the 60s Shatin is a second-generation new town in Hong Kong. The initiation of the new town development in Shatin was in the 1950s after the expansion of the railway and exploration of reclamation possibility in the district (Wigglesworth, 1986). The idea of the new town is regarded as a translation of the British new town programs in the early years of the post- war era to settle the squatter areas in Hong Kong (Choi & Chan, 1979; Garrett, 2015).
Besides, it aimed at solving the infiltration of small unit industries in the New Territories due to their cheaper land in comparing with the urban areas (Dwyer, 1971). Thus, as a planning response, the industrial zones were in or adjacent to the new towns with the public infrastructure of roads and access to public utilities. Tang (2015) elaborates that the new towns are “the laboratories to produce the population with appropriate social mix and with the concerted exposure by living the designated, routinized activities” (p.4). It unfolds the political rationale for solving the chaotic mix of activities in the old urban area. An official plan for this new town development was revealed in 1965 and the development kicked off in 197330. One of the speeches delivered by the Governor of Hong Kong addressing the housing and development issues of the new town mentioned:
30 Prior to the development of Shatin, there were the first generation of new towns built, including Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chug. Shatin was developed together with other new towns (Tuen Mun and Yuen Long) and market towns (Taipo, Fanling and Sheung Shui). 156 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
“For such a [new town] programme to succeed and to be acceptable to the potential inhabitants, three things seem to be essential. First, good communications with the old urban areas . . . Secondly, the housing in the new towns must be accompanied by a full ration of what is essential to modern life: medical, and secondary as well as primary educational facilities, parks and playgrounds, police stations, markets, fire and ambulance stations, community centres and much else. Thirdly, there must be work, and so sites for private commercial and residential development. These towns in fact must be built as a whole” (MacLehose, 1972)
Figure 7.7 Shatin New Town Land Use Plan in 1976 Extracted from Hong Kong New Territories Development Department (1976, p. 34; Modified by the author)
Shatin New Town was comprehensively planned and designed in a functional manner (Tang,
2015) with 118 hectares of residential zones, 61-hectare central for recreational and Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 157
community facilities and two light industrial zones, Fotan as well as Tai Wai to provide job opportunities for the residents (Area A and B in Figure 7.7). The additional railway stations were built along these areas to connect the new town with the old urban areas. The railway station in Fotan was accomplished in 1985. Therefore, the new tow was a motif of
“neighbourhood, land-use separation and distribution, segregated transport networks, balance, and self-containment” (Bristow, 1989, p. 33). The industrial areas were designed to be separated from the residential areas by open spaces such as the racecourse, feng shui woodland and green belt (refer to Figure 7.7) (Hong Kong New Territories Development
Department, 1976; Wigglesworth, 1971). The planning of Shatin new town addressed the
a b Figure 7.8 (a) Shatin New Town in 1977 with the reclamation work in progress; (b) Developed Shatin New Town in 2011 land use planning issues during 60s-70s that there was substantial infiltration of small unit industries in the residential area. Thus, the separation of land use was necessary for the new town development (Dwyer, 1986). In addition to address the land use issue, the development model of the new towns is a manifestation of the “Shatin” value imposed by the colonial government. The functional and self-contained development of the new town intertwines a spirit of “growth”, transcending the working grass root to the middle class and elitism (Tang, 2015; Tang, Chan, Wong, Kwok, & Man, 2007). This imposed mentality is also hidden in the development model of Shatin as well as the whole city by striving for the maximum economic growth within limited space. 158 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
Unlike Cattle Depot Artist Village and the JCCAC, there is no premise or signage for the studio
cluster. However, due to the land use separation in the new town planning, it nurtures an
environment with solidarity and solitude for the artists to focus on their creations. The arts
studios are scattered and in different industrial buildings in Fotan. Therefore, Kong (2012)
describes Fotan arts studio cluster as “unlikely arts cluster in an unlikely city”. It implies
that the siting of this cluster is a unique phenomenon in Hong Kong and hard to realise
without paying attention to the changes in the area. Thus, by understanding how the artistic
cluster embeds in the district, the overall situation of the district should be investigated. The
original design of the flat factory building in the industrial zones was aimed at providing
space for small workshops in order to solve the problem of illegal land occupation in the
city centre. The occurrence of this spatial expression led to a chaotic land use pattern in the
city. Such illegal occupation by small unit industries in the city connoted that the industrial
resettlement in the new towns had to address the characteristics of those industries. In
other words, the industrial land use was entwined with residential and commercial land
uses. According to the survey by Dwyer (1971), the small unit industries were usually
owned by the family or individuals with the number of employees ranged from a dozen to
50. Those small unit industries not only acted as a “follower” of the large industries, but also
as a “supplier” of parts which contribute to the final product of the large units. Although the
government at that time admitted that not every type of small unit industry would be
suitable to house in the flatted factory buildings, they left flexibility in terms of the design of
the buildings so that they could cater new types of industries emerged in the
industrialization process. For instance, under the program of the small flatted factory
programme, the size of the units in the flatted industrial buildings ranged from 250 square
feet to 5000 square feet. Those sizes were smaller than the units in other industrial areas. Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 159
Even though the economic structure in Hong Kong is now rarely relied on the industrial sector, Fotan is still zoned as an industrial area accommodating different light and logistics industries. The planning department in Hong Kong carried out an industrial land use survey in 2014 (HKSARG Planning Department, 2015). The report reveals that Fotan should be remained zones as an industrial area, given that the area is not de-industrialised and a few of the land parcels are zoned for commercial use. As shown in Figure 7.9, the current land use distribution around Fotan industrial area.
Figure 7.9 Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) of Fotan in 2018 (Data Source: Town Planning Board (2018); Map: produced by the author) In a nutshell, why the industrial zones emerged in the new town lay a favourable ground for turning the factory units into arts studios threefold. Hardware-wise, the smaller size of the units and the flexibilities for catering different types of industries are compelling to the artists to rent or buy the studios. Location-wise, it is next to the railway station which was accomplished in 1985. As discussed in the case of Cattle Depot Artist Village, the proximity to the railway system is crucial in contributing to the formation and sustaining the vitality of the arts studio clusters (Kong et al., 2015). Cost-wise, the rent or price of the units is 160 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
affordable in the industrial areas in comparing with those in the central location of Hong
Kong.
7.3.2. Economic restructuring The second event was the economic restructuring from the 1980s which begot the
relocation of the factories to the mainland China. On the one hand, the economic pillars are
shifted from manufacturing to the service sector. On the other hand, the manufacturing
sector was transformed from “Made in Hong Kong” to “Made by Hong Kong” (Berger &
Lester, 1997; Breitung, 1999) as there was a significant northward shift of the export-
oriented manufacturing activities to Guangdong province after the open-door policy in
197831 (Sit, 1998, 1995; Yeh, 1997). The vacancy issue of the factory buildings spurred in
the 90s (refers to Figure 7.10).
As shown in Figure 7.10, the vacancy rate of the private flatted factories in Shatin was soared
in the 90s to the highest 12.4% in 1996. The overall rate has been declining. This trend
implies that the factory buildings were not abandoned. Instead, there was a hybridisation
of usage within the buildings. The government carried out the area assessments of
industrial land in 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2014 respectively. As in 2000, the planning
department of the HKSAR government recommended rezoning the “pure” industrial land
into “Other Specific Uses” annotated “Business” (“OU(B)”). The total gross floor area (GFA)
of the private flatted factories is 1,483,111 m2 in Fotan and only 1.5% of the area are vacant
(refer to Table 7.3). The total number of private industrial buildings was 45 plus on factory
estate managed by the Housing Authority as recorded in the report on Area Assessment of
Industrial Land in the Territory (HKSARG Planning Department, 2015). All the flatted
factories were over 15-year-old and 22 of them are over 30 years. Most of them were 8-19
storey buildings. The dominant use of the industrial unit was “warehouse/ storage” (Table
31 Sit (1998, 1995) calls such move as the out-processing of the manufacturing. By 1988, 93 per cent of the registered “foreign” firms in Guangdong are from Hong Kong or Macau. Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 161
7.3). Fotan was suggested to rezone (HKSARG Planning Department, 2009). In 2014, the rezoning proposal was dropped and stated that the industrial zoning should be retained in this area to cater the demand for industrial land (HKSARG Planning Department, 2015).
Thus, like many post-colonial and post-industries cities, Hong Kong went through the process of economic restructuring (Hutton, 2012; Kim, 2001). The restructuring process created the vacant industrial units in the industrial area where is not fully deindustrialised, yet it offered an opportunity for the artists to respond to the vacancy of the industrial buildings and led to the formation of the arts studio cluster in the early 2000s.
Vacancy Rate of Private Flatted Factories in Shatin, the New Territories and overall Hong Kong 14.0 12.0 10.0 8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0
0.0
1993 2009 1989 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Shatin New Territories Overall Figure 7.10 Vacancy Rate of Private Flatted Factories in Shatin, the New Territories and overall Hong Kong (Data source: HKSARG Rating and Valuation Department (2016); Compiled by the author) Table 7.3 Types of Predominant Uses in Industrial Buildings and its vacancy rates within Fotan Year Gross Use Vacant Under of Floor Manufacturing/ Warehouse/ Office Other (%) renovation Survey Area Workshop (%) Storage (%) (%) uses32 (%) (m2) (%) 2005 1,543,696 10.7 63.2 18.7 1.4 5.8 0 2009 1,467,203 7.2 55.9 20.6 3.4 3.6 0.8 2014 1,483,111 5.9 43.4 20.8 5.9 1.5 1.1 Date Source:HKSARG Planning Department (2009); HKSARG Planning Department (2015)
32 Other uses include but not limited to: showroom; wholesale centre; research and development/testing centre; call centre; data centre; shop and services; eating place; studio; gallery; recreational facilities; training centre/ educational institution; religious institution; and domestic uses. (HKSARG Planning Department, 2015) 162 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
7.3.3. Outbreak of the SARS The impetus of the cluster was triggered by the downturn of the property market after the
outbreak of SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome), which led to lower rent in the
industrial area in 2003. As illustrated in Figure 7.11, the rent and price index of the private
flatted factories in Hong Kong was plunged to their lowest points in 2003. It attracted the
artists to establish their studios in Fotan in spite of the existing social relationship among
the artists. The artists sought a better working environment and network within the arts
field as well as a sense of collaboration.
“Many of us bought the studios during the SARS. We are lucky. That’s why we settled here and focused on our creation. Some of us who didn’t buy the studios moved to another industrial area recently. Unless there is another “SARS” outbreak, I can’t see any possibility that the price and rent will fall again.” (Interview, installation artist in Fotan)
The outburst of SARS led to the economic recession and unsealed that Hong Kong over-
relied on the property market as one of the major economic pillars. It induced the “creative
turn” of the government in developing the creative industries after 2003 (Refer to Chapter
5). Furthermore, it reveals the difficulties of maintaining a production-oriented and
privately-owned arts space where is highly sensitive to the property market and land use
changes of the surrounding.
“[What are the recent changes of the spaces and the district?] The empty land parcel at the back of the [industrial] building has been developed into a residential area. It may make the place less “quiet” and have better amenities. However, it will break the solitude of the cluster and the rent will be getting higher.” (Interview, oil painting artist in Fotan) Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 163
The changes of the surrounding directed the development of the property market in Fotan.
As a result, it led to a significant increase in rent and made the area less affordable for the
artists.
Private Flatted Factories - Rents Index Private Flatted Factories - Prices ( 1999 = 100 ) Index ( 1999 = 100 )
200.0 800.0
150.0 2009 600.0 2003 2009 100.0 400.0 2003 50.0 200.0
0.0 0.0
Figure 7.11 Rent Index (left) and Prices Index (right) of the Private Flatted Factories in Hong Kong (Data source: HKSARG Rating and Valuation Department (2016); Compiled by the author)
7.4. Institutional Implication for Fotan Arts Studio Cluster This section discusses the intuitional implications in three aspects: (i) external:
institutionalisation through policies and/or government intervention.; (ii) internal
institutionalisation among the artists and/or regulations within the site; and (iii)
management of the site. These discussions will unravel how the institutional factor, both
external and internal, (re)shape the CAS and examine how the artists respond to
institutional changes.
7.4.1. Institutionalisation through policies and government intervention The development of Fotan Arts Studio cluster is influenced by the involvement of the private
sector, the obsolete industrial land use policy as well as optimisation of the industrial land
use. These interventions led to drastic changes of the cluster including rivalries among the
artists, skyrocketed rent of studios and relocation of the arts studios. 164 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
Involvement of the private sector and government During the Fotanian period, the annual open studio events were sponsored by a property
developer, Sino Group in 2007-2010 and the government in 2012-2014 respectively. The
availability of external funding sped up the institutionalisation process of the cluster such
as with proper organization of the events and promotional materials. The early
development of the cluster first attracted the attention from the private sector:
“The Sino Group contacted us actively and would like to have a meeting with us at that time. They were very keen to have cooperation. However, we needed to have a consensus among the artists before we have any cooperation with them. We had an internal meeting and some of us thought that it would be a golden opportunity for promoting Fotan [Fotanian] and the artists. Therefore, we accepted their sponsorship. … [Started from which year?] from 2007-2010.” (Interview, artist from Fotan)
In 2007, the Sino Group - a property developer in Hong Kong - started sponsoring the open
studio event. The influx of capital from the private sector provided resources for the
organizing committee of the open studio event to publicise the event to the public, but not
just the arts field. The event had a well-designed and advertisements on the public transport.
The galleries and new artists were started to settle in Fotan. Wu (2002) mentioned the
involvement of the private sector in arts and culture often with detrimental effects. The
corporate interventions were continuously shaping and framing the discourse of the
contemporary arts in terms of their control of the arts institutions, branding of the arts
cluster and popularity of the artists. In this regard, the sponsorship from the Sino Group for
the open studio event invoked the discontents among the artists. Some of the artists thought
that the event should be independent of any third parties.
“Some of the artists are not quite comfortable with the sponsorship from the private sector as it somehow harmed their self-interests. [Such as?] Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 165
They were jealous of some of the dominant artists [in the cluster]. They were not supportive of the sponsorship and even badmouth about them.” (Interview, curator and arts critic)
When the Fotanian was registered as a limited company in 2012, they applied one of the government funding, “Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme” (ACDFS), which is managed by the Home Affairs Bureau. The funding is aimed at cultivating a supportive environment for the large-scale and cross-year projects which are for capacity building of the arts sector, content development, audience building as well as arts education. Another paramount objective is to “foster a tripartite partnership between the Government, arts groups and the private sector to promote arts and cultural development in Hong Kong”
(HKSARG Home Affairs Bureau, 2012, p. 3)33. The cluster was expanding all through the years. By 2013, there were approximately 88 studios and 250 artists scattered in different industrial buildings (Tang, 2015)34. With the aid from the government, the cluster was further promoted and exposed to the public with side effects. The government intervention deepened the expectation gap between the artists and the public. The former will expect to interact with the visitors during the open studio event with a certain degree of privacy, but the latter will expect the studios to be fully opened for visits. Besides, the rivalries among the artists changed the dynamics of the arts studio cluster and led to the disunity among the artists.
Optimisation of the industrial land use
Fotan (and even the whole Shatin district) used to face a dilemma of developing the new town without harming the traditional Hakka villages. This dilemma has been shifted to
33 Project Grants are direct grants range from $1 million to $2 million for art-related projects which require longer time for implementation. The funding period lasts for a maximum of two years. (HKSARG Home Affairs Bureau, 2012) 34 This figure is extracted from the official website of Fotanian by the scholar. The official website has been terminated after the dismissal of the Board of Directors in 2015. The number is just the approximated one, as it did not include those artists/ galleries who did not register in the website. 166 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
optimising the use of the industrial buildings due to the economic restructuring as well as
the rapid change of the surrounding’s land uses. Other industrial new towns, such as Kwun
Tong and Tsuen Wan, are also facing the similar circumstance. In addressing the economic
restructuring and the economic instability after the global financial crisis, the revitalization
measures were proposed in 2009. The Chief Executive’s Policy Address 2009-2010 states:
“Now that the economy is restructuring, the Government has the responsibility to examine whether the existing use of resources can support the new economic structure … (The revitalization scheme) can address the needs of economic development by enabling owners to revitalize and add value to their industrial buildings, thus providing new momentum for economic growth and creating jobs.” (HKSARG, 2009, paragraph 22-23)
The scheme includes the redevelopment, conversion of the industrial buildings as well as
allowing more other uses within the buildings especially for office use. However, these
measures are criticised by the artists who have their studios in the industrial buildings. Xian
& Chen (2015) mention that the overarching issue of the revitalization scheme is the
overemphasis of economic dimension by ignoring the social cost of the scheme.
“With more and more industrial building revitalized for office, hotel and commercial uses, low-income local artists, small business occupying industrial buildings are gradually driven out. The unsuccessful of the policy not only boomed the short-term speculation in the industrial building market, but also sped up the revitalization/ gentrification process in the industrial area.” (Xian & Chen, 2015, p. 305)
“I bought this studio in 2003 when the price was the lowest. It was around 300 thousand (Hong Kong) dollars for 1000 something sq. feet. Now (2015) the price has been increased by 10 times to over 3 million (Hong Kong) dollars……It eventually makes the studios in the industrial area unaffordable. Since I usually work from home, I rent out my studio Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 167
to young artists below the market rent and hope that it can reduce their burden a bit.” (Interview, painting artist in Fotan)
The government rang the curtain down on the scheme in 2015. Even though the scheme did optimise the use of vacant industrial buildings, the scheme also displaced the artists in Fotan and other industrial areas such as Kwun Tong and Chai Wan. After ringing down the curtain, the Town Planning Board officially endorses “Art Studio” as one of the permitted uses in an industrial area (Appendix 5). The industrial buildings are, nevertheless, no longer the
“heaven” for the artists.
In addition to the pressure from the property market, the soaring rent and price of the industrial building units are also driven by the land use changes of the surrounding industrial areas. The land use change in Fotan was significant in the past 20 years since 1997.
For instance, there were three approved applications for the amendment of the outline zoning plan (HKSARG Town Planning Board, 2017). Those sites are next to Fotan MTR station. The land uses changed from the industrial to the comprehensive development area.
Such change implies the massive residential development in the area.
The impacts of the external institutional intervention are far-reaching in the case of Fotan.
First, the revitalization scheme led to the relocation of arts studios due to the rise in rent. It changed the dynamics within the cluster. Although the site-specific criteria are favourable for the development of the arts studios such as the high ceiling and size of the units, it is also appealing to other businesses as well. With the boost of the revitalization scheme in 2009, the proliferation of the cluster elicited different small businesses moving into the industrial area such as wine cellar, cafes, restaurants, storage services, and speculation of the units in the industrial buildings. It led to the displacement of the artist studios due to the keen competition from other businesses which can afford higher rent. Some of the artists think that the Fotanian has changed in terms of the mix and dynamics among the artists. 168 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
“I feel sad as the people in Fotan are less united. In the old days, most of us are graduated from CU (The Chinese University of Hong Kong). But now, the mix of the group has changed. Many of them have moved to another industrial area due to the increase in rent. Instead, other businesses moved such as multimedia and design companies. I can stay because I bought my studio at a very low price in 2003. Some of the artists also did the same, but they choose to sell it and move to somewhere else.” (Interview, sculpture artist in Fotan)
“Fotan used have to two big galleries. Both have been moved to other industrial areas. One of them has sold their units while the other is looking for more potential artists as well as gallery network. Many artists have been signed to the galleries, so it is difficult for the galleries to find a new potential artist. The new artists will not move into Fotan as it is too expensive.” (Interview, cultural expert)
The mix of the artists is not just from the field of fine arts. Since at the early stage of the
Fotanian, the core group was from the Department of Fine Arts in the CUHK. Hence, the
artists at that time were specialised in drawing, paintings, sculpture, printmaking and
installation. The hybridisation of the mix of artists which trigger by the exposure of the
cluster in the public realm and the increase of rent weakens the synergies among the artists
and the original identity shared by the artists which are strongly linked to the bonding
among the teachers, alumni and students from the CUHK. The sweeping impact is that the
artists move to other more affordable industrial areas, Kwai Chung, Chai Wan, for instance.
For those who chose to stay in Fotan, they would have to share their studios with more
artists from 3-4 artists to 7-10 artist for a 1000 sq. feet studio.
Rental cost was the major consideration of the artists in their decision-making about the
location of their studios. After the introduction of the scheme, the artists were exploited as
the landlords increased the rent. As reflected in Figure 7.11, both rent and price index
started to increase in 2009. The artists responded to the increasing rent and changes of Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 169
policies in various ways such as forming a concern group and their artworks. In responding to the revitalization scheme, the artists formed “Factory Artists Concern Group” in 2010 to express their opinions about the scheme. The major controversy was that the scheme encouraged speculation of industrial buildings. The speculators bought the industrial building units from the owners and made profits by reselling the units to the property developers. Therefore, one of the slogans the artists used in the protest, “Being Revitalized
When Alive”, was to “Expel the speculators. Keep the users.” (趕走炒家 留住用家). Figure 7.12 is an example that the artist attempted to address the issue of rent and development through installation art. The piece of installation was a part of the exhibition – “Erosion of
Home” by one of the artists in Fotan, Phoebe Man. This artwork was responding to the rise of the rent and prices of the studios in the property market. The caption of each estate advert was from the personal experience of herself as well as her fellow artists in Fotan. The rise of the rent, from the perspective of the artists, was an “erosion” of their studios where they regard it as their “homes”. Consequentially, they had to find a place to relocate their studios. 170 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
Figure 7.12 Estate Adverts - “Erosion of Home” – Installation (Man, 2014)
Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 171
7.4.2. Internal institutionalisation The by-laws for building management was set according to the government regulation and the industrial land use schedule. The regulation reveals the obsolete industrial land use policy which is compatible with the arts industry.
By-laws for building management
Due to the spontaneous and organic nature of the cluster, there were no by-laws that regulate the artists’ usage of the space. The only “rule” is to respect each other ‘s room for creation. That’s why the organization is loose and adopts a “free to come and go” approach to retaining the cluster.
“We don’t have rules for ourselves. The only thing is to respect each other’s room for creation. I shared my studio with the other three artists. Some of them even have full-time jobs. Therefore, once they come back to work, they just want to the concentrate on their art pieces.” (Interview, artist and gallery owner in Fotan)
The major restriction was from the industrial building itself. Since the design of the industrial buildings was for light industries during the 60s-70s, the regulation in the land use policy was obsolete in catering the development of arts studios in the industrial area.
The arts studio strictly speaking was illegitimate in occupying the industrial buildings before the government expanded the schedule of use. For the private industrial buildings like Wah Luen and Wah Lok Industrial Centres, the regulation is not strictly implemented.
As long as the use of the unit is agreed between the landlord and the tenant, the government has no right to investigate the units without a warrant. However, if the building is managed by the government, such as the industrial factory estate, the rules were stricter.
“My studio is in an industrial building owned by the government [Sui Fai Industrial Building]. The regulations are quite explicit and strict. No one can live in the unit, so you can see there is no toilet in each unit. Once they 172 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
discover someone lives in the unit, the lease will be determined by the government. I think sometimes it is difficult to determine if we are “living in the unit”. If we work in the studio overnight, will it be regarded as “living in the unit”?” (Interview, Oil painting artist in Fotan)
a b Figure 7.13 Notices about the regulation in a public industrial building: (a) Warning of urging the tenants not to use the units for other purpose especially for residential purpose; (b) Points system adopted in the industrial building to prevent regulation offences (Photos by the author)
Figure 7.13 shows the warning for the tenants at the lift lobby of the building and declares
that the building is for industrial use only. No residential use is allowed. Furthermore, the
points system adopted by the government aims at halting the illegal uses, blocking the
corridors as well as the refusal of the inspection by the authority. The legitimacy of the arts
studio is recognised by the government in 2016. The use of “arts studio” is added to the
schedule of uses in the outline zoning plan. Even the arts studio becomes literally legitimate,
the artists are still struggling with other unfavourable conditions within the industrial area.
“It is good that government recognised as in terms of the policy, we are still facing other problems. The rent is getting more and more expensive, especially in Wah Luen and Wah Lok (Industrial Centre). If we choose other buildings in Fotan, we have to consider who is your neighbour as well. It is because if your neighbour is a food processing factory, it may Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 173
have rats. If it is a metal workshop, it may be a bit noisy.” (Interview, installation artist in Fotan)
Since Fotan is still functioned as an industrial area, in order to co-exist with other industries and businesses in the buildings, the artists tended to choose the building with less disturbing industries or with more arts studios. Hence, most of the arts studios were concentrated in six buildings within the area before 2009 (refer to Figure 7.14). However, due to the mounting rent, the artists can only relocate their arts studios to other buildings or other industrial areas. Some of the artists would share their studios with other artists in order to reduce the rental burden.
7.4.3. Management within site The three development periods of the cluster depict the transformation of management in the cluster. Fotanian is self-organised and managed by the artists. They did not have any mandate to have a regular meeting. When the open studio event was involving the property developer and the government funding, the institutionalisation process sped up. The arrangement of the open studios was more organised with proper promotional materials and manpower to involve such as an organizing committee. The Fotanian was registered as a limited company in 2012 and a Board of Directors was formed in managing the funding from the government and promoting the cluster to the public. After the dismissal of the
Board, they form a small committee every year on a voluntary basis to organise the open studio event.
“In 2012-2014, we applied for funding from the government, but it became a disaster for us. We formed a board of directors to manage the project and money. However, the artists have diverse views on how to utilise the money. After the end of the project, we are no longer willing to apply for the funding again to avoid disputes among us.” (Interview, former board member and artist in Fotan) 174 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
The root of the dispute was twofold. First, under the sponsorship from the property
developer, some of the artists think that the developer had been too dominant in the cluster
and they felt the open studios even had been “kidnapped” by the developer. The developer
attempted to utilise the sponsorship to establish its goodwill and promote its property
development projects.
“The outcome of Fotan is quite disappointing. I helped them organise the open studio in 2004. When we had sponsorship for the Sino Group (a property developer in Hong Kong), we had more than 100 studios joined the Open Studio. The sponsorship from the corporate further divided the artists into two groups. Some of them are resistance to the sponsorship as they suspected that the property developer was using them as a gimmick to promote their new residential project nearby. They organised tours for their residents to visit the studios. Frankly, how many of them were really interested in arts? In contrast, some of them thought that it was mutually beneficial and most importantly it could promote Fotan to other people. It was beneficial to the reputation of the artists themselves as well.” (Interview, cultural expert and curator)
It is undeniable that with more resources available, the cluster became more well-known to
the public and it did attract attention from the government. However, the artists doubted
the involvement of the property developer. They wondered if the developer had any hidden
agenda. The second root is that the funding from the government further divided the artists.
The formation of the Board of Directors helped manage the funding, but it was difficult to
have a consensus regarding the allocation of the funding. Besides, it also triggered distrust
and jealousy among the artists in utilizing the funding.
This section discloses that even though the cluster is not facing urban redevelopment and
heritage red-tapes like the Cattle Depot Artist Village, the unity among the artists and
stability of the studios are challenged by the fluctuation of the property market and the
policies which are not favourable to the artists. Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 175
Figure Figure
7
.
14
Distribution of the Arts Studios of Arts the Distribution
(Prepared by the author) the by (Prepared
176 Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER
7.5. Summary Fotan Arts Studio Cluster was formed in 2000 due to the economic restructuring and
relocation of the factories to mainland China. A group of professors and students of Fine
Arts moved into this industrial area in Shatin. Shatin is the second-generation new town in
Hong Kong. The land use separation principles as well as the setting of the industrial area
provided the favourable conditions for the development of arts studio. For instance, the land
use separation principle created an environment with solitude. The cluster gradually
attracted other artists to settle in Fotan because of the social relationship among the artists.
The privately managed creative arts space is more production oriented. In other words, the
artists treat the place as somewhere they work and create instead of a showcase of their
artworks, apart from the annual open studio event. The annual open studio was organised
in an organic manner which implies that the participating artists are free to “come and go”.
In 2003, the artists renamed annual open studio event as “Fotanian”. This name became the
name of the limited company and shared identity in the cluster until the dismissal of the
limited company in 2015. During its flourishing period, the development was organic
Meanwhile, it caught the attention of the government as well as the private sector. They
provided financial support for the organization of annual open studio events.
However, the scepticism of accepting support from the government and private sector is a
common mentality of the artists. Especially after the private sector sponsorship for the open
studio event, mistrust occurred between the artists and the private developer. The artists
are in fear that they will be used by the property developer and government as a tool for
their propaganda. Those sponsorships also begot the distrust among the artist, between the
artists and the government. The collapsed of the social relationship and made the remaining
artists decided to turn back to an organic mode in terms of the development and open studio
event of the cluster. Chapter 7 CASE 2 – FOTAN ARTS STUDIO CLUSTER 177
Those studios are sensitive to the changes in rent as well as the surrounding environment, not only the built environment, but also the economic situation and the urban policy of the government. The outburst of SARS in 2003 led to the collapse of the property market as well as economic recession. The property-led economy makes the studios face the uncertainty of being displaced by the speculator of the industrial buildings. The speculation of the industrial building is led by the optimisation policy of the industrial buildings in 2009. Due to the mounting rent and losing synergy, some of the artists moved to other industrial areas to look for a better working environment.
Therefore, the historical events posed apparent impacts on the formation and transformation of the cluster as the cluster is influenced by the economic situation of the city. The institutional changes such as sponsorship from the government, forming a limited company shaped the internal situation of the cluster – relationship among the artists and management mode of the cluster: from being organic to being institutionalised and back to being organic.
178 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
“A creative capital cannot be branded. Apart from packaging and museumizing local creative industries, a creative capital must also blend the global and the local to form a hybrid emerging culture that is significantly “glocal” … How to finance and market creativity is the rule of the game in Hong Kong, while vernacular creativity is, ironically, not seen as a legitimate capital in this so- called creative capital. …vernacular hybrid cultures and spaces cannot surface.” (Zhu, 2013, p. 88) This chapter unfolds the last case study – Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC) which is
a planned creative arts space under a partnership between the government, charity and
tertiary institute. Prior to address the research questions, background of the JCCAC will be
introduced in the first part of this chapter. This is followed by three sections discussing the
functional roles, historical influences and institutional implication respectively.
Figure 8.1 District Boundary of Sham Shui Po (Preapred by the author)
8.1. Introducing the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 179
The JCCAC is in Shek Kip Mei which is one of the seven areas in Sham Shui Po District. The
seven areas in Sham Shui Po are: Mei Foo, Lai Chi Kok, Cheung Sha Wan, Sham Shui Po, Shek
Kip Mei, Yau Yat Chuen and Stonecutters Island (Figure 8.1).
8.1.1. Location of the JCCAC
Figure 8.2 Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) of Shek Kip Mei in 2018 (Data Source: Town Planning Board (2018); Map: produced by the author) Shek Kip Mei is an area with a high concentration of public housing. The Jockey Club Creative
Art Centre (JCCAC) is located at the centre of Shek Kip Mei, surrounded by public housing
estates including the Pak Tin Estates, the Skep Kip Mei Estate and by schools (Figure 8.2).
A hybrid cultural landscape in Shek Kip Mei and Sham Shui Po characterises the location of
this case study.
In the whole district, 29 buildings are listed as historic buildings and one site of
archaeological interest (Appendix 6). Under the Revitalizing Historic Building through
Partnership Scheme, there are three graded historic buildings - Mei Ho House, North 180 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
Kowloon Magistracy Building and Former Lai Chi Kok Hospital35, all of which are converted
into other uses. Mei Ho House which is located on Pak Tin Street (same street as the JCCAC)
was the first-generation public housing built after Shek Kip Mei Squatter Fire. It is a Grade
II historic building. The House is now a youth hostel with a public housing museum
showcasing the living environment of the residents in the 60s. North Kowloon Magistracy
Building is converted into Savannah College of Art and Design Hong Kong (SCAD) which is
a US-based art and design school. The adaptive reuses of these buildings reshape the
cultural landscape in the district by presenting the local development history. However,
those “newly” created places are not really serving the locals as their current uses target the
outsiders. The criticism from the local media states that the adaptive reuse of these
buildings cannot truly reflect the local history and characteristics (Cheung & Chan, 2012;
Chung, 2011).
8.1.2. Formation and development of the JCCAC The JCCAC is a converted flatted factory building which was built in 1977. It was originally
named as Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate and catered over 200 small factories. The life of the
factory estate ended officially in 2001 after the government called for the demolition of the
building due to the residential rezoning of the site in order to meet the housing demand in
the district. Escaping from the fate of being demolished, the second life of the factory estate
began due to the site selection for establishing the Academy of Visual Arts in Hong Kong
Baptist University (HKBU). The HKBU submitted their proposal to the government with the
funding support from the Jockey Club Charities Trust in 2005. As a result, the JCCAC became
a partnership between the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Jockey Club Charities
Trust, Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong Arts Centre. The arts centre has
operated as a self-financed and non-profit making organization under the supervision of a
35 The grading of Mei Ho House and North Kowloon Magistracy Building are Grade II. Former Lai Chi Kok Hospital is Grade III. Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 181
governing board. Even though Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate is not a historic building, it represents the vital part of the industrial history in Hong Kong. It also marks the recognition from the government regarding the importance of the factory estate in the district (Leung
& Soyez, 2009).
Table 8.1 Chronology of transformation of Jockey Club Creative Arts Cetnre Year Events 1977 Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate was built. The Government announced the plan of demolishing the factory estate 1999 by 2001. The Government proposed to convert the factory building into an artist 2003 village Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) submitted a proposal for turning 2004 the factory estate into an artist village. Donation from Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (HK $69.4 July 2005 million) is granted for the renovation and partial start-up costs. October 2005 The project launched November Public consultation forum of the project 2005 2008 Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre officially opened 2009 Launch of the permanent exhibition, “MADE in SHEK KIP MEI” 2010 Change of Chief Executive Officer
Source: Compiled by the author based on the data collected in fieldworks
182 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
Figure 8.3 Shek Kip Mei Factory Building before (left) (Photos by Hulu Culture (2011)) and after renovation (right) (Photos by the author)
Table 8.2 Units and facilities at each level in the JCCAC Level Units / Facilities Level 8 Green Space, Studio x 14 Level 7 Green Space, Studio x 24 Level 6 Green Space, Studio x 30 Level 5 Green Space, Studio x 24 Level 4 Management office, Green Space, Studios x 17 Level 3 Gallery, Green Space, Studios x 9 Level 2 Studio x 16 Level 1 Café, Tea House, Front Desk, Gallery, Studios x 2 Level 0 Black Box Theatre, Gallery Source: Complied by the author
The arts centre was officially opened in 2008 after the completion of the renovation. The
renovated premise is an arts centre cum artist village (Figure 8.3). The vertical artist village
provides 139 units for artists/ arts group to set up their studios. The sizes of the studios are
24m2, 48m2, 96m2 respectively. Meanwhile, the arts centre acts as a showcase and platform Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 183
for the artists in or outside the centre to exhibit their works. Therefore, the arts centre has a theatre and exhibition galleries. In order to maintain the activeness of the arts centre, café, tea house and craft shops are also available (Table 8.2).
8.2. Functional Roles of the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre The functional roles of the JCCAC can be examined by delving into the activities and events held in the arts centre. The events and activities are divided into four types: key events held by the arts centre, activities held by the artists-in-residence and visitors’ activities in the centre and interaction among artists. In the first few years after the opening (2008-2010), the arts centre was still exploring its own direction, so the activities held in the arts centre were quite piecemeal without regularity.
8.2.1. Museum of local industrial and housing history The major local characteristic of Shek Kip Mei and Sham Shui Po is the grassroots community due to its industrial and public housing history. Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate was built in 1977 in order to cater the cottage industries in the resettlement housing. The rise of the cottage industries occurred in the 50s. The residents in squatter or resettlement housing moved part of the manufacturing procedures which did not require large machine and space such as assembling part, sewing and putting plastic flowers together to their homes. The operation of the cottage factories was mainly family-based (Hulu Culture, 2011).
Meanwhile, it caused safety concern in the resettlement housing and squatters. The factory estate was built to cater these cottage industries. This nine-storey flatted factory building has over 200 units. The average size of each unit is approximately 240 square feet.
The conversion of the factory estate in 2005 not only manifested an example of adaptive reuse of the factory building, but also museumised the industrial and public housing history in the district. According to Leung & Soyez (2009, p. 64), the conversion of Shek Kip Mei
Factory Estate is a recognition of Hong Kong’s industrial history and it represents the 184 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
“valorisation usage relevant to Hong Kong’s (de)industrialisation processes”. The
representations such as the naming of events and the decoration inside the arts centre imply
its role as a local museum.
Museum of Old Cottage Factory
Apart from keeping the original structures of the factory estate such as the façade, corridors
and size of the units (as shown in Figure 8.3), the JCCAC also museumises the signboards as
well as the machines left behind by the factories as part of the displays in the arts centre.
Figure 8.4a show the machines displaying at the lift lobby on each floor and Figure 8.4b is
the description of the machine which introduces the functions and history of the machine.
All these machines are part of the permanent exhibition “Made in S.K.M” to demonstrate the
industrial history of the building. Besides, the signboards (the black one on the left in Figure
8.4c) was the name of the factory which originally occupied in that unit.
a c
b
Figure 8.4 Industrial displays in the JCCAC (Photos by the authors)
Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 185
Naming of the events
During the first few years of its operation, JCCAC had most of the activities organised to promote the artists-in-residence and the historical background of the arts centre. A series of activities, for instance “Art Stalls@ Shek Kip Mei” (石硤尾創意地攤) and “RUSH SKM
(Shek Kip Mei) Artists” (石硤尾藝術家聯展「廠撮」) in 2009, “Shek Kip Mei Factory
Market” (石硤尾山寨市集) and “Watch!!!Out!!! Shek Kip Mei” (儫住石硤尾) in 2010, held by the arts Centre were named after “Shek Kip Mei” instead of JCCAC. Such naming of the events reveals that the aspiration of shaping the arts centre as a focal point of Shek Kip Mei and even for the whole district by emphasizing its industrial background.
The message of “Made in Shek Kip Mei” is spread by transcending its industrial past. The
“products” is transformed from manufactured goods to creative practices and art pieces.
Meanwhile, it creates a shared identity among the artists. Such shard identity is important to facilitate the creative activities and the development of the centre (Gu, 2014; Markusen
& Johnson, 2006).
8.2.2. Creative arts hub for new artists/ fresh graduates Being a museum representing the industrial history of Hong Kong is not the only purpose of the JCCAC. It also serves as a creative arts hub for new artists or fresh graduates from the
Academy of Visual Arts in HKBU. The project of JCCAC was initiated by HKBU:
“Our school (Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University) was looking for a site to building the new campus in 2003. The government offered two possible sites to us. One is in Kai Tak, near the old airport. Another one is JCCAC (former Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate). We chose the site in Kai Tak36, whereas it was also worth to make good use of the
36 The site in Kai Tak was the former Royal Air Force (RAF) Officers’ Mess which is a Grade I historic building. Before the Academy of Visual Arts (AVA) moving in, it used to be the Vietnamese Refugee Camp in the late 70s to early 80s. 186 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
building in Shek Kip Mei. We proposed to the government if it was possible to reuse the building as a place for young artists.” (Phone Interview, Professor in Academy of Visual Arts)
After submitting a proposal to the government, the project kicked off in 2005. The
renovation of the factory building finished in 2008. The objectives and position of the arts
centre listed in the annual report 2016-2017 (JCCAC, 2017a) are:
“JCCAC positions itself as a multidisciplinary (but with a strong visual arts presence) arts village and arts centre which support arts and cultural development through its objectives of assisting in the (a) provision of studio space for local artists and art groups; (b)promotion of arts and culture in the community; and (c) nurturing of creative arts talents for Hong Kong” (p.1)
In order to nurture the creative arts talents, 21% of the units are reserved for arts students
and graduates. The lease is in a fixed-termed of two years. The rents of studios are
subsidised and lower than the market rent. Furthermore, the mix of the arts studios is multi-
disciplinary, but mainly focused on fine arts (Table 8.3).
Table 8.3 Classification of the artists and arts groups in JCCAC
Art types37 2008 2015 201738 Fine art 85 45 67 Applied Art 36 25 43 Media Art 28 6 19 Performing Art 24 12 19 Other Art 42 39 25 Disciplines
37 The classification is delineated by the Center. Each studio may be classified into more than one category. Fine art includes painting, mural, 2D-art, sculpture, 3D art, ceramics, print-making, installation, performance art, photography, caricature, glass art, calligraphy, Seal carving, ink painting, training in studio art subjects. Applied art includes graphic design, multi-media design, architectural design, interior design, fashion, crafts, folk arts, product design, studio jewellery, goldsmith art, art therapy, applied art training courses. Media art includes computer art, film and video art, animation, online/internet art and new media art. Performing arts includes music, drama, dance, opera, folklore, multimedia performance and performance art training courses. Other art disciplines include community arts, literature, art education, art administration, museum, gallery, curatorial management and cultural exchange. (JCCAC, 2008, p. 171) 38 For the data in 2008 and 2017, some of the studios are categorised into more one arts type. Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 187
Source: JCCAC (2008, 2015, 2017b); Compiled by the author The subsidised rent and the hybridisation of art types in the centre addressed the challenges faced by the new artists. Those challenges are twofold: unaffordable rent and an inclusive environment for various types of arts. An inclusive environment, on the one hand, can motivate the artists to create and expand the arts offerings in the centre. On the other hand, the hybridisation of the arts types brings a problem to the centre which links to not only the definition of arts (Markusen & Johnson, 2006), but also the positioning of the arts centre
(will be further discussed in section 8.4.3).
8.2.3. Arena for vernacular handicrafts and arts After the change of chief executive officer in 2010, the events have been held on a more regular basis and named after JCCAC. Key events held and organised by JCCAC are the quarterly handicraft fairs and the annual arts festival. The quarterly handicraft fairs are organised not only for the tenants in the arts centre to promote their artworks, but also for the artists and handicraftsmen outside the centre to sell their products. The handicraft market which is held every three months attracts artists from different fields. The products sold at the fairs are diverse, for instance, including paintings, handmade accessories, and clothes (Figure 8.5a,b,c). Meanwhile, the artists open their studios for the public to visit.
Guided tours of artist’s studios are arranged to let the visitors have an in-depth understanding of the artworks of different artists through observing their studio environment and sometimes having conversations with the artists. The participants of the handicraft fair and open fair include students and families. Some parents brought their children to visit because they would like to show the children how to draw. The artists who are willing to accommodate the guided tours are usually new artists or arts groups. From the perspective of the freshly graduated artists, it is an opportunity for them to promote their works and let the public know what their artworks are about and what they are doing 188 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
in their studios. From the perspective of the arts centre, the handicraft fair is prominent in
promoting the arts centre and reaching the public.
“We don’t force the artists to open their studios during the event time as they have their freedom to choose. The handicraft fair is quite important to us as it is an opportunity for the arts centre to be in touch with the community.” (Interview, staff from the JCCAC)
The above quote reveals if the art centre would like to make use of the handicraft fair in
reaching the public, without the cooperation of the tenants, it is difficult for them to
accomplish such aspiration. The arts centre can only rely on the “outsiders” who sell their
products at the fair. The reputation of the arts centre is linked to the “outsiders” or the
products sold in the fair, but not the tenants or the artworks of the artists.
“(Why do you visit the fair?) I came here with my classmates to see if there is anything to buy in the market (fair). (What do you want to buy?) Handicrafts and accessories.” (Visitor of JCCAC)
“It is my second year to set up a stall here (JCCAC). I had applied for three times before I got accepted. But it is worth to wait as the handicraft fair is popular so that I can promote and sell my work.” (Interview, handmade accessory stall owner in the handicraft fair)
The art festival is held in December every year since 2011 and proposed by the artists in the
arts centre (Table 8.4). It is aimed at providing a regular platform for the artists to exhibit
their art pieces. There is a theme every year and a thematic exhibition which is cooperated
with the tenants in the arts centre. The activities consist of art workshops, guided tours,
dialogue with the artists-in-residence, rooftop cinema and mini-exhibitions of the artists
and art performances. The participants in the art festival include not only the artist/ art
groups in the arts centre, but also parties from other art spaces (Fotan, Cattle Depot Artist
Village). Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 189
“I worked with some of my friends who are also sculptors for the (JCCAC) art festival this year (2016). We mainly worked on our art pieces in Fotan as my friends have a studio there. It is easier for us to communicate with each other.” (Interview, artist in JCCAC)
Table 8.4 Themes and Affiliated artists / art groups of the JCCAC Art Festivals (2011-2016) Year Theme Affiliated Artists/ Art groups 2011 Contemporary Visual Arts 41 artists in the JCCAC 2012 Community Art Primary and secondary school student / Artists in the JCCAC 2013 More than Arts 10 Artists in the JCCAC 2014 New Generation Hong Kong Open Printshop 2015 Touch Centre for Community Cultural Development 2016 Dialogue Hong Kong Sculpture / Hong Kong Carbon Source: Complied by the author based o nthe archival research
Apart from those regular events and activities, each of the artist / art group can hold their own arts classes or activities in their studios or within the JCCAC (Figure 8.5d). The frequencies and fees of the arts classes are not restricted by the arts centre so the tenants can decide based on their capacities. Besides, the tenants or the art practitioners outside the
JCCAC can hire the venues such as exhibition galleries, central courtyard in carrying out their activities. One of the tenants, who is a Hong Kong-based curator, is very active in the
Pearl River Delta. Most of the exhibitions and the events he organised were cross-border by
a b d
c
Figure 8.5 Activities and Exhibition in the JCCAC a & b) Quarterly Handicraft Fair; c) Products sold in the artist’s studio; d) Painting class in the studio (Photos by the author) 190 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
nature, involving artists from the Pearl River Delta and other Asian countries to have joint-
exhibitions with local artists. Through the tenants’ networks, the JCCAC is exposed to other
places, not only in Hong Kong and become a platform for cross-border cultural exchange.
8.2.4. Common campus for social issues and community activities The activities in the JCCAC are not just limited to the arts-related one, but also other
activities that could potentially interest the visitors and the community. The central location
of the arts centre enables JCCAC becoming a common campus for discussing social issues
and community issues. Ponzini (2009) discerns that cultural space as a common campus in
a neighbourhood can “solve various urban problems and to produce the material and
immaterial common goods they needed and that would be appreciated by consumers” (p.445).
Thus, the practices in the arts centre reflect the idea of common campus. School arts
activities which were collaborated with the schools in district and exhibitions related social
issues in the district were held in the centre (Figure 8.6a and b). The social issues include
housing problem in the district and social engagement program for ethnic minorities.
Furthermore, JCCAC during daytime is usually quiet. Some residents nearby come to the
centre and stay in the public area or coffee shop (Figure 8.6 c and d). Some students also
come to study.
“I come here for coffee and reading books every week as I live nearby. This place is at the centre of the community. It is quite convenient and becomes the cultural icon in the district apart from the heritage”. (Visitor in the JCCAC)
“Hong Kong should have more arts spaces like this. It is a good platform for the public to know more about the arts in Hong Kong. However, it seems there is not many people know about this place. Every time when I come, I always find something new”. (Visitor in the JCCAC) Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 191
The visitors may not be art lovers. The reasons for visiting the arts centre are mainly associated with their curiosity and demand for leisure activities. Some of the visitors live nearby come for a break and chill out. However, they seldom walk around the premise but just stay in the public area. During the weekend, if there is no key event held by the arts centre, the visitors come for joining arts classes or exploring a new place. Therefore, the café and the tea house at Level 1 are crowded at that time. These activities demonstrate the connectedness and the propinquity to the neighbourhood and also the function that JCCAC serves as a common campus. Besides, with the public engagement, the arts offerings can be diversified and the creative practices can be surfaced through connecting with the community.
a b
c d
Figure 8.6 a) Community Art Exhibition in the gallery at Level 0; b) Photography exhibition about coffin housing in Shum Shui Po; c) public area in JCCAC; d) Coffee shop on Level 1 (Photos by the author) 192 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
8.3. Historical Influence on the formation and transformation of the JCCAC As mentioned in previous section, the JCCAC has a profound industrial background which
linked to the development of the district. Meanwhile, the local development shaped the
surrounding of the arts centre and set a spatial connotation for the development of the arts
centre. Thus, the historical events are investigated in this section to understand how those
events shaped the formation of the JCCAC.
8.3.1. Shek Kip Mei Squatter Fire in 1953
Figure 8.7 Part of the remaining squatter area in Shek Kip Mei Valley (front part) and some of the multi-storey buildings of the Shek Kip Mei Resettlement Estate in 1958 (Source: Information Service Department, HKSARG) The first key event is Shek Kip Mei Squatter Fire. It triggered the government taking action
to formalise the informalities including the informal housing and cottage factories. Lee
(2002, p. 156) describes Shek Kip Mei – it is a place “creating both a new form of modern
living and a continuation of the old”. Before the 20th century, Shek Kip Mei was only an
agricultural land with small discrete villages (Ingham, 2007). The area was dominated by
squatter huts due to the influx of refugees brought by the civil war in the mainland China
during 1947-1949. The squatter fire in 1953 destroyed homes for over 530,000 people.
After the outbreak of the Shek Kip Mei Squatter Fire on the Christmas Day in 1953, part of
resettlement program involved building factory buildings within the resettlement estate
(Figure 8.7) so that the cottage factories could relocate to a proper place. Also, Shek Kip Mei Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 193
was turned into a public housing hub (Smart, 2004) (Figure 8.8a). After the fire, the
Resettlement Program was implemented to address the immediate housing needs of the victims through the provision of accommodations with minimal amenities.
[The oldest public housings in Shek Kip Mei] were 120 square feet and had three families per apartment (sometimes eighteen people). The doors opened toward the middle of the U-shaped building where people cooked outside on small stove and bathrooms were shared by a floor. Public housing has evolved over time to where it now consists of small western-style apartments (Curry, 2011, p. 93).
The White Paper on Public Housing in 1964 revealed the long-term planning of public housings so as to improve the living quality (Yeung & Wong, 2003). The public housing white paper also addressed the sprawling of small manufacturing enterprises within the resettlement estates and in Sham Shui Po (Faure et al., 1984; Smart, 2001). Thus, flatted factory buildings were built near the residential estates to accommodate those enterprises which were called cottage industries (Dwyer, 1970). Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate was built in 1977 which is one of the 17 public factory estates owned and managed by the Housing
Authority39. Shek Kip Mei not only represents the public housing development, but also
a
b
Figure 8.8 a) Shek Kip Mei Estate – First Generation of Public Housing (Source: Information Service Department, HKSARG); b) View from the JCCAC which is surrounded by new high-rise public housing (Photo by the author)
39 There are 17 public factory estates built since 1954. Six of them have been demolished. The rest are still active. Some of the management have been subcontracted to private property management company. 194 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
plays a prominent part in the industrial development history in Hong Kong. The squatter
fire reshaped the urban development in Shek Kip Mei into a public housing hub. As a result,
JCCAC is surrounded by the public housings and becomes the centre of the community
(Figure 8.8b).
8.3.2. Creative turn of development strategies The formation of the JCCAC is initiated by the HKBU. However, the economic development
strategy of the government also played a role in the establishment of the JCCAC. Because of
the economic recession caused by the Asian financial crisis and the SARS, the government
realised that there was a need to diversify the economic sectors. The government has
dedicated developing creative industries since 2003 which regarded as a “creative turn” of
the development strategy In the Policy Address 2003, creative industries are recognised as
a prominent element in the knowledge-based economy and intended to rebrand Hong Kong
into a world-class art and cultural hub. The Home Affairs Bureau set “establishing a great
partnership with the arts community” as one of the policy initiatives (Legislative Council
Panel on Home Affairs, 2004). With the amalgamation of the creative turn and the proposal
by the HKBU, the government announced to preserve the factory building and convert it
into an artist village like the Cattle Depot Artist Village in 2004. The project is officially
mentioned in the Policy Address 2006-2007, “establish a Creative Arts Centre at the former
Shek Kip Mei factory building to help nurture budding artists and create a clustering effect for
the development of creative industries in Hong Kong” (HKSARG, 2006). However, the
aspiration of creating a clustering effect for the development of creative industries failed to
accomplish as the government undermined the influence of the locality and positioning of
the arts centre in the planning and implementation of the project.
Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 195
8.3.3. District development strategy The current development in Shek Kip Mei is rather stable in comparison to other cases in this research. The redevelopment of the Shek Kip Mei Estate commenced in 1972 and finished in 2007. In 2002, the government carried out “Long-ter land use restructuring studies”. Four areas were included in the studies. Shek Kip Mei was one of the study areas40.
The vision of restructuring the land use in Shek Kip Mei was “providing for the future, remembering the past” (HKSARG Planning Department & HKSARG Housing Authority, 2002, p. 1). The restructuring of land use was focused on the redevelopment of the public housing as well as preserving the historical significance of the district to enhance local image and identity. This proposal triggered the conservation work of Mei Ho House and North
Kowloon Magistracy Building as well as the preservation of the Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate
(Figure 8.9a). Mei Ho House is converted into a youth hostel to recognise its historical significance as the first public housing complex in Hong Kong while the North Kowloon
Magistracy is revitalised into an arts school. Complementing the revitalization of heritage
a b
Figure 8.9 a) Mei Ho House before and after the revitalisation (Source: Information Service Department, HKSARG); b) Location map of the JCCAC, Mei Ho House and North Kowloon Magistracy Building (Prepared by the author)
40 Other areas are Ho Man Tin, Ngau Tau Kok and Cheung Sha Wan. 196 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
in the district, the district council established a working group on urban revitalization and
heritage conservation to engage the community in the discussion of the urban renewal of
other areas in the Sham Shui Po as well as other social issues including the increasing
number of ethnic minority and severe poverty41. It enables the JCCAC becoming a hub for
discussing the local matters.
41 Sham Shui Po is one of the poorest districts in Hong Kong. The poverty rate is 17% which is the highest among the 18 districts in Hong Kong. (HKSARG Census and Statistics Department, 2016) Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 197
8.4. Institutional Implication for the JCCAC In this section, the institutional implication on the development of JCCAC is presented. The sources of implications are government policies, regulation within the arts centre as well as the management model.
8.4.1. Institutionalisation through policies As mentioned in Chapter 5, the government carried out a cultural policy review in 2003. Six guiding principles for cultural policy are identified in the review: people-oriented, pluralism, freedom of expression and protection of intellectual; property, holistic approach, partnership as well as community-driven (HKSARG Culture and Heritage Commission, 2003) so as to replace the descriptive approach on cultural policy. The cultural policy approach shapes the management model of the JCCAC. The principles of “partnership” and
“community-driven” are reflected in the management model and mix of artists in the JCCAC.
The JCCAC is a partnership between the HKBU, Hong Kong Arts Development Council which a statutory body under the Home Affairs Department (refer to Figure 5.2), Hong Kong Arts
Centre and Hong Kong Jockey Club. The operation of the centre is as a not-for-profit organization under the entrustment agreement. Under the agreement, the JCCAC has to be self-sufficient. Therefore, the high diversity of activities enables the centre to expand its source of the income. Given that it is a place for nurturing local new artists who may not be able to attract a profound amount income to the centre. The centre is struggling with striking a balance between commercialization and nurturing the new generation. The mix of the arts types and diversity of the activities in the arts space are prominent in determining the vibrancy of the arts space (Evans, 2010, 2009b; Evans & Foord, 2008).
“The mix of tenants expands the range of the activities in the arts centre. The availability of the commercial activities like café, tea house, organic food store and studios selling their own products make the centre more alive than Cattle Depot. However, the commercialization of the arts 198 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
centre seems to overshadow its original purpose – nurturing the new generation of artists.” (Interview, Cultural Expert)
The struggle of positioning the arts centre echoes with Markusen & Johnson (2006) that the
diversity in the arts centre brought debates among the artist about the positioning and
definition of arts such as fine art/community art; commercial / non-commercial; visual
arts/performing arts.
“I don’t know why selling music instrument can occupy one of the units. There are many artist-in-need waiting for renting the studios. The centre should consider narrowing down the types of arts which can apply for the units.” (Oil painting artist in JCCAC)
“I know the centre has its business concern, but I don’t agree selling products can promote arts in the community as well as in the centre. The most important is that that “artist” occupied one of the largest units in the centre.” (Multi-media artist in JCCAC)
The government tends to be ambitious in embracing the guiding principle in the policy
review. However, as a localised creative arts space, the JCCAC is restricted by its grassroots
location and actual aspiration of the artists. Besides, the over-ambitious approach becomes
a hindrance to the interaction among the artists which will be elaborated in section 8.4.3.
8.4.2. Management within the site The previous part discussed that the cultural policy shapes the management mode of the
arts centre. In this part, further details of the management will be scrutinised.
Management of the JCCAC
Although the JCCAC is operated as a self-financed non-profit making organization, the
project is a partnership between the government, charity and tertiary institution. The arts
centre is managed by the HKBU subsidiary company with charitable status, Hong Kong Arts
Centre Limited and overseen by a governing board. The members of this board include Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 199
representatives from HKBU, HKADC and professionals from the arts industry. Under the governing board, there are two subcommittees: a management committee and a tenancy committee. The memberships of the management committee consisting of the representatives from the District Council and the CEO of the arts centre. For the tenancy committee, the chairman and the CEO are from the governing board while the rest of the members are arts professional. The daily decision making is still under the daily operation is in-charged by the CEO of the arts centre. From the memberships of the committees, on the one hand, it involves the representative from the district council to strengthen the link between the district and the arts centre. On the other hand, it also reveals that there is a lack of tenant participation in the management process.
“A representative from the district council is in the management board. The representative will be re-elected every two years. It can make sure the centre can serve its purpose in the community.... In the district council, we have a working group for ethnic minority group issue. We provide funding for the centre each year for the community art program for ethnic minority groups”. (Interview, District Councillor)
“We have some official channel for the artists to express their views such as the monthly meeting. Besides, they are free to talk to our staff in the management office...... We have been trying to minimise the disturbance induced by the visitors, so we just simply post the signs in the lift to advise the visitors to keep quiet and take photos with the permission from the artists.” (Interview, Staff from the JCCAC)
The opinions and aspirations of the artists may not be fully reflected in the decision-making process of the arts centre. The top-down management approach becomes a push factor for the artists to rent other places.
200 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
Leasing System of the JCCAC
The leasing system in the arts centre is one of the factors in shaping the mix of the activities
in the arts centre. There are four types of the tenancies in the JCCAC: art student/graduate,
artist/art group, institutional and commercial. The allocation of the units will be according
to tenancy types. Large units or units in prime locations will be allocated to commercial and
institutional tenants with the rent close to the market level. For art student/graduate
tenancy, the rent is 45% lower than the artist/ art group tenancies. However, the selection
criteria are not disclosed to the public, even the applicants.
“(How did you get selected?) We have to submit a proposal and then have an interview with the management team. They will decide whether my proposal can contribute to the arts centre. However, until now, I am not sure what the selection criteria are.” (Interview, sculpture artist in the JCCAC)
“One of the controversies is about a well-established artist using the space as storage. It triggers the discontent among other artists. The artists think that space should be used for art related purpose instead of storage.” (Interview, cultural expert in the JCCAC)
“We don’t have any unity among the artists. Some artists asked me to back an artist who kicked out by the management due to an unknown reason, but I ignored them. (Why?) If I don’t know if I will do something wrong, the centre will kick me out.” (Interview, oil painting artist in the JCCAC)
The leasing system creates a sense of insecurity among some of the artists as both the media
and artists mentioned that some of the units are only for storage and no one use the studio
(Hong Kong Society for Education in Art, 2009; Lam, 2000; Lam, 2011). For those artists
who are more well-established, the arts centre still offers them lease renewal. Some of the Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 201
artists ponder if the market-values of the artist may become one of the considerations of the management in the tenants’ selection process.
Moreover, Cartier (2008, p. 71) suggests that “creativity cannot be planned and to assess how to stabilize art space or rents for the longer-term security of arts productivity”. The sense of insecurity grows among the artists, especially for the amateurs, due to the short-term lease.
The annual event and handicraft fairs, undoubtedly, are the opportunities showcase the artworks of the tenants and artists outside the arts centre. In the eyes of the artists outside the JCCAC, it may not be a perfect venue to market their artworks.
“If I arrange an exhibition for my artworks, I wouldn’t choose the exhibition gallery in the JCCAC as the rent is quite expensive. If I aim at selling my artworks, it is not an effective way to market my artwork. [Why?] The location of the arts centre is near to the neighbourhood. You wouldn’t expect the potential buyers will visit there.” (Interview, Artist in Fotan)
What will be the way forward in a relatively stable community with a high concentration of the grassroots? The central location of the arts centre enables the centre becoming a focal point in the community whilst create a sense of social responsibility for the artists. Some of the artists are willing to serve and interact with the community.
“I do glass art class in the studio. Everyone is welcomed to join. It is not difficult as I wouldn’t teach them to the work I did. Instead, I teach them to make something more basic such as keychain, pins, accessories…. starting from the easiest bit, the visitors can experience what glass art is about. Thus, glass art can be promoted to the public”. (Interview, Artist in the JCCAC)
“I really want to interact with the visitors. The reason why I put my artworks near the windows is that I would like to catch their attention. 202 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
Even so, they don’t dare to come in and visit. I put a “Welcome” sign at the entrance of the studio”. (Interview, Artist in the JCCAC)
In addition to serving the community, Evans (2010) advocates that an arts centre should
have dual purposes, both formal and informal. Acting as a venue for arts-related events and
activities is the formal purpose. The informal one is not planned by the policy maker and
curators. It is “adopted and adapted” by the users in the spaces according to the social and
collective needs. Tang (2015) argues that the cultural regeneration is another dose of
isotopia, unless there is a substantial change in land (re)development regime of the
government. Otherwise, it only recreates isotopia which represents the space with political
rationality. Therefore, the JCCAC is the starting point for the new artists, but it seems far
less ideal than it supposed to be. There is still a long way for the vernacular creativity and
space to be surfaced.
8.4.3. Internal Institutionalisation The internal institutionalization means the regulation enforced within site as well as the
formal and informal contacts among the artists.
Regulation in the arts centre
In comparing with the Cattle Depot Artist Village in Chapter 5, the regulation in the JCCAC
is less stringent. The major regulation is for fire safety as some of the tenants use equipment
which generates high heat. Therefore, the arts centre has stricter fire regulation and ensure
that the corridor is not blocked (Figure 8.10b).
“I am doing the glass arts, so I need to use a heat gun at very high temperature. The management office will come and check if I follow the fire regulation. Apart from this, they don’t intervene in what we are doing.” (Interview, Glass artist in JCCAC) Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 203
“My works will involve equipment which will generate heat, so I made my own ventilation system. [Is the management unhappy about your alteration of the facility?] No, I think as long as the alteration complies with the fire regulation. They wouldn’t stop me”. (Interview, sculpture artist)
a b c d
f e Figure 8.10 Inside the artist studios and galleries a) Mini-oven for glass art; b) studio for Chinese calligraphy; c) self-made ventilation in the studio; d) Oil painting studio; e) home-like decoration in the studio; f) Mini photography gallery in the studio (Photos by the author)
Besides, there are some other regulations set by the art centre specifically for the visitors
(Figure 8.11). The signage about the regulations is posted in the lift. On the signage, it states
that:
i. Please keep your voice down; ii. Ask the artist before photography; iii. Please treat exhibits and facilities with respect; iv. Please seek permission before entering the studio
Those regulations are the response to the feedback and complaints from the artists due to
the misbehaviour of the visitors. In addition, the security guard is quite alerted about what
visitors are doing. When people took photos, the guard would ask them why they take
photos. The guard asked the people to register in the management office if they need to take
photos. It demonstrates the expectation gap between the artists and the visitors. The former 204 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
looks for a place with solitude to focus on their works. The latter attempts to explore a new
place in the community.
a b
Figure 8.11 a) Regulation for the visitors; b) Red line on the floor to show the boundary of the studio and keep the corridor clear (Photos by the author) Interaction among the artists
Another form of activities investigated in this research are the interactions among the
artists-in-residence. Those activities are not occurring in an organised way or following a
regular schedule. Rather, they happen in a casual and personal manner. The interactions are
more frequent among the new artists as they come to use their studios more frequently. On
the contrary, those well-established artists may not interact with the others or not always
in their studios. The new generation of artists are the graduates from the Academy of Visual
Arts (AVA) in HKBU. A common interaction among them is to help each other by providing
various materials.
“When I first moved in, the room is empty with no furniture, so I need to have something which fits my needs. One of the artists on the other floor who is a full-time stage carpenter helps me make a table for my studio. I treat him dinner as a return”. (Interview, glass artist in JCCAC)
“We have a formal gathering organised by the management office every month to get to know some artists who recently moved in. Apart from it, we don’t have much interaction. But at least, when we met in the corridor, we will say “hi” to each other….as everyone has different working time. It Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 205
is difficult to interact. Unless we create something together, we would have more interaction. The annual arts festival in the centre facilitates artist with similar interests to create something for the festival. I am going to cooperate with other tenants to promote iron and steel sculpture.” (Interview, sculpture artist in JCCAC)
The tenancy renewal policy review was undertaken by the arts centre in 2015 also reveals the similar result that the new artists are keener to facilitate the overall artistic atmosphere in the arts centre as well as interact with other artists and the visitors (Jockey Club Creative
Arts Centre, 2015). From the investigation of the events and activities, the art centre, the well-established artists, new artists and the visitors have different aspirations and expectations. The new artists are more focused on the activities within the art centre while the well-established ones are more focused on the external activities. Although those external activities can bring network and benefits to the arts centre, it is difficult for the art centre to unite both groups of artists and create synergy among them. The new artists can only stay in the art centre maximum for two years with subsidised rent. They account for
20% of the total tenants and become the minority. The new artists face instability after the end of the two-year lease. Even though they can submit an application to the arts centre, they have to be in another queue and pay the market rent.
Furthermore, the discrepancy between the well-established artists and the new artists indicates the failure of what Zhu (2013) stated about the blending of the global and the local.
The “hybrid” form of creative arts space can hardly succeed. Having part of the studios rented to fresh graduates of the fine arts program does provide opportunities for those amateurs to develop their careers, but still insufficient. The services provided for the new artists should be more diverse such as career consulting, promotion of their artworks.
Markusen & Johnson (2006) mention a community-based arts centre needs to be an artist centre in order to facilitate interaction and collective learning process in the centre. 206 Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC)
8.5. Summary The Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre sits at the centre of the grass-root district, Shek Kip
Mei in Sham Shui Po and attempts to become a focal point in the community as well as the
arts industry. The renovated factory building started to operate in 2008. The JCCAC
building not only represents the early industrial history of Hong Kong, but also marks the
origin of the public housing development in Hong Kong which triggered by Shek Kip Mei
Squatter Fire in 1953. The premise though is not a graded historic building, the conversion
of the building imposes a new meaning and purpose of the building – hub for local
creativity. The arts centre is the outcome of the partnership between the government,
tertiary institute and charity. It is run as a not-for-profit entity due to the creative turn of
the government’s development strategy and put efforts in developing creative industries.
Apart from its background of industrial history, the arts centre aimed at nurturing the new
artists and vernacular creativity. On the one hand, it becomes an arena for vernacular
handicrafts and arts by holding quarterly handicraft market and annual arts festival. On
the other hand, it provides subsidised studios which are 21% of the total number of studios
leasing to the fresh graduates. In addition, the arts centre becomes “common campus” for
social issues and community activities.
However, as a self-financed organization, it struggles between the market-oriented
direction and the community-oriented direction. The overambitious aspiration in
embracing diversified types of arts triggered debates over the positioning and definition
of arts in the centre. Meanwhile, the leasing system in the centre causes the sense of
insecurity among the artists due to lack of transparency in the selection process and the
top-down management of the arts centre. It discourages the interaction among the artists.
Instead, the artists especially for the new artists, will facilitate their own interaction and
collaboration. Chapter 8 CASE 3 – JOCKEY CLUB CREATIVE ARTS CENTRE (JCCAC) 207
In comparing with the previous two cases, the JCCAC faced fewer challenges derived from the surrounding. Instead, the challenges are brought by the management mode as a not- for-profit organization which struggles between commercializing and embracing the community. Besides, the actual operation within the arts centre such as the leasing system, engagement of the artists in management determines the functions of the arts centre.
208 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
“The artists in Hong Kong do not have a clear identity in the society. The art form(s) and art language(s) that we hold onto have never been properly promoted. Our artworks have had limited exposure to the public given the limitations of art venues. Our survival and development [as an artist] also have to rely on climbing the hierarchy of the Art System. This so-called Art System, basically a concept adopted from overseas, aims at bringing things up to the world level, instead of progressing alongside the culture of Hong Kong. I have been working [in Hong Kong] as a creative worker for many years, but I still feel ashamed to call myself an artist. [So I] need to put in some serious thoughts about the relation between what I have been doing and the society. [I] hope that one day I can call myself an artist without shame or regret.” (Shieh, 2012, translated)42
This chapter synthesises the findings. It develops a theoretical and empirical discussion of
the creative arts space through the lens of cultural capital. The story of each case leads to an
understanding of the contestation between the creative arts spaces and the city. A recap of
the knowledge gaps is presented in the first part so as to lay the ground for the subsequent
sections organised by the research questions. The interplay between creative arts space and
the city is discussed to inform the reconsideration of the planning policies for the CASs in
the city.
9.1. Introduction
Creativity and culture have been the hardcore in city development no matter strategically
or instrumentally to achieve cultural or economic ends. However, the issue in the nexus of
city and culture especially in Asian cities is the overgeneralization of theory based on the
42 Chinese version: 「香港藝術家在我們的社會裡沒有清晰的身份‧我們所把持的藝術形式及語言， 在這裡並沒有好好地被推廣過‧我們的作品，也困於藝術場而接觸的民眾很有限。我們的生存與發 展，也不得不依附藝術建制的層層階級。這所謂的藝術建制，大致上都是從外國移植而來，其發 展的目標是追趕世界水平，並非跟香港的文化平行地前進。我在這裡創作多年仍羞愧自稱藝術家; 要認真地想想自己所作所為跟這社會有何關連希望有一天能無憾地在身份填上答案。」 (石家豪, 2012)
Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 209 THE CITY
Western settings. The planners and policymakers copy and paste the formula into the context of the Asian city planning. Consequently, many cities are creating arts spaces for cultural consumption in the forms of theatre, exhibition centre, galleries as well as artist villages. The “accumulation of the cultural capitals” (re)shapes the urban landscapes (Kong et al., 2015). That becomes our conventional understanding about the instrumental value of the creativity and culture and scholars call them as cultural flagship projects which help achieve economic or social ends (Cartier, 2008; Chang, 2000; Chang & Huang, 2005).
However, these understandings over-rely on the flagship projects. It also indicates the lack of understanding of small scaled projects as the actual manifestations of creative arts spaces may present a different picture. Since the small-scale and localised projects may be sensitive to the surrounding environment, a holistic and locally sensitive approach for analysis is needed. Therefore, a theoretical lens of cultural capital is deployed in this research to deepen the understanding of the interaction between creative arts space and city. Though the notion of cultural capital is from the West, the concept is redefined based on various literature in Chapter 3. Thus, the analytical framework developed for this research is applicable to both western and non-western cities for carrying out a holistic and systematic analysis of CASs.
Besides, such a study helps fill up the gap which mentioned by Markusen (2014) that the existing understanding of the creative cities and arts spaces are limited to their impacts.
Instead, we understand little about how the arts spaces are embedded in the cities and what the intrinsic mission of all those arts spaces within the community and the city is. As mentioned, the instrumental value of creativity and culture in city planning has been over- stated. How the instrumental value was realised on the CASs has been discussed in each case separately (refer to Section 6.4, 7.4 and 8.4). However, the issue mattered is the responses of the artists to the changes of the CASs as well their surroundings. Therefore, the 210 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
focus of this research is on the creative arts spaces (CASs) in Hong Kong in order to enrich
our understanding of those small-scale arts spaces as well as other factors lead to their
formation and transformation. This section synthesises the findings from all case studies
and attempts to infer the findings by relating them to the literature and fill in the gaps of
knowledge.
9.2. What role does each creative arts space play in the city and how does each creative arts space foster creative practices? Table 9.1 Summary of the functional roles of CASs Case 1 – Cattle Depot Case 2 – Fotan Arts Case 3 – Jockey Club Arts Artists Village (CDAV) Studio Cluster Centre (JCCAC) • Museum of local • Historical icon in the • Gathering point of the industrial and housing community artists history • Creative arts hub for • Base for individual • Cultural Production new artists/ fresh artists and arts groups Hub graduates • A “gimmick” in the • Cultural Consumption • Arena for vernacular district redevelopment Spot handicrafts and arts plan • Common campus for • Arena for awakening social issues and local memory community activities
The functional role is the point of interest as the existing literature mainly lean on the
discussion about the virtual networks which vary from the global production network (see
for example, Pratt (2008), Scott (2014)) to social networks within a creative industry (see
also Wang (2010), Zheng & Chan (2013)). Under the wave of cultural capital accumulation
in the cities nowadays, it poses a question if all these cultural capitals form a “protective
shell” in the city and how the CASs foster creative practices. When Karlsson (2011) coins
that creative milieu might offer a protective shell for creative activities if it has plenty of
formal and informal contacts, this claim only takes the virtual network among the creative
workers into consideration. However, the collection of cultural capitals in different cities Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 211 THE CITY
with various urban settings may lead to disparate outcomes. Thus, this research scrutinises the physical sitings of the CASs to understand their functional roles in the urban milieu.
From the Chapter 6-8, the functional roles are varied. They are highly depended on where they are and what their management modes are. In Case 1 and Case 3, their functions are more socialised due to their proximity to the community. With the government involvement in their management processes, it makes the CASs rely on the government to guide their development directions. In contrast, Case 2 presents a disconnected arts community with the public due to the land use separation principle in Shatin new town planning. Kong
(2009a) mentions that tranquillity is one of the factors contributing to creative practices.
The land use separation nurtures an environment with solitude and solidarity for the artists to gather and work. Thus, it becomes a cultural production hub. However, those functions are also non-static. In other words, they evolve as time goes by as the CASs are vulnerable and sensitive to the changes in their surroundings. The functions of CDAV have changed from a new cultural platform for artists and a continuation of the Oil Street Artist Village to an arena for awakening the local memory due to the urban redevelopment program. Similar, the second case in Fotan faces drastic changes in the real-estate market. When the industrial buildings become a form of investment, the arts studios are suffered from massive speculation of industrial buildings. It led to the relocation of arts studios. The CASs are failed to formulate a “protective shell” for creative practice due to the non-static roles of CASs. It can be explained by a mix of factors.
First, at the city level, there is no specific network formed among different CASs as there is no specific pattern of distribution of the CASs. They are scattered in Hong Kong. Besides, the conversion of heritage buildings into arts-related uses in Hong Kong seemingly expanded the “spectrum” of the types of arts spaces available no matter if they are going global or staying local; consumption-based or production-based (See Section 5.3.3.). Nevertheless, 212 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
the creative arts practices in those spaces work on their own and the lack of development
direction makes the existence of those CASs difficult to have a synergic effect in fostering
the creative practices. It is because there is a missing link between the policies including the
cultural policies and planning policies and creative arts spaces. In this sense, the cultural
policy is detached from the physical environment. Consequentially, the development of
CASs is directionless, especially for Case 1 and Case 3 which are influenced by the
government’s policies regarding their positioning. The descriptive cultural policy makes the
role of the creative arts spaces uncertain no matter in the city, in the districts or even within
the arts industry. The reactive government and unwillingness in formulating a legitimate
cultural policy make the role of the government even more unclear in terms of managing
and developing the CASs. This missing link is apparent when the scope moves to the district
level.
Second, at the district level, the existence of the CASs in different districts seems to be
incompatible with their surroundings. The Cattle Depot Artist Villages (CDAV) and the
JCCAC are in the old neighbourhoods while the Fotan Arts Studio cluster is in the industrial
area of a second-generation new town. The artist village (Case 1) and arts centre (Case 3)
become a cultural facility in the districts for leisure purpose in the eyes of local politicians
and local development policies while the Fotanian (Case 2) is losing its significance in
nurturing a creative atmosphere. With the existence of other arts-related or cultural spaces,
such “protective shell” for the creative practices is hardly found in the districts. Moreover,
the formation of the creative arts spaces is a response to the vacant or under-used premises.
The responses are ephemeral as the development and the positioning of the CASs are highly
dependent on the local development strategies. For instance, the Cattle Depot Artist Village
is in an old neighbourhood and surrounded by other heritage and arts spaces. Facing the
redevelopment program, the development and positioning of the artist village are still
stagnant. Furthermore, the JCCAC presents a balanced spectrum of other cultural spaces in Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 213 THE CITY
the district. There are a former North Kowloon Magistracy Building which is converted into a US-based arts school and Mei Ho House, a historic public housing. However, no intermediary is linking all these spaces together.
Third, as reflected in the site level, the regular events are crucial in retaining the social relations within the industry to beget creative practices. The personal contacts facilitate the transfer of knowledge (Karlsson, 2011; Kong, 2009a). With the regular key event held every year, the JCCAC and the Fotanian set the expectation for both insiders and outsiders in the arts field. In contrast, the Cattle Depot Artist Village, the irregularity of events is unfavourable for keeping the creative vibe alive in the village. Also, those regular events foster the sense of the community among the artists. The main reason why the artists settled in those creative arts spaces is that the arts community established in the CASs, especially for the Fotanian and the CDAV. The Fotanian was originated from a group of professors and students from the CUHK. The arts community was extended from the campus to the industrial area near the campus. Consequentially, it attracted other artists or alumni of the
CUHK moving in. Moreover, the CDAV was a continuation of the arts community in Oil Street and resettled in the abandoned heritage. Throsby (2014) pinpoints that the accumulation of cultural capitals is usually assembled within a cultural district or built around a unique heritage. However, the Cattle Depot, as a historical icon in the community, seems to present a different situation. The small-scale and localised arts space is not acting as a node for creative practices. It relies more on how it is used and managed. It echoes with Scott’s claim that forming a community is the “repositories of an accumulated cultural capital that is one of the defining factors of the creative field” (Scott, 1999, p. 809). The accumulation of cultural capitals or establishing a creative arts space is not just about the number of the creative arts spaces or cultural flagship projects available in the city, but also about how the creative arts spaces generate social relationship among the artists as well as how to bridge the policies
(software) with the physical spaces (hardware). 214 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
9.3. What are the influences of major historical events in Hong Kong in shaping the creative arts spaces?
Table 9.2 Summary of Historical Events which shape the CASs Case 1 – Cattle Depot Case 2 – Fotan Arts Case 3 – Jockey Club Arts Artists Village (CDAV) Studio Cluster Centre (JCCAC) • Event: • Event: • Event: - Post War Planning - Planning of Shatin - Shek Kip Mei Squatter in 1948 new town in the 60s Fire in 1953 • Impact: • Impact: • Impact: - Shaped the - Hardware: smaller - Formalizing the character and size of units informalities such as surrounding of the - Location: proximity informal squatters and Cattle Depot to railway and cottage factories solitude due to the - Became a public land use separation housing hub - Cost: cheaper rent in comparing with other industrial areas • Event: • Event: • Event: - Resettlement of - Economic - Creative turn of Former Oil Street restructuring development strategies Artist Village • Impact: in the 2000s • Impact: - Vacancy of industrial • Impact: - Continuation of the buildings due to - Initiation of the arts spirit in Oil Street relocation of factories centre Artist Village to mainland China
• Event: • Event: • Event: - Grading and Re- - Outbreak of the SARS - District development grading of historic in 2003 strategy building • Impact: • Impact: • Impact: - Rent and price - Preservation of the - Shift of the dropped. - Became a factory estate. management agent pull factor for the artist to move in.
One of the research objectives is to investigate how the historical events shape the CASs.
Such an investigation responds to what has been mentioned by the scholars that the
specificity of a location is a “cumulative product of the collective and sedimented history” (Lee,
1997, p. 127) and local history is a key ingredient in making a city be a cultural capital
(Kearns & Philo, 1993). The creative arts space is not just a cultural capital in a city, but also
in a district, it is crucial to understand the local history of a district. Meanwhile, Cartier Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 215 THE CITY
(2008) and Johnson (2009) argue that the colonial history is a prescription for creative arts space, so in what way the colonial history influenced the formation and the shaping of CASs?
From Table 9.2, the historical events shape the CASs in two ways: (i) shaping the surrounding environment which profoundly affect the transformation of CASs; and
(ii) triggering the formation. This research argues that the colonial history is a backdrop for creative arts space. It laid the ground for the formation and transformation of CASs and their surroundings such as the approaches of cultural policy and district planning (refer to
Chapter 5)contrasting to Johnson’s argument (2009) that colonial history is a prescription for creative arts practices. Nevertheless, the case studies, except for the Cattle Depot Artist
Village, were formed after the handover in 1997 so their colonial influence was rather limited.43 The events after 1997 are the catalysts in the formation and transformation either by changing the condition in the city or the district.
At the city level, the colonial history lay the groundwork for encouraging the initiation of the CASs as the non-interventionism in the cultural policy is still inherited by the government after the handover in 1997 (refer to Chapter 5). It offered the opportunity for the artists to form the arts community in vacant premises during the late 90s to early 2000s.
Besides, the economic restructuring during the 90s, the economic crisis in 1998 as well as the outbreak of the SARS in 2003 were the vital socio-economic events which triggered the formation of the CASs. The artists in the CDAV occupied the empty government property in
Oil Street while the artists moved to the underused industrial buildings in Fotan with a low rent after the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARAS). The economic restructuring and the financial crisis catalysed the creative turn of the Hong Kong government. It led to the shift of economic and urban planning strategies. The initiatives for creative industries and the aspiration in making Hong Kong becoming a cultural metropolis
43 The colonial influences on the development of the physical sitings are discussed in each case study (Section 6.3, 7.3, 8.3). 216 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
pushed the establishment of the JCCAC. Thus, the historical events before and after 1997
contributed to the formation and the shaping of the CASs.
At the district level, through understanding the districts where the study sites are located,
the formation and transformation of the sites are a form of response to the change of the
surrounding environment in each district. This research reveals that the historical setting
of the district also plays a prominent part in the formation and shaping of the creative arts
spaces. The colonial legacy of Hong Kong contributes to the current mentality of the
government in urban planning as well as cultural development. The land use planning of
each district unravels the local history as well as local characteristics. It aligns with He
(2016)’s view that the colonial planning moulded urban character and functions of each
district. The CDAV depicts the meld of offensive industries and housing of the grassroots in
a densely developed district and shapes the earliest part of the industrial history. The
second case in Shek Kip Mei is a public housing hub with the flatted factory estate is the
prominent act of the colonial government in formalising the informalities after the massive
fire squatter in 1953. The Fotanian conveys the present story of the industrial land use in
Hong Kong and the land use separation principle in the planning of the new town creates a
“private” environment for the artists to move in and work.
In addition, those historical events also altered the representation of the CASs which is
another indicator of the transformation of those spaces. “Representation is the production of
meaning through language” (Hall, 1997b, p. 196). It can be realised in various forms such as
texts, images and even artworks which “involves imagination and a capacity to generate
original ideas and novel ways of interpreting the world, expressed in text, sound and image”
(Girard, 2012, p. 18). The case studies infer that the influx of artists altered the
representation of the CASs spatially and temporally by imposing a new meaning on those
spaces. Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 217 THE CITY
Th Cattle Depot has become the communal icon in the district even after the removal of the slaughterhouse and being idle. The establishment of the artist village in the Cattle Depot has changed the representation within the district. The artists, in the eyes of the residents, are a group of people whom the public do not know what they are doing. The mysterious image of the artist village led to a disconnection between the community and the artist village.
The JCCAC though is at the centre of the grassroots community and represented the local manufacturing history. The decoration and the internal structure of the flatted industrial building are retained to recognise the historical meaning of the building. When the building was planned to be demolished, the conversion proposal gave a new life to the building and museumised part of the industrial history in the building. However, the new function serving as a creative arts hub outweighs the industrial history of the building and it even ghettoises the arts studios into an “industrial” building. Hence, some of the respondents think that the studios just like a “zoo” for the outsiders to visit.
For the case in Fotan, its representation changed is not because of the recognition obtained from the government, but it is because of the sense of community within the cluster as well as the bonding inherited from campus. When the name of the annual open studio changed to “Fotanian” in 2003 and a limited company, “Fotanian” was registered in 2012 as a limited company, “Fotanian” became an identity shared among the artists in Fotan. The dismissal of the BoD in 2015 marks the beginning of the post-Fotanian. The annual open studio no longer titled as “Fotanian”. Although the tradition of the open studios in January still goes on, the meaning of Fotan Arts Studio Cluster has been altered silently. From the above changes of the representations of the case studies, they, on the one hand, align with Agnew
(1993)’s claim that the meaning of a place is non-static. On the other hand, they captured a specific part of the history in the transformation of the CASs. 218 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
In brief, the colonial history did contribute and lay the groundwork for the formation of the
CASs, whereas it is not necessarily led to the flourishment of the CASs. The historical
transformation of the cases at various scales illustrate that the transformation is more
complex than first it seems. One of the factors complicates the transformation is the
institutionalisation of the CASs which will be discussed in the following section. Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 219 THE CITY
9.4. How do the artists respond to the institutional implications for the creative arts spaces at various urban scales and with different management modes? Table 9.3 Summary of Institutional Impacts on the CASs and Responses of the Artists Case 1 – Cattle Depot Case 2 – Fotan Arts Case 3 – Jockey Artists Village (CDAV) Studio Cluster Club Arts Centre (JCCAC) • Involvement of the • Sponsorship from • Cultural Policy District Council in the private sector Review in 2003 promoting community and government o Response: arts o Response: Debate over o Response: Not Decided to be the positioning collaborating with the independent of the arts district council, but from any third centre and promote community parties definition of arts by themselves • Optimisation of arts • Revitalization of the industrial land use External rear part of CDAV and o Response: the urban renewal formed Factory program intensified the Artists Concern sense of insecurity Group in among artists representing the o Response: Passive views of the response from the artists in protest artists and adopted a and campaigns “wait and see” approach and • Absence of the • Regulation within • No strict regulation intermediary agent in the building and in the arts centre the village rise of rent o Response: o Response: The tenants o Response: Facilitate found their ways to Relocation of the informal contacts develop studios/ change among the new to a shared artists Internal studio • Lack of mechanism to facilitate interaction among the artists o Response: Facilitate collaboration by themselves • Red-tapes of heritage • Dismissal of the • Top-down • The naming of place – company after management legitimatisation of the funding • Leasing System - village o Response: Re- Displacing the new Management o Response: Protest and adopted the artists negotiation with the organic and o Response: Push government random factor of management relocation of mode studios 220 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
Institutionalisation 44 here has three meanings: (i) external: institutionalisation through
policies and/or government intervention.; (ii) internal institutionalisation among the artists
and/or regulations with the sites; and (iii) management of the site. There is a large volume
of studies focus on the policy field and how culture is instrumentalised as an urban
development strategy (See Grodach & Silver (2013); Kong & O'Connor (2009); Mommaas
(2004); Stern & Seifert (2010)). Nonetheless, a limited amount of the literature investigates
how the institutionalisation processes formed and shaped the CASs and how the artists
responded to those institutional implications. In this section, the institutional implication
for the CASs and followed by the responses of artists.
9.4.1. Institutionalisation through policies or private sectors
Findings in Chapters 6 to 8 captured the evolution of creative arts spaces (CASs) temporally
and spatially from physical, historical and institutional perspectives. The trace of non-
interventionist colonial practice in the current cultural policy nurtured a free environment
for the spontaneous formation or initiation of the CASs. With the help of the overarching
economic situation such as the economic restructuring and the mania of “creative city”, it
catalysed the cooperation among the artists which caught the attention of the government.
Even though their current management modes are varied, the government did intervene at
different stages of their development. However, the intervention from the government
attests the reactionary approach in tackling arts and culture in Hong Kong.
From the case studies, the government involvement in the development of the CASs was at
different stages. The case studies show that there is a fine line between intervention and
44 This research interrogates the interventions from the government on the CASs and the result was discussed in each case study as “institutional implications” (Section 6.4, 7.4, 8.4). Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 221 THE CITY
interference. The initial intentions may be for the good of the artists, but the “intervention” often becomes an “interference”. Even though the artists in Hong Kong face numerous difficulties, they need the help from the government in term of provision of the workplace and monetary support. When the third party either the government or corporation attempts to approach the artists, they are sceptical about the intention of them. It also echoes with
Zukin & Braslow (2011)’s description of the artists in an unplanned arts district:
“Artists are distrustful of regulation. At the extreme, in order to perform their difference, they may want to be in an unrecognised limbo in space and time that enables them to remain edgy.” (p.139)
From the perspective of the artist, they do not trust regulations. Such scepticism against the regulation and institutions guide them to interpret the government’s intervention as an interference. Tang (2017) states that both the Fotanian and the Cattle Depot Artist Village were an exemplar of “restricted government intervention”. In Case 1, the revitalisation of the rear part of Cattle Depot did help improve the amenity in the artist village, but it intensified the sense of insecurity among the artists as the artists were not engaged in the process. The impacts of the project were downplayed by the district council. The sponsorship from the private sector and government in Case 2 did promote the cluster to the public. However, such intervention brought interference to the artists. Those who visited the open studios may not be genuinely interested in arts. Instead, they were interested in the property. In addition, the management of the government funding engendered the suspicion among the artists. Therefore, some artists in the interviews conferred that they would rather not to seek help from the government.
“The government always did something with a “good” intention, from their perspective. But, it (government intervention) is ruining us. It is better for them (the government) not to do anything.” (Interview, Artist in Fotan) 222 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
Besides, the policy of optimising the industrial land use aimed at revitalising the industrial
buildings and hybridising the use of industrial buildings, but it resulted in soaring rent and
relocation of the studios. For Case 3, the cultural policy review shaped the current
management mode of the JCCAC. The over-ambitious approach by embracing diversified
types of arts led to the debates among the artists regarding the positioning of the art centre.
In addition to the artists’ sceptical view about the government or third-party intervention,
the cases also illustrate that the government has insufficient understanding of the ecology
of the arts industry.
9.4.2. Internal institutionalisation among the artists/ regulation within the site
Apart from the formal rules within the premises, the informal rules seem not obvious within
the site. Without strict regulation, the artists are free to facilitate their own interaction. For
instance, the JCCAC and Fotan Arts Studio Cluster do not impose many regulations on the
artists except those regulations related to safety. The artists in the CASs can have more
informal contacts. However, the informal contacts may not be effective in facilitating the
creative practices within the CASs as the coordination work is time-consuming:
“Organizing an open studio event is very time-consuming. The works include gathering all the participants, designing posters, promotion of the event, etc. These will take many days and nights. Therefore, not many artists will be willing to do this unless they are really committed. How can the artists be organizing the event and preparing for their exhibits in the event at the same time?” (Interview, cultural critic)
Thus, the researchers (see Jeffcutt & Pratt (2002) and Charrieras et al. (2018)) c. However,
it seems that this suggestion may not be applicable to all management styles. Perhaps, it is
suitable for the government-owned creative arts space such as the Cattle Depot Artist
Village of which the problem is the lack of coordination platform. For the Fotanian, as it is Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 223 THE CITY
production oriented and privately managed. They need a stable workplace with affordable rent instead of a middle ground. The JCCAC faces the top-down management and the displacement between the new and avant-garde artists. That makes the arts centre harder to create a collaborative environment among the artists. Therefore, the management of the arts centre plays a vital role in uniting the artists and nurturing a creative atmosphere through the open studios and annual arts festival.
9.4.3. Management within site
In this section, the comparison of three cases by outlining how the management modes influence their formation processes, transformation as well as the current situation. The real challenge for the creative space comes when space becomes operational (Jeffcutt &
Pratt, 2002; Kong et al., 2015) such as how to sustain the operation of the spaces and how to address the issues brought by various parties. Therefore, one of the purposes of this research is to investigate in what way, the management modes contribute to the changes in the creative arts spaces.
The artists from the Oil Street Artist Village were expelled because of the redevelopment of the original site. The government intervened when the artists were asking for resettlement.
It induced the establishment of the Cattle Depot Artist Village in an abandoned historic premise. However, treating the artist village as a property to manage, it makes the artist village lose its function as a hub for creation. The transformation of the village is highly sensitive to the changes in cultural and urban policies. The autonomy of the artists is demised, so as the types of activities carried out within the village. In addition, the Cattle
Depot Artist Village is not regarded as a “successful” artist village due to the red-tapes from the government and the lack of future development direction. The naming of the artist village reveals that it is still struggling for its legitimate status. 224 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
As reflected in Case 2, renaming the cluster as “Fotanian” in 2003 is the first step initiated
by the artists to institutionalise and share an identity. Then after applying for the “Arts
Capacity Development Funding Scheme” from the government in 2012, the formation of the
Board of Directors (BoD) was another crucial step to formalise the cluster into a legal entity.
Nevertheless, the dissolve of the BoD in 2015 marks the end of government funding as well
as the name of “Fotanian”. This name is no longer used in the open studio event. It is because
the institutionalisation of the cluster triggered the distrust and dispute among the artists.
The JCCAC was an industrial estate building for solving the issue of informal workshops in
squatter. The initial intent of the government was to demolish the building and turn it into
residential use. That is why in the current outline zoning plan, the site is zoned for
residential use. Without the counter-proposal by the Hong Kong Baptist University, the
JCCAC would not be existed and become the first NGO-operated project which is overseen
by the government, tertiary institute and charity. The top-down management in a self-
sustaining arts centre is contentious as the artists are not engaged in the management
process. The new artists are prone to be displaced by the well-established artists. The
creative vibe within the centre is limited as the artists are not united.
Santagata (2006, 2002) suggests that the cultural projects are vulnerable to the institutional
changes. Therefore, the policymakers have to handle them with care. If they are not handled
with care, it will become another fallacy of the instrumentalism or over-engineering (Sacco,
Ferilli, & Blessi, 2013; Sacco, Ferilli, et al., 2013a; Sacco, Ferilli, Blessi, & Nuccio, 2013b).
Thus, managing creative arts space needs a creative approach. It cannot be just treated as
an industry or a premise. Instead, the policymakers need to recognise the role of both artists
and space by integrating all elements into the planning policy. These cases, regardless of
their management modes, their formation or initiation are spontaneous. Such organic
development denotes the role of artists can be more active in the cultivating the creative Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 225 THE CITY
practices in the city as well as in the community. Meanwhile, the artists actively and passively respond to the institutional changes which will be discussed in the following section.
9.4.4. Responses of the artists
Artistic production is the arena of struggle as the place where the artists settled in define the values of the artists and their reputation (Bourdieu & Johnson, 1993; Shaw, 2013). Those struggles are triggered by the “place” including the city, the district and the site. Facing the challenges and frustrations brought by the institutional changes at various urban scales, they respond to and combat with them in both active and passive ways.
Proactive Responses
• Reclaiming Creative Arts Space
The artists were active in reclaiming their workspace by means of protest and negotiation, especially in Case1 and Case 2. The very first response was when they were expelled from the Oil Street Artist Village. They actively organised activities in order to catch the attention of the media and successfully negotiated with the government by asking for resettlement. It triggered the formation of the Cattle Depot Artist Village. Meanwhile, when they faced the unreasonable red-tapes imposed by the management of the Cattle Depot, they responded through protest and forum so as to strike for a better working environment and legitimisation of the artist village. In the case of Fotan, the optimisation measure of industrial land use attracted other small businesses moving into the industrial buildings and led to the increase in rent. Therefore, the artists formed a concern group in expressing their views through protest and negotiation of the government. Apart from protest and negotiation, the artists, as a powerful storyteller (Courage, 2017), reclaimed their studios through their artworks to arouse the public awareness regarding the lives of artists in factory buildings. In responding to the red-tapes in the CDAV, the artists created a poster 226 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
for propaganda. The artist in Fotan created an installation art to address the soring rental
cost in Fotan.
• Awakening Citizenship45
Given the fact that Hong Kong is shaped by high culture since the colonial period. Even after
the handover of the sovereignty, such mentality remains in the cultural policy making. The
ideological issue is sensitive in the eyes of the government. Thus, it made the government
adopting a narrow definition of arts and culture. The awakening about what Hong Kong
culture occurs after the handover in 1997 (Abbas, 2000) with the aid of the descriptive
cultural policy which nurtured a free environment. It led to the spontaneous formation of
the creative arts spaces. The artists at that time were attempted to envision the future of
Hong Kong after the handover. It enriched the local arts scene. Therefore, the artists in the
Cattle Depot Artist Village who were initially from the Oil Street held exhibitions and talks
related to the political changes of the city (refer to Chapter 6). Such synergy becomes an
exemplar for other artists by proving that the artists can be united and can contribute to the
local arts development. Meanwhile, the variations in planning strategies also change the
role of the artists in participating in the urban development. They are not only awakened by
the altering environment, but also take part in awakening the citizenship. For instance, the
JCCAC and the Cattle Depot are sited at the centre of the neighbourhood. The propinquity
between the creative arts spaces and the community favours the artists taking an active role
in engaging the community in arts practices so that arts becomes a tool for citizenship
awakening, especially when the district is undergoing renewal.
“Contemporary understandings of culture reflect and reproduce the city’s colonial history and the complex interactions between governing elites, urban communities and dominant representations of culture –
45 The active response of the artists in awakening citizenship implies that the relationship between artists and the community can be further investigated. It has been stated as one of the recommendations in Section 10.3. Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 227 THE CITY
both as a tool of social control and as a vehicle of citizenship empowerment.” (Raco & Gilliam, 2012, p. 1440)
There are studies attempted to investigate the artistic activism in Hong Kong and how it relates to the city. From Star Ferry and Queen’s Pier Conservation in 2006-200746 (Cartier,
2010; Kam & Man, 2017) to the Umbrella Movement in 201447 (Lu & Wong, 2017), the creation of the artwork is no longer bounded within the creative arts space, and the role of the artists are active in responding to the socio-political issues and promote a “Hong Kong identity”. The CDAV is a case that the artists arouse the community awareness of the redevelopment project and reinforce the local memory. Besides, the JCCAC demonstrates an example of using the arts space in achieving the purpose of social inclusion of the ethnic minority groups in Sham Shui Po district. These cases depict different scenarios in engaging the community. The former case is initiated by the artists while the latter one is initiated by the district council and collaborated with the arts centre.
This part connotes that institutional implication can (re)shape the functional roles of the
CASs. Based on Ponzini (2009)’s argument, every creative arts space can be a “common campus” and react to the historical changes as well as the urban and cultural policy changes at both city and district level. Within each site, the arts activities initiated by the artists and other non-governmental organisations in the districts can reach the local community and impose a new function on the CASs.
46 It is a protest in supporting the conservation of these historic sites which symbolize part of the colonial history. The Queen’s Pier was for the governors and the British royals to park their yachts when they first arrived Hong Kong. The SAR government proposed to demolish these sites and redevelop them in the names of new cultural facilities. It triggered art actions such as alternative performance art on site in advocating the local memory and Hong Kong identity (Cartier, 2010). 47 The Umbrella Movement was a civic moment which lasted for 79 days to strive for a genuine universal suffrage in the constitutional reform in 2014. The umbrella, originally used as a form protection for the protestors, was transformed into different forms and motifs by the crowds and the artists. (Lu & Wong, 2017) 228 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
Passive responses – “Adopt and Adapt”
• Limited space with unlimited creativity
The formation of the creative arts is not only a response to the vacant properties (Bishop &
Williams, 2012), but also a response and an adaptation to the limited space. Hong Kong as a
compact and dense city, faces the scarcity of land resources due to its development mode
(Mahtab-uz-Zaman, Lau, & So, 2000). The optimisation of different land uses led to the
locational and spatial requirement of arts industry fall into an endless struggle. The size of
the studios in the JCCAC is 300-400 sq. feet while in Fotan, the average size is 1000-1200 sq.
feet with multiple occupancies. The mini-size of the oven in the glass studio, a small stage in
heritage premises, a tiny classroom for oil painting class, a gallery for small-scale exhibitions
in the creative arts spaces demonstrate another form of creativity under the constraint of
limited space. It also enables another form of representation of space which makes Hong
Kong become a unique and worth-to-note case.
Soja (1996) discuss the threesome social construction of space: first space, second space
and third space. What the artists struggle with space is aligned with the second space which
is defined as “mental spaces, are thus the representation of power and ideology, of control and
surveillance… The primary space of utopian thought and vision, it’s the semiotician or decoder,
and the purely creative imagination of some artists and poets” (p.96). Therefore, the struggles
are not only induced by the physical space, but also induced by control and surveillance. The
case studies reveal that the regulation is another form of struggle induced by the physical
space. In the case of the Cattle Depot Artist Village, the regulations in protecting the historic
building such as the prohibition of changing the structure and the bureaucratic heritage
management forced the artists to think ways for adapting the rules and limitations.
“We cannot use nails to hold the artwork on the wall. Now we get used to it. We know how to use some smart ways to display the artworks during the exhibitions.” (Interview, Artist in the Cattle Depot) Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 229 THE CITY
“Keep a good relationship with the stuff from the management office is crucial. Though we still have to follow the rules, a good relationship sometimes can make things easier for us.” (Interview, Artist in the Cattle Depot)
Furthermore, the Fotanian, under the land use optimisation and obsolete industrial land use policy, the arts studios are not legitimate until recent years and they have to stay with other industries such as food processing, metal workshops which bring hygiene and noise issues to them. Therefore, the artists in Fotan “adapt and adopt” to the existing environment such as by adjusting their working hours.
• Life as an arts nomad - From one place to another
Rental cost is still the major concern of the artists in deciding the location of their studios.
Due to intense speculation of the industrial buildings, the rise of the rental cost occurs in
Fotan. It makes the artists become the “arts nomad”. They move from one place to another not only because of the affordability of the rent, but also for a place with opportunities for them to survive. Some studies capture the (re)formation of the creative arts spaces and the movement of the artists (Chow, 2016; Zukin & Braslow, 2011) . They observe that the
“migration” of the artists is a response to the increment of rent and lack of creative vibes.
Thus, some artists do not mind moving from one place to another as they are keen to find somewhere they can call it “home”.
In addition to the struggle with space, regulation and institution, the artists are also facing economic pressure which is brought by the instability of the ecology of the arts industry and the arts studio. Due to the high living cost and unaffordable rent, the artists have to earn their livings. There is no guarantee of a stable income in their artistic careers. Unless the 230 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
artist's sign contracts with the galleries, it is hard for the artists to promote themselves in
the market and the local market for vernacular arts48 is small.
“I started my career as an artist after I retired as a nurse and then I studied Master of Fine Art in RMIT (i.e. Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology). (why don’t you start your career earlier?) Well, it is all about money and stability. As an artist, you don’t know when you would be able to sell a painting. Even if I can sell my work for $20,000 (Hong Kong dollars), it is still not enough for my living. After I became economically stable, I would be able to have more freedom of what I want to do and create. Most importantly, it would be less stressful to create artwork for sale.” (Interview, oil painting artist in Fotan)
Instability of the career as an artist forces most of them to work on a part-time basis and
find a full-time job to sustain their artistic career. Hence, most of the studios are not only in
use during the daytime. The artists usually go back to their studios during night time and
weekends. Besides, the JCCAC presents another kind of struggle brought by the regulations
of the arts centre. As an arts centre aiming at nurturing the local arts scene, it seems to create
a utopia for the new artists. Nonetheless, the story does not go on in this way. The leasing
system frustrates the new artists and intensifies the displacement between the new artist
and the well-established artists. It becomes a push factor for relocating the studios.
To conclude, although the government intervention did help the creative arts space, to a
certain extent, elude from the unstable situation financially and institutionally through the
provision of sponsorship and spaces for the artists, the institutionalisation processes of
these cases do not present a positive outcome. The case studies show that the “failure” of
institutionalisation in the creative arts spaces are due to the distrust between the
government and the artists. The artists tend to “hands-off” when they came across the
48 The arts market is not the focus of this research, but some scholars (See Greffe (2016) and Ginsburgh & Throsby (2006)) did coin that the instability of the art market is caused by the lack of the pricing system and quasi-equilibrium market for the new artists. Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 231 THE CITY
institutional or bureaucratic processes. The suspicion was emanated among the artists as well. It also partially explains why Andersson (2011) stresses the importance of having a small government in fostering the creative activities. This research shows that being a small government is not necessarily lead to the expected outcomes. The non-interventionism unravelled in government’s cultural policy is overcast by the development-led planning policy. Unless the availability of the studio spaces and rents are guaranteed by the government, it will be hard for the artists to survive. The failure of institutionalisation in the creative arts spaces divulges two messages:
First, the institutionalisation of CASs is contested and complexed in the sense that it involved the self-interests of the artists, policy intents of the government, the public interests as well as the overarching environment of the arts industry. However, the polices are failed to balance the needs and interests of the artists, the community as well as the government by overstating the instrumental function of the CAS in planning.
Second, the responses of the artists imply that facing the constraints in the CASs, the artists could take an active role in negotiating with the government while they “adopt and adapt” to those constraints so as to combat with those unfavourable conditions in the arts industry.
Ultimately, this “adopt and adapt” approach reshapes the functions of the CASs.
9.5. Whose Creative Arts Spaces?
This research offers a more holistic understanding of the creative arts space in terms of the factors for the formation as well as the transformation of the CASs. Most importantly, it ascertains how those spaces are embedded in the district and the city. Hence, it leads us to comprehend the interplay of the city and culture. The existence of different creative arts spaces manifests a dialogue between culture and city (Cartier, 2008). This dialogue, nevertheless, is asymmetrical. Such asymmetrical relationship exemplifies in the
“worldings” of arts which focus on the tension between the “local” and “global” in relating 232 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
the culture with the city (Chang, 2000; Luger & Ren, 2017; Zukin, 1995). They state that the
local culture is undermined by the global culture. However, such an argument only built
under the discussion of the large-scale cultural flagship projects.
In this research, the asymmetrical dialogue between the culture and city is manifested in
the creative arts spaces in two ways. First, from the previous sections, the CASs are
vulnerable and sensitive to the alterations of surroundings. They are shaped by the urban
landscape, unlike the large-scale projects which shape the urban landscape. Second, it also
manifests in the expectation gaps of different players, the artists, the government and the
locals, in the CASs. It will be further elaborated in the following parts.
9.5.1. For the artists
The creative arts spaces cannot exist without artists. The existence of the CASs is a
manifestation of the instrumentalisation of culture and creativity. Therefore, Delgado (2008)
argues that “the artisticization of urban policies” implies their indispensable relationship in
the urban milieu. Even though the case studies show that the formation of CASs is not
directly driven by the urban policies such as Fotan Arts Studio Cluster, the artists, as a key
player in the CASs, their responses indirectly and directly (re)shaped the CASs (refer to
Section 9.4.4.).
As the artists and their artworks embed in the arts spaces, Zukin (1995) argues that artists
are “a cultural means of framing space” and “confirm the city’s claim of continued cultural
hegemony”(p.23). However, framing space is an on-going process as observed in the case
studies, due to the dynamic status of the CASs. Thus, artists in the CASs also struggle in
framing space. Users moved into the under-used premises redefine and tune the meanings
and uses of those spaces (Bishop & Williams, 2012; Lehtovuori & Ruoppila, 2012). In the
case of Fotan, the semi-vacant industrial buildings are turned into a creative milieu. Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 233 THE CITY
However, the land use policy was not aligned with the development of the cluster. The introduction of the industrial building revitalisation scheme and the redevelopment of the surrounding intensify the speculation of industrial buildings and thus displace the arts studios. The artists are limited by the property market, so they become an “arts nomad” to find the place with lower rent or share the studios with more artists. Since the Fotanian is a production-based arts cluster, unlike the Cattle Depot Artist Village and the JCCAC, the arts studio is not supposed to be open to the public. Nevertheless, the artists on the one hand have to promote themselves. On the other hand, they need space and privacy to concentrate on their creation.
For those who are willing to open their studios, are usually would like to have a connection with the art lovers and promote arts to the public. It implies to the openness of the studios somehow depends on the artists’ sense of social responsibility.
“My work is more conceptual in comparing with other artists in Fotan. One of my works depicts the message of consumerism. It makes people rethink their consumption behaviour. I believe it is important for an artist to spread the message which can relate to the world and the audiences” (Interview, oil painting artist in Fotan)
“I enjoy teaching drawing and showing my works to my students. As an artist, you need to have a sense of social responsibility in spreading some messages through your artwork. That is why after my retirement, I choose to be a full-time artist.” (Interview, oil painting artist in JCCAC)
Having an arts studio in those CASs, artists seemingly would like to have privacy and freedom for creation. Meanwhile, their willingness in opening their studios also implies their roles in the city. They can be the facilitators of the creative environment not only among the artists, but also in public. However, the sense of social responsibility depends on whether the artists can have a stable workplace. Besides, the artists are undermined by the 234 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
external factors, especially externally interventions by the government and the sponsors.
As mentioned by Zukin & Braslow (2011), the artists are distrustful of the regulations and
institutions. The distrustful relationship makes the artists less willing to open their studios
to the public. Such unwillingness is also induced by the unpleasant experience after
receiving the sponsorship from the government and the property developer.
“Our studio does not join the annual open studio every year. It depends on the availability of time and artworks. If we have nothing to show, we cannot open to the public to visit. However, I know some artists have some unpleasant experiences during the previous open studio event. Some visitors were just like doing property inspection and asking some questions which were not related to their artworks. After that, they chose to close their doors and no longer open to the public.” (Interview, painting artist in Fotan)
“The district councillor who represents Fotan has a pro-establishment background, so the artists would not talk to the district council. They are afraid that with the intervention from the district council, their rooms for creation will be diminished. Most of the artists are more production based so they would choose to be independent of any other parties.” (Interview, cultural expert)
At the district level, the district council as the middleman between the government and the
community, aims at facilitating the communication between both parties in public
policymaking. Therefore, when the arts spaces catch the attention of the local politicians,
the arts community have a fear that the government would intervene in the development of
the CASs. Their room for creation will be diminished.
“The government in most of the times would like to do something helping us. However, they are adding odd rather than doing good for us. They may even ruin everything. (What kind of help do you think the government can help?) Well, just leave us alone.” (Interview, sculpture artist in JCCAC) Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 235 THE CITY
Once the government intervenes, the artists are sceptical about the intentions of the government. Some artists expressed what they need is that the government keeps its hand off:
“Just leaving us alone will be the best way to help. When the government involves some arts projects, those projects become a mess. The PMQ49 and the Cattle Depot are the examples. We need monetary support apparently, but we need freedom as well.” (Interview, artist in Fotan)
Serval interviewed artists shared the similar view. This view reflects that the government has insufficient understanding of the “ecology” of the arts industry. The policies and measures are not directly addressing the needs of the artists. For instance, the industrial building revitalisation scheme was supposed to relieve the pressure of lacking office spaces and spaces for other uses including arts studio. It finally triggered the speculation of industrial buildings and displaced the artists from the industrial buildings. For the artists, it is undeniable that they need more affordable space for production and interaction.
Meanwhile, the freedom of expression is crucial for them to convey their views freely through artworks. Besides, their career aspirations are varied, and it will hinder the development of the CASs as well.
“I am quite satisfied with my status now as I have my studio and I can do anything I like in my place. Joining the open studio is not my priority. I would prefer looking for opportunities outside Fotan.” (Interview, Artist in Fotan)
The “ecology” of arts industry is another determinant for the artists to open their studios.
Since the “ecology” is not favourable for full-time artists to survive due to the high rental
49 PMQ stands for Police Marriage Quarter. It is one of the projects in “Conserving Central” subsidized by the government. The quarter in converted into a creative hub for designers. This project had been criticized for being over commercialized and the high rent forcing the tenants to leave. (Chow, 2015) (refer to Chapter 4) 236 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
cost and the inactive local art market. Many of the artists are working part-time an.
Therefore, when they have time to work on their art pieces, it would be at night or during
the weekend. The time constraint deters them to open their studios as well as make a
connection with the public. Furthermore, the shared studios need consensus from all artists
in deciding whether to open their studios or not.
9.5.2. For the government
The government intends to develop both large and small-scale arts spaces into an asset
which adds value to the economy due to the creative turn of economic development strategy
in the 2000s. It reveals the urban entrepreneurialism in the government body. It means that:
“mostly oriented to constructing patterns of local investments not only in physical infrastructures such as transport and communications, port facilities, sewage and water, but also in the social infrastructures of education, social control, culture and living quality. The aim is to create sufficient synergy within the urbanisation process for monopoly rents to be created and realised by both private interests and state powers” (Harvey, 2002, p. 103).
For instance, the West Kowloon Cultural District which is a mega project at the city centre,
it is not only associated with arts venues, but also comprised of residential and business
development. It is what mentioned by Grodach (2011, p. 76) that “positioned culture as an
urban development resource”. For the small-scale projects like the JCCAC, they are a form of
the cultural facility according to the planning and standard guidelines of Hong Kong
(Planning Department HKSARG, 1999). Therefore, it is expected that the CASs will be open
for the public to visit. Meanwhile, the JCCAC, with the aim of becoming a focal point of the
local artists, arts groups and arts lovers to meet and enjoy arts and culture, ambitiously
includes diverse types of arts in the centre. However, it makes the positioning of the arts
centre unclear. It consequentially spurs the debates among the artists. Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 237 THE CITY
Besides, the government takes advantage of the CASs. When Fotan Arts Studio Cluster became popular within the arts field, the government got involved by providing funding to the cluster for promoting the annual open studio event during 2013-2015. It did help promote the cluster to the public realm, but with detrimental effects. The outcomes are the distrust among the artists and influx of other small businesses which led to the rise of rent.
Similar to the case of Cattle Depot Artist Village, the government would like to utilise the
CDAV better. Hence, the CDAV is included as a “gimmick” in the district redevelopment plan.
The district council planned to revitalise the rear part of Cattle Depot. However, the government never address the needs and interests of the artists in the village.
The intentions of the government in various projects reveal its pragmatic view of the city and culture, yet, it is overstated. Therefore, no matter it is large-scales cultural flagship project or creative arts space, the government aims at achieving its cultural hegemony
(Zukin, 1995), without balancing the interests and needs of other key users of CASs. As a result, the CASs are neither fostering creative practices nor serving the local community.
9.5.3. For the public
For the public, most of the visitors interviewed are either arts lovers or visitors for leisure purpose. Arts lovers are looking for their friends who are artists or visiting a specific exhibition. Visitors for leisure purpose like exploring new places in the city or going to an artist studio for painting classes.
“I came to the Open Studio because I heard from my friends about this event, so I came to fulfil my curiosity. (Did you find anything impressive?) I found the artists were quite nice and willing to share their ideas about their works. I sat down in one of the studios to have a cup of tea and talk to the artist who is an old lady.” (Interview, Visitor, Fotan) 238 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
“Last time when I visited the Cattle Depot was with my friends, she said there was a studio doing ceramic plates. We were surprised by the place as we lived in the same district and didn’t know there was a place could make ceramic plates. Why doesn’t the government promote the place more?”. (Interview, Visitor, Cattle Depot Artist Village)
“I come here for coffee and reading books every week as I live nearby. This place is at the centre of the community. It is quite convenient and becomes the cultural icon in the district apart from the heritage”. (Interview, Visitor, JCCAC)
The quotes above show the expectations of the public/ visitors in the creative arts spaces
are different from what the government or the artists have expected. Moreover, the work
pattern of the artists affects the image of their studio in the eyes of the public. The JCCAC
and the Cattle Depot Artist Village, for example, are opened to the public. However, it gives
the wrong impression to the visitors that the arts centre is declining or not functioning well
in the community.
“I am a lament of arts, but I am interested in exploring a new place in Hong Kong. I am a bit shocked on the first visit as not many of the studios are open. My friend and I were a bit disappointed as there were nothing for us to see.” (Interview, Visitor, JCCAC)
“I dropped by the Cattle Depot. The place is not very big, so I finished my visit quickly. I wonder why there is no one in the village even for the gallery, I am not sure if it is open.” (Interview, Visitor, Cattle Depot Artist Village)
Such a view harms the image of the CASs. The localised projects are embedded in the
neighbourhood, but the art community is ghettoised by the government. Due to the
mismanagement of the CASs by the government or institution, the artists are difficult to
interact with the community in the district. At the same time, the artists are restricted by
the arts ecology that most of them can only work on their creation at night and in the Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 239 THE CITY
weekends. It deters them to interact with the community unless they aim at doing community arts as their major artistic practice. Therefore, if the positioning of the CASs and the artists are not on the same page, the expectation gap will still exist.
9.5.4. Discussion
There is no formula fits all. The arts industry and the artists are both “sticky” comparing with other creative industries and creative workers. How they work, and think are the opposite of how the government manages and operates the creative spaces. Though scholars (e.g. Ponzini (2009); Ponzini et al. (2014)) call for the public-private partnership in terms of the management of the art spaces, the case of Hong Kong exemplifies that the management style of the creative arts space is not the prerequisite for determining the success of the CASs. Instead, tailor-made measures in both planning and development of the arts industry and the CASs should be implemented in order to narrow the expectation gap.
On the one hand, it can help the CASs to reconnect with the district and city. On the other hand, it can nurture a creative atmosphere within the sites and the industry.
In short, the policymakers nowadays are accumulating and creating cultural capitals for the city through heritage conservation, culture-led regeneration and cultural flagship projects.
However, it makes the cities fall into an illusion that the quantity of cultural capital would determine the success of cultural development in a city. The functions and roles of the CASs are often overlooked in the urban and cultural policies. The trajectories of the policies have struggled between the nexus of staying-local and going-global (Chang, 2000; Kong et al.,
2015; Luger & Ren, 2017); software and hardware (Mommaas, 2004; O’Connor & Gu, 2014;
Peck, 2005); consumption and production; container and contents(Mercer, 2006). The case of Hong Kong interweaves the above and presents an even more depressing story about the interplay between culture and city. 240 Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND THE CITY
“Art and culture, are discouraged, not least due to the crude reality of the exorbitant, unaffordable rental costs of accommodation or, conversely, of the higher returns that people can gain from redeveloping their premises into lavish real-estate properties.” (Tang, 2017, p. 494)
Tang (2015) argues that the cultural-led projects no matter they are planned or unplanned
will become another isotopia under the (re)development regime of the Hong Kong
government. Thus, a radical change of the regime is needed in order to uphold the
development of arts and culture in the city. The formation of the CASs may be a fad, but we
should not neglect that the artists in the CASs take part in this interplay as well. When the
Hong Kong government followed this global fad in putting resources to invest the “going-
global” arts venues in order to achieve the non-cultural ends, some spontaneous
development of arts spaces happened in the local arts scene. Thus, there is a proliferation
of different kinds of arts spaces established in different districts (see Chapter 5). It seems
that there is a wide-ranging spectrum of the arts space across the city. Nonetheless, it does
not mean the interplay between culture and city is symmetrical. Due to the lack of
development direction of the local arts scene and the fragmentation of financial and
hardware supports, mutual trust is failed to establish among the government and the artists.
As a result, the CASs give a lesson about the interplay between CASs and the city as well as
between culture and the city. The interplay mingles with various factors. The trajectories of
the discussion on the interplay should not be limited to those binary nexuses listed above.
It, instead, should be multi-dimensional.
Chapter 9 DISCUSSION – RETHINKING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CREATIVE ARTS SPACE AND 241 THE CITY
9.6. Summary
This chapter synthesises the findings from the case studies and addresses the research questions. It is followed by a section to rethink the relationship between the city and the
CASs. First, the functional roles of CASs are non-static in general. It is because the CASs are vulnerable and sensitive to the changes of the surroundings including the urban landscape, planning policy and socio-economic situation of the city instead of shaping the urban landscape like the cultural flagship projects.
Secondly, the historical events before and after the colonial period occurred in the district and the city shaped the formation and the surroundings of CASs. The events before the handover in 1997 is the backdrop which laid the favourable conditions for the formation of the CASs such as CDAV and Fotan Arts Studio Cluster. The events after 1997 are the catalysts of their formations. For instance, the outbreak of SARS and the creative turn of economic development strategy.
Third, the institutional failure in the CASs shows that the CAS is complicated than it seems.
It is because it involves self-interests of key players in planning and managing the CASs.
Besides, the influences of external and internal institutional changes trigger both active and passive responses from the artists. Those responses (re)shapes the functions of CASs. Thus, it partly explains why the functional roles of the CASs are non-static.
The result shows that an asymmetrical relationship between the CASs and the city. Such relation is exemplified in two ways: (i) CASs are more likely shaped by the urban landscape instead of shaping the urban landscape; (ii) the expectation gaps between the users in the
CASs shows that the CASs are overcast by the government for achieving its aspiration and the urban policies failed to address those gaps. As a result, the CASs are neither fostering creative practices nor serving the community. 242 Chapter 10 CONCLUSION
Chapter 10 CONCLUSION
Most of the research about arts spaces focus on the impacts of arts spaces in the city or
neighbourhood from a strategic or economic perspective. Moreover, the conventional
understanding regarding the transformation of those arts space is usually limited to the
history of the buildings/ space itself instead of having a broader scope by investigating why
and how those spaces are embedded in the district as well as the city. Instead of
snapshotting the current situation of the CAS, this research aims at examining the
developmental factor of CASs through the lens of cultural capital to unfold the relation
between the CASs and the city.
10.1. Summary of findings
The three tales reveal that CASs are vulnerable and sensitive to urban changes in Hong Kong.
These creative spaces have been shaped forcefully by sweeping changes in the urban
landscape, but their influences on shaping the urban landscape are rather limited and far
less than that posed by cultural flagship projects. There is an asymmetrical relationship
between the CASs and the city as the CASs are closely interlaced with the city functionally,
historically and institutionally.
1. The functional roles of the CDAV were non-static and had changed over time. The
functions had changed from an organically formed artist village resettled in a
historic building to an arena for awakening the local memory through community
arts.
2. The historical influences on the CDAV were derived from the planning of its
surrounding land-use, e.g., the post-war land-use planning which shaped the
neighbourhood and district functions. Meanwhile, the grading and regrading of
historic buildings led to the shift of the management agent from the Government Chapter 10 CONCLUSION 243
Property Agency to the Development Bureau. Such shift begot the ease of red tapes
in the village.
3. The operation of CDAV was influenced by both internal and external institutions.
Internally, the absence of intermediary agent and the red-tapes from its heritage
status led to the failure in upholding the creative vibe within the site. Externally, the
lack of future development direction and the district redevelopment program
intensified the uncertainty faced by the tenants.
4. The functional roles of the Fotanian were relatively versatile as it was a spot for
cultural production and consumption. The Fotanian used to be the gathering point
of the artists, but after the relocation of the arts studios to other industrial areas,
this gathering point disappeared gradually.
5. The Fotan Arts Studio Cluster was highly sensitive to the historical events which
were related to the socio-economic situation of Hong Kong. The new town planning
in the 1970s provided favourable conditions for the development of the cluster. The
land use separation principle which was used in the Shatin new town planning
exercise created an environment with solitude and privacy enabling the artists to
work without disturbance. The SARS led to the influx of the artists who were
attracted by the low rental cost.
6. The institutionalisation of the Fotanian reveals that the mutual distrust between the
government and the artists was deepened when the intervention of the government
became interference. The government funding triggered disputes among the artists
and changed the dynamics of the cluster. The optimisation policy of industrial land-
use in 2009 resulted in speculation of the industrial buildings and displacement of
the artists who were reluctant and/or unable to pay the higher rent.
7. The JCCAC played more static functional roles than that played by CDAV and Fotan
because JCCAC was defined by its management to develop into a creative arts hub 244 Chapter 10 CONCLUSION
for new artists thus to nurture the vernacular creative arts in Hong Kong. However,
the development direction was overambitious and types of arts in the centre were
too diverse.
8. The JCCAC was historically influenced by the district development strategy which
shaped the surrounding land-use and also the functions of the arts centre. The
resettlement plan after the squatter fire in 1953 as well as the land use restructuring
in Shek Kip Mei in 2002 positioned the district as a public housing hub which
enabled the arts centre to be the focal point in the community.
9. The top-down management and the non-transparent leasing system led to the
displacement between new artists and well-established artists. It is because the
leasing system leaned on the well-established artists and participation of the artist
in the management process was lacking. As a result, it failed to facilitate interaction
and collaboration among the artists.
10. The functional roles of the CASs in the district and the city were non-static as a result
of the various historical events and institutional changes which altered the
surrounding environment. The CDAV played non-static functional roles which were
continuously redefined by changes in its surrounding land-use and the uncertainty
associated with its future development. The role of Fotanian as a gathering point of
the artists had been weakened due to the fluctuation of the property market and
change of land-use policy. The top-down management approach in the JCCAC
shaped and reshaped the functions of the arts centre though it had been relatively
static in comparing with the other two cases.
11. The CASs were hard to form a protective shell to foster or uphold creative practices
in the city due to their often unclear and non-static functional roles in the district as
well as in the city. Both the CDAV and JCCAC were unclear in terms of their functions
as well as future development direction whilst the development of Fotanian was Chapter 10 CONCLUSION 245
hindered by the instability of the studio spaces and the unsustainable synergy
among the artists.
12. The events before 1997 were the backdrop of the CASs by shaping their surrounding
environment and laying the conditions which are favourable for their formation.
The district planning in Shatin and Kowloon City changed the functions of the
districts and laid the ground for the development of the CASs. The reactive cultural
policy before 1997 nurtured a free environment for the spontaneous development
of the CASs.
13. The events after 1997 played a catalyst role in the formation and transformation of
the CASs. The creative turn of the urban policies in the 2000s triggered the
establishment of the JCCAC and the relocation of the artists in Oil Street Artist Village
to the Cattle Depot. The outbreak of SARS led to the turmoil of the property market
which offered an opportunity for the artists to settle in Fotan industrial area.
14. The CASs were attempted to institutionalise in various ways but failed. In the case
of Fotan, the cluster institutionalised through forming a limited company, but the
limited company dissolved in 2015. The CDAV used to have intermediary agents
such as Artist Commune to unite the tenants, but it failed to uphold the unity among
the tenants due to the frustration brought by the lack of a future development plan.
The JCCAC failed as well because of its non-transparent leasing system which
harmed the synergy among the artists.
15. Even though the institutionalisation was futile, the institutional changes did alter
the CASs and affect the artists. The artists responded to those changes in both active
and passive ways which (re)shaped the functional roles of the CASs. In CDAV, the
artists actively developed their own ways outside the village. The artists in Fotan
reacted passively to the skyrocketed rent by relocating their studios to other
industrial areas or sharing the studio with other artists. Similarly, the non- 246 Chapter 10 CONCLUSION
transparent leasing system in JCCAC led to the relocation of the studios to other arts
spaces in Hong Kong.
16. The asymmetrical relationship also manifests the expectation gaps of the users in
the CASs. It implies that the urban policies failed to balance the interests of various
users. The government established or intervened the CASs with the fragmented
financial and hardware supports such as the establishment of JCCAC, provision of
funding to Fotanian and resettlement of the artists from Oil Street to Cattle Depot.
However, positioning and function of the CASs were not clearly defined.
17. The mutual trust was failed to establish between the government and the artists as
the artists were sceptical about the intention of the government intervention and
wanted privacy in order to focus on their creations. The public only perceived the
CASs as a cultural facility for leisure purpose.
10.2. Conclusion
The conventional understanding of the relationship between cultural flagship projects and
the host city is mutually beneficial and those projects (re)shape the urban landscape. Such
a relationship is determined by the policies and the institutions. However, as discovered in
this research, the relationship between the small-scale CASs and the city is often contentious
and asymmetrical as it involves different players. The relationship is brought by: (i) the
vulnerable nature of the CASs; and (ii) the expectation gap among the users.
First, the vulnerable nature of the CASs implies that the transformations of the CASs are
sensitive to the surroundings, physically, historically and institutionally. This research
shows that the CASs are interlaced with the historical-institutional contexts of both district
and city. The salient ramification is that the CASs are shaped by the urban landscape instead
of shaping the urban landscape. It further leads to the fluctuation of functional roles and Chapter 10 CONCLUSION 247
unclear positioning of the CASs in the city. The unclear positioning and function are due to the absence of operational details in the urban development plan. In the plan, it includes the element of “arts and culture” but how “arts and culture” functioned is omitted. Unlike the iconic cultural flagship projects which are planned and well-designed, the physical siting and transformation of the creative arts spaces are locally sensitive. In other words, the local historical background shapes the physical siting around the CASs. Nonetheless, under the influence of the overall urban development strategy of the city, the CASs are facing uncertainties in terms of the rent, the institutional changes and the synergy among the artists. For instance, the land use changes of the surrounding alter the dynamics within the
CASs. It cast a negative impact on the development of the CASs. In addition, the socio- economic situation is influential in the formation and transformation of the creative arts space. The changes of the CASs are the responses of artists to the alterations of surrounding environment no matter it is in district or city. The property-led economy displaces the arts studios from the industrial areas and forces the artists moving from one place to another.
Though the government has a creative turn in terms of its economic planning strategy starting from the 2000s, the local arts scene is always neglected in developing the arts industry and not properly promoted to the public as well as to the world.
Second, the expectation of the key users – the artists, the community and the government, as discussed in the previous chapter, on the CASs are varied. Although the definition of the creative arts space (CAS) is a highly localised space which is provided for artists and cultural agents to work, to meet, to exchange ideas and to develop new creative forms (Evans, 2009a;
Zielke & Waibel, 2014, 2015), it reveals that the major use of the creative arts space is for cultural production. Nevertheless, the government takes advantage of the CASs for fulfilling their self-interests. It represents the relationship between the creative arts space and the city is often not mutually beneficial. The government, on the one hand, would like to facilitate the artistic creation of the CASs through funding support for the artists. On the 248 Chapter 10 CONCLUSION
other hand, their development is hindered by the regulations and controls for the arts
studios as well as their surroundings by the government. The actions taken by the
government beget the suspicion from the artists. The artists expect to have a non-
intervened and stable environment for their creations. Meanwhile, the artists, as the major
user of the CAS, play a leading role in shaping the function of the CASs in the district as well
as the city. Moreover, the aspiration variation of the artists about the development of the
CASs obstruct the synergy among artists as well as the degree of openness in connecting
with the community. The artists would like to have space and freedom in focusing on their
creation; some of them have a sense of social responsibility in taking an active role in
reaching the community through artistic activities. Such a dilemma deactivates the CASs and
makes the role of the CASs even more unclear. Besides, as the CASs are localised projects
and located in the local community, the community often expect that the CAS is for leisure
and it is a community facility. The interactions between the community and the artists are
insufficient unless the CASs have organised activities which engage the public. The creative
arts spaces are supposed to provide energy to the vitality of the arts industry and even the
city. However, due to the instability of the surroundings, the CASs are shaped and reshaped
by the historical events and institutional changes.
The understanding of the relationship between the CASs and city is vital in policy
innovations including: (i) cultural planning strategy and (ii) development of the arts
industry. In terms of cultural planning in the city, this relationship exemplifies the “dialogue
between culture and city” (Cartier, 2008, p. 74). When culture and creativity are
quintessential in city branding and planning policymaking nowadays, it is crucial to
recognise how the culture and creativity “work” in the city. Besides, this research shows
that the roles of the small-scale arts spaces are absent in the overall cultural planning
process. The creative arts spaces are a form of cultural asset invested in city planning and
policymaking. The empirical study of various dimensions of the CASs can help the planners Chapter 10 CONCLUSION 249
and policymakers to improve the planning process of the cultural assets across different urban scales. The accumulation of cultural assets is not about the quantity. It is about how to make those creative arts spaces to reconnect with the community, the district and the city by redefining their roles and positioning of the CASs in the city.
In this research, it finds that the creative arts spaces and the artists seem stiff to escape from the fate of being “a flash in the pan” and being an “arts nomad”. The spontaneous formation or initiation of the CASs reflects the crave and response of the artists50. The beginning of the story sounds very compelling. However, once the intervention becomes the inference, the story ends with a contentious result. In order to figure out how to extricate from this destiny, there should be a review of the “spectrum” of creative arts spaces and cultural facilities. It is not just in number, but also in terms of the functions and modes of operation and management in the urban milieu. In addition, strengthening the physical network of the arts spaces is crucial in order to uphold the creative vibe within the industry. Besides, by developing the CASs into a community arts hub and a “common campus” can bring the community to the CASs to uphold the creative vibe within the district and the site.
In terms of the arts industry development, this research depicts the operation of the CASs which represents the local arts ecology. Understanding what exactly happens in the arts industry as well as in arts spaces helps the policymakers address the difficulties and challenges faced by the artists as well as the local arts industry. Even though the government devotes to develop creative industries, the supports are only limited to financial and physical infrastructure supports. The institutional support is absent in the overarching development of creative industries. Thus, the arts industry as one of the pillars of the
50 The self -development of the artists has been popularised in Hong Kong as reflected from the case studies. It is because the initiation of the chosen CASs was by the artists. However, due to a range of constraints arisen from the transformation processes, the creative vibe within the spaces and in the city was undermined. Thereby, the self-development of the artists has been limited by the government intervention. 250 Chapter 10 CONCLUSION
creative industries, deserves a better understanding and tailor-made industrial policy in
order to make Hong Kong become a global cultural metropolis.
Furthermore, this research is also theoretically contributed to the understanding of the
interplay between culture and city by moving away from the large-scale flagship projects as
well as economic perspective. Instead, this research proposes and articulates an analytical
framework which offers a more holistic analysis of the small-scale projects. The formation
and shaping of the creative arts space presented in this research are more complex than it
seems. It melds with the internal factors and external factors. The internal factors include
the internal organization and synergy among the artist as well as the management of the
creative arts space. However, the external factors should not be ignored such as the urban
settings, the overarching socio-economic situation as well as the cultural and urban policies.
From the case study, the traces of colonial practices are still found in both cultural and
planning policies. A colonial approach to manage arts and culture as well as planning in the
post-colonial era, to some extent, gives opportunities and rooms for the early development
of creative arts spaces.
Chapter 10 CONCLUSION 251
10.3. Recommendations
Although the creative arts space is not in a big scale like those cultural flagship projects, this research reveals that the role of the creative arts space is significant to the overall discussion of the interplay between culture and city. The existence of the creative arts space reflects the current cultural and urban policies are not addressing the difficulties faced by the artists.
A nuanced study of the creative arts space and the arts industry is still needed to avoid over- generalization of the analysis and theory. The creative arts space as an inseparable apart within a city or a district, the historical context of the district and city need to be addressed as well.
This research expanded the understanding of the relationship between creative arts space and city. Yet, there are some other under-explored areas, which derived from the research and are not covered, can be further explored.
The case studies of the creative arts spaces with different management modes and orientations indicate a wide spectrum of the activities and unique way of operation within the industry. Arts industry as a core of the creative industries, it is prominent for the researchers or policymakers to understand the ecology of the arts industry further. Arts industry, as an economic sector, how it operates is a key ingredient in creative industry policymaking. For instance, how does the arts market influence the ecology of the industry and the life as an artist?
Creative arts space is vulnerable and the artists are distrustful of regulation (Zukin &
Braslow, 2011). It is crucial for the policymakers to know where to draw the line between the invention and interference. In other words, in what ways can the government or the authority assist the development of the creative arts spaces without impairing the creative vibe and trust established? 252 Chapter 10 CONCLUSION
The research illustrates that the civic engagement and community arts are induced from the
urban redevelopment of the district. Such destiny side effects (Stern & Seifert, 2007, 2010)
of the creative arts spaces seems to wait for further exploration on how successful they are
in reviving the citizenship and social inclusion. APPENDICES 253
APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Summary of the links between culture and city
Aspect Roles of Culture Major linkages with the city
Creative economy, Creative industries Economic Economic (Landry, 2000; Pratt, 2008, 2015; Pratt, 2009; Pratt & Simulator Hutton, 2013; Scott, 2014; Scott, 1997) Social cohesion Medium of Social (Evans, 2010; Evans & Foord, 2003) Social Interaction Social restructuring/ gentrification (Florida, 2003b; Ley, 2003) Heritage conservation (Baycan et al., 2012; Chang & Huang, 2005; Kong, Cultural Marker of identity 2011; Montgomery, 2013; Sepe, 2009) Place Identity Building (Borer, 2006; Chang & Huang, 2005; Kong, 2007)
City Branding, Urban regeneration Urban (Bianchini & Parkinson, 1993; Comunian & Mould, Strategic Development 2014; Evans, 2005; Lee, 2007; Lysgård, 2012; Strategy Montgomery, 2003, 2004; Sepe, 2009)
254 APPENDICES
Appendix 2 - Interview Questions
Interview Question (For Cultural Expert/ Researchers)
1. What do think about the current cultural policy in Hong Kong? What are the weaknesses of the current cultural policy?
你對現在香港的文代政策有什麼看法? 當中有什麼弱點?
2. What are the influences of the policy on the district development strategies?
這些政策如何影響地區發展策略?
3. What are the historical development and features of the district?
這區的歷史發展及特色是怎樣的?
4. How does the creative arts space facilitate the cultural activities in the district and in the city?
你覺得創意藝術空間在地區及城市的創意產業/活動的發展有什麼角色?
5. What is the role of the creative arts space in the district and the city development?
你認為創意藝術空間在地區及城市發展中有什麼角色?
6. What are the factors affecting the formation of the creative arts space?
你認為有什麼因素影響創意藝術空間的形成? APPENDICES 255
Appendix 2 (Continued)
Interview Questions (For District Councilors) 1. How long have you been serving in the district? 你在本區服務了多少年? 2. What are the historical development and features of the district? 本區的歷史發展及特色是怎樣的 3. How do you feel about the establishment of Cattle Depot Artist Village / JCCAC/ Fotan? 你對於牛棚/ 賽馬會創意藝術中心/ 伙炭的成立有什麼看法? 4. What is the stance of the District Council in the future development of the district? 區議會現在對於地區未來的發展有什麼看法? 5. How does the district council cooperate with the spaces? 區議會怎樣跟區內的創意藝術空間合作? 6. What are the factors in facilitating cultural/ creative activities in the district? 你認為有什麼因素可以促進區內的文化/創意活動? 7. What is the role of the creative arts space in affecting the local development? 你認為區內的創意藝術空間在地區發展當中有什麼角色? 8. What can be improved in this place in order to facilitate the usage? 你認為這個地方需要改善什麼來增加用人流? 9. How does the government department coordinate and communicate with the district council in implementing a local development plan and cultural policies? 在推行地區發展計劃及文化政策時，各政府部門是如何與區議會合作及協調?
256 APPENDICES
Appendix 2 (Continued)
Interview Questions (For Management Team) 1. Briefly talk about the establishment of Cattle Depot Artist Village / JCCAC/ Fotan. 請簡單描述牛棚/ 賽馬會創意藝術中心/ 伙炭成立的經過。 2. What is the structure of the management team? 這裡的管理架構是怎樣的? 3. What are the role of the creative arts space in facilitating the cultural / creative activities in the district and the city? 你覺得創意藝術空間在地區及城市的創意產業/活動的發展有什麼角色? 4. How would the management team communicate and cooperate with the tenants? 你如何跟其他租戶溝通及合作呢? 5. What kind of activities are carried out on the site? 有什麼活動會在這裡舉行? 6. What are the key regulations in the creative arts spaces and what are the recent changes? 在這裡有什麼主要的規則? 而這些規則近年又有什麼改變? 7. What are the important factors in sustaining the creative arts space? 你認為要維持一個創意藝術空間要有什麼重要的因素? 8. What measures have been implemented in encouraging the participation rate of the public? 你們有什麼方法來提高公眾的參觀/參與度? 9. What are the challenges and difficulties of the space currently facing? 你認為創意藝術空間遇到什麼困難及挑戰? 10. What do you think about other creative arts spaces? 你覺得這裡跟其他創意藝術空間有什麼相同和不同的地方? 11. How does the current city/ district development strategy affect the creative arts spaces? 你認為城市/地區發展策略如何影響創意藝術空間?
APPENDICES 257
Appendix 2 (Continued)
Interview Questions (For Tenants/ Artists) 1. How long have you been running your studio in this site? 你的工作室在這裡成立了多久? 2. How do you establish this studio? And briefly talk about your artwork. 你如何成立這個工作室? 可以簡單介一下你的作品嗎? 3. What are the reasons for choosing this location? 為什麼你會選擇這個地方立你的工作室? 4. What are the recent changes of the spaces and the district? 你覺得這個地區及地方最近的改變是什麼? 5. What are the challenges and difficulties in sustaining your studio? 你覺得維持工作室會遇到什麼困難及挑戰? 6. Do you think the existence of the creative arts spaces can facilitate the creative activities? Why? 你覺得創意藝術空間的出現可以幫助創意產業/活動的發展? 為什麼? 7. What do you think about the current cultural and urban planning policy in affecting the formation of the space? 你認為現時的文化及城市規劃政策如何影響這個地方的成立? 8. How would you communicate/ cooperate with other tenants? 你如何跟其他租戶溝通及合作呢? 9. Is there any particular regulation in the space? (include both formal and informal) 這個地方有沒有一些特別的守則要遵守? (包括明文及不明文) 10. What kind of activities have you held in your studio? 你會在工作室舉辦什麼活動? 11. What is the role of the creative arts spaces in the district and the city development? 你認為創意藝術空間在地區或城市發展中扮演什麼角色? 12. What do you think about the current cultural policy in Hong Kong? 你對現在的文化及城市規劃政策有什麼意見? 13. How does the current city/ district development strategy affect the creative arts spaces? 你認為城市/地區發展策略如何影響創意藝術空間? 14. What do you think about other creative arts spaces? 你覺得這裡跟其他創意藝術空間有什麼相同和不同的地方? 258 APPENDICES
Appendix 2 (Continued)
Interview Questions (For Visitors/ Participants) 1. How often do you visit this place? 你平均多久參觀一次這個地方? 2. What kind of activities have you participated? 你來的時候會參與什麼活動? 3. Briefly talk about the activities you participated in. 請簡單分享一下你參加活動時候的經歷。 4. How do you feel about the establishment of Cattle Depot Artist Village / JCCAC/ Fotan? 你對於牛棚/ 賽馬會創意藝術中心/ 伙炭的成立有什麼看法? 對你的生活有沒有帶來改變? 5. What can be improved in this place in order to facilitate the usage? 你覺得這個地方有什麼需要改善來增加用人流? 6. What attracted you to visit this place? 什麼因素吸引你來參觀這個地方? 7. Do you think this place is beneficial to the district and Hong Kong? And why? 你覺得這個地方如何讓地區及香港受惠? APPENDICES 259
Appendix 3 - Extracts of policies which mentioned culture-related issue in Hong Kong (HKSARG, 1997c, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014b, 2015)
Chief Name of Executive Year Description Policy in Office
Policy - Develop Hong Kong into an international centre Address 1999 for cultural exchanges to strengthen the identity 1999 of world class city - A promotional program aimed at branding Hong Kong as an “Asia world city where is a free and Brand dynamic society. Five key attributes have been Hong 2001 identified in this program: cosmopolitan, Kong dynamic, secure, diverse and connected. Program “Cosmopolitan” stresses on the culture and arts development. Mr. Chee- - Recognize creative industries as an important Hwa TUNG element of a knowledge-based economy - One of the policy agendas is to enlighten people Policy with a rich culture by formulating an integrated Address 2003 plan for developing arts and culture in West 2003 Kowloon. - Develop a cultural and arts, sports and youth network in the Pearl River Delta Policy - Stress the importance of promoting creative Address 2004 industries such as film industries in order to 2004 expedite economic restructuring.
260 APPENDICES
Chief Name of Executive Year Description Policy in Office - Through the Commission on Strategic Development, we will explore practical measures, including creating an enabling environment for the commercialisation of creative ideas, and opening up more opportunities for exchanges and interplay among - With the support of various sectors, we are developing a creative arts centre in a vacant factory building in Shek Kip Mei. In the long term, Hong Kong must conduct in-depth studies on the major issues pertaining to the development of cultural and creative industries. The Government encourages the cultural sector and community Policy organisations to actively study the relevant issues. We are Address 2005 prepared to consider helping them set up a cultural and 2005 creative think tank to gather and groom more talent and experts in cultural and creative studies, who can work with the Government to promote the development of cultural and creative industries. - First defined the cultural and creative industries in HK and comprise of 11 categories: design, architecture, advertising, publishing, music, film, computer software, digital entertainment, performing arts, broadcasting, and antiques and art dealing. It acknowledged that enhancing appreciation of culture is the prerequisite to develop Mr. Donald cultural and creative industries and enhance quality of life. TSANG - Compile an inventory of intangible cultural heritage in Policy order to strengthen the preservation and promotion. Address 2007 - Establish Creative Arts Centre in Skep Kip Mei factory 2007 building to create a clustering effect for the development of creative industries. Policy - Address on the accumulation of creative and cultural Address 2008 capital through West Kowloon Cultural District and carry 2008 out heritage impact assessment. - Set up Creative Industries Office, “Creative Hong Kong”, to boost the trade and development of creative industries. Policy - Enhancement of “software” such promotion of cultural Address 2009 activities in the community and boost the cultural 2009 consumption markets so as to realise the “vision of developing Hong Kong into a world-class arts and culture destination”. - Stress on the “Six Industries”. One of them is cultural and Policy creative industries which are one of key elements in Address 2010 knowledge-based economy. 2010 - Coined “Conserving Central” Scheme in order to revitalize Central into a cultural and financial hub in the city. Policy - Injection of funding to Arts and Sports Development Fund Address 2011 to support artists and arts groups. 2011
APPENDICES 261
Chief Name of Executive Year Description Policy in Office - Launched the Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme Policy to subsidise arts groups and art practitioners. Address 2012 - Designated 2012 as “Hong Kong Design Year”, which will 2012 encompass a number of mega-events on design to consolidate Hong Kong's position as Asia's creative hub. - Creative space in an industrial building in Wong Chuk Hang at concessionary rental rates - Converting the clubhouse of the former Royal Yacht Club in Oil Street in North Point into a visual arts exhibition and Policy activity centre. Address 2013 - Additional funding for Hong Kong Arts Development 2013 Council - promoting Comix Home Base and PMQ to foster the development of creative clusters to spur synergy and interaction, giving impetus to our creative culture. - To dovetail with the development of the WKCD, the Government will continue to develop arts programmes, Policy Mr. C.Y. build the audience base, promote arts education and Address 2014 LEUNG nurture talent. 2014 - Build a cross-district community cultural centre in Ngau Tau Kok - Converting the vacant premises of the Tai Po Government Secondary School into an arts development centre as well as reserving certain floor area in a site at Aberdeen for the Policy promotion of arts and culture by the HKADC Address 2015 - Draw up the Representative List of Intangible Cultural 2015 Heritage (ICH) for Hong Kong to accord priority to the protection of those ICH items which have high cultural value and require urgent preservation. - The Government continues to press ahead with the West Kowloon Cultural District project. The Nursery Park was Policy open to the public last year. The Government will launch a Address 2016 $300 million Art Development Matching Grants Pilot 2016 Scheme, under which the amount of private donation and sponsorship secured by local art groups will be matched by grants.
262 APPENDICES
Chief Name of Executive Year Description Policy in Office
- As regards arts and culture, the Government has continued to allocate resources to implement a series of measures to promote cultural development in the past few years. Our vision is to develop Hong Kong into an international cultural city. - The HAB and LCSD implemented a number of measures in recent years in support of art groups and artists. These include setting aside $150 million to strengthen the training of art administrators and increasing the recurrent provision since 2014-15 to $60 million a year for the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and nine major performing art groups, so as to enhance the subsidies for local artists and art groups of different sizes. In addition, the Art Development Matching Grants Pilot Scheme was introduced last year to encourage the community and the private sector to sponsor art and cultural activities. - As for venues, apart from the expansion of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the foundation for the building of the East Policy Mrs. Carrie Kowloon Cultural Centre was laid last December. The Address 2017 LAM Government also strives to provide creative space for 2017 local artists and emerging art groups, such as art space in Aberdeen and Tai Po. - An important part of the Hong Kong’s cultural infrastructure, the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is currently being developed into a world-class integrated arts and cultural district comprising local, traditional as well as international elements. Its first permanent facility, the M+ Pavilion, commenced operation last year. Other art and cultural facilities, including the Xiqu Centre, Art Park, Freespace and M+ Museum, will be completed one after another over the next few years. To ensure the WKCD can fully attain its vision of meeting the long-term infrastructural and development needs of Hong Kong’s arts and culture, and to foster the organic growth of cultural and creative industries, the Government has decided to provide the WKCD Authority with an enhanced financial arrangement by granting it the government-owned development rights of the hotel/office/residential portion of the WKCD. APPENDICES 263
Appendix 4 - List of Activities in Ngau Pang Shu Yuen Month/Year Event Title Curator/ Speakers 7 – 10/2001 Contemporary Thinkers (Series 5) Curator: Leung Mantao Imaginary Writing Workshops Speaker: Tung Kai Cheung Daily Sociology Curator & Speaker: Ho Kwok Leung Shu Kei’s 10 Great Film Directors (2nd Curator & Speaker: Shu Kei Stage) Elements of Modern Theatre & Curators & Conductors: Performance Leung Mantao, Steven Pang Summer Readings Speaker: Leung Mantao The Talks on Graphic Design Curator & Conductor: Freeman Lau Alternative English Lessons Speaker: Vicky Leong Digital Photography Speaker: Joseph Fung Surrealistic Comics Workshop Speaker: Lai Tat Wing Love, Joy, Sex Education Curator & Conductor: Lee Wai Yee
10/2001 – A Critical Introduction to Biotechnology Curator: Lo Sze Ping 1/2002 Phenomenology of Youth Phenomena Curator: Siu Ka Chun Disputers of Tao: Philosophy of Ancient Conductors: Chiu Tsz Ming, China Leung Mantao (Co-organized by Zuni & Philosophia Cultural Society) Contemporary French Sociology for Speaker: Jacky Kwok Beginners Theory & Practice of Freudian Speaker: Ng Man Lun Psychoanalysis I, as a Flâneur of Hong Kong Speaker: Ho Kwok Leung Alternative English Lessons Speaker: Vicky Leong Theatre, Tragedy & William Shakespeare Speaker: Vicky Leong The First 10 Feature Films of Jean-Luc Speaker: Shu Kei Godard Poetry Writing Workshop Speaker: Chan Chi Tak Reading 10 Contemporary Artists from Curator: Steven Pang Local Artists
1 – 3/2002 A Critical Introduction to Globalization Curator: Lam Chi Leung Lao Zi – Seeking New Means in Adversity Speaker: Shum Long Tin Alternative English Lessons II Speaker: Vicky Leong Shakespeare: Four Great Tragedies Part 1 Speaker: Vicky Leong 100 Love Films Speaker: Edward Lam Those Obscure Objects of Desire: The Film Speaker: Shu Kei of Luis Bunuel Rewriting the Modernity of Novel Speaker: Shum Kwan Lam Electronic Music Speaker: Yuen Chi Chung
4 – 7/2002 Asia in the Wake of People’s Movements Curator: Rose Wu Love, Joy, Sex Education Curator: Zi Teng Plato’s The Republic Speaker: Ronald Teng 264 APPENDICES
Philosophical Thoughts on Life and Death, Curator: Chiu Tze Ming Love and Lust Philosophy of Nietzsche: Multiple Speaker: Wong Kwok Kui Perspectives Alternative English Lessons 1 & 3 Speaker: Vicky Leong 10+10 Contemporary Artists Curator: Steven Pang Review and Reflection on 20th Century Speaker: Yu Siu Wah Music Poetry Writing Workshop Speaker: Chan Chi Tak Leo Lee on Modern Chinese Novel – Lu Speaker: Leo Lee Ou Fan Xun Ge Zhaoguang on Concept of the World in Speaker: Ge Zhaoguang Ancient China
7 – 10/2002 Chinese Philosophy and Culture Curator: Shum Long Tin Law: An Introduction Speaker: Chiu Man-chung The Sociological Introspection of Pierre Speaker: Jacky Kwok Bourdieu Let’s Write Hong Kong History Together – Curator: Patrick Mok Methodology of History Research and Application of Materials Alternative English Lessons 1 & 2 Speaker: Vicky Leong “Contemporary Arts in Mainland China” Speaker: Hang Jian Talk Series Hitchcock’s Guide on Filmmaking Speaker: Shu Kei Eye-opening and Mind-blowing Course on Speaker: Perry Lam Films Experimental Music Speaker: Yuen Chi Chung Greek Tragedy: Shakespeare’s The Hamlet Speaker: Vicky Leong Surrealistic Comics Workshop Speaker: Lai Tat Wing Your First Pot of Organic Grass Speaker: Lin Kwok Keung
10/2002 – Christianity Classics: The Bible Speaker: Kung Lap Yan, Lee 1/2003 Siu Chau, Kaung Tai Wai Patriotism, Human Rights and Freedom: Curator: Cyd Ho Sau Lan On the 23rd Article of the Basic Law Talk Series on Creative Industries Curator: Steven Pang How to Read 10 Modern and Curator: Leung Mantao, Contemporary English Novels Damien Cheng The History of Hong Kong Literature Speaker: Chan Chi Tak Know Yourself – the Composition of Self Speakers: Leung Mantao, Connie Koo Design, Arts and Culture Studies Curator: Design & Cultural Workshop Studies Workshop Limited (Ma Kin Chong) How to Write on a City Speaker: Leung Ping Kwan Experimental Theatre in China Speaker: Lin Kehuan An Observation on the Situation of Speaker: Gan Yang Contemporary Intellectuals Artistic Techniques Curator: Leung Mantao
2 – 3/2003 Talk on Shanghai Drama Development Speaker: Cao Lusheng APPENDICES 265
Plato’s Trilogy - Euthyphro, Apology, Crito Speaker: Ronald Teng A Modern Interpretation of Analects Speaker: Fong Sai Ho Better Living – Rethinking Our Home Life Curator: Leung Mantao Love, Joy, Sex Education Curator: Lee Wai Yee Law: An Introduction II Speaker: Lam Moon Hing Elementary Modern Astrology – A Speaker: Au Wai Lin Mysterious Poetic Journey “Starting from Stories” – Story-making Speaker: Chan Wai workshop Alternative English Lessons 3 Speaker: Vicky Leong Workshop on the Arts of Traditional Speaker: Zhou Long Opera 266 APPENDICES
Appendix 5 - Schedule of uses for industrial land (as at 13 January 2017) (HKSARG Planning Department, 2017, pp. 18-19)
APPENDICES 267
268 REFERENCES
Appendix 6 – List of Historic Buildings and Site of Archaeological Interest in Sham Shui Po
Grading Number Sites - No. 51 Yen Chow Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon Grade I 2 - No. 53 Yen Chow Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Sham Shui Po Police Station, No. 37A Yen Chow Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - North Kowloon Magistracy, No. 292 Tai Po Road, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Sam Tai Tsz Temple, Nos. 196 & 198 Yu Chau Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Mo Tai Temple, Nos. 156-162 Hai Tan Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 58 Pei Ho Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Sham Shui Po Public Dispensary, No. 137 Yee Kuk Grade II 12 Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 170 Yee Kuk Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Building of The Garden Company, Limited (Sham Shui Po), No. 58 Castle Peak Road, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Mei Ho House, Block 41, Shek Kip Mei Estate, Kowloon - No. 189 Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 96 Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Precious Blood Convent, No. 86 Un Chau Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 271 Yu Chau Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 125 Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 119 Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 121 Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Pak Tai Temple, Nos. 196 & 198 Yu Chau Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 269 Yu Chau Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 132 Ki Lung Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 117 Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon Grade III 15 - No. 123 Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Tin Hau Temple, No. 182 Yee Kuk Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 1235 Canton Road, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - No. 130 Ki Lung Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Lai Chi Kok Hospital, No. 800 Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon - No. 62 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon - Precious Blood Hospital (Caritas), No. 113 Castle Peak Road, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon Site of Archaeological 1 - Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Interest REFERENCES 269
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Minerva Access is the Institutional Repository of The University of Melbourne
Author/s: CHAN, Hoi Ling Anne
Title: Creative arts space in Hong Kong: three tales through the lens of cultural capital
Date: 2018
Persistent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11343/220745
File Description: Creative Arts Space in Hong Kong: Three Tales through the lens of Cultural Capital
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