As arts institutions embrace technology in a Covid-19 world, where is Hong Kong’s vision?
- The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the digitisation of art, making the innovation of arts tech inevitable. Hong Kong must articulate its vision and establish funding for this emerging space, or risk being left behind
Notably, the J. Paul Getty Museum has developed an “art generator tool” allowing any image from its open-access collection to be imported into Animal Crossing: New Horizons , Nintendo’s new community-building video game that became the first console game to reach 5 million digital sales within a month.
This is especially so in Hong Kong, which lacks a long-term vision or ambition for arts tech, leaving us trailing others which are already reaping the benefits of such policies.
Noting the discrepancy, Our Hong Kong Foundation’s latest arts innovation research report on optimising arts tech development is the first of its kind in Hong Kong, with recommendations derived from policy trends observed worldwide.
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Submarine base in France turned into world's largest digital art gallery
Famously, the Royal Shakespeare Company was granted £3.9 million to carry out its project – an ambitious submission with 15 other specialist organisations spanning theatre, music, video production, gaming and research – on immersive performance possibilities.
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US National Symphony Orchestra members perform Beethoven concert from homes amid pandemic
In Singapore, as part of measures to help the industry through the pandemic, the government initiated a Digitalisation Fund for the arts and cultural sector to help make museums’ exhibitions and collections accessible on virtual platforms, which resonates with the National Arts Council’s five-year Our SG Arts Plan.
In Hong Kong, no comparable blueprint or vision for arts tech is in place. However committed the institutions within the sector are, these cannot be sustained without a clear direction.
Hong Kong should seize the opportunity to craft a policy blueprint for digital culture, especially given the growing interest worldwide, and enable greater private-sector support to fuel the movement.
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Taking ballet to the streets of Hong Kong
Our Hong Kong Foundation’s latest report, ‘Innovating Creative Cultures – Arts Tech’, outlines recommendations in more depth. It proposes that the government set up unprecedented funding with cross-bureau involvement dedicated to supporting crossover between the arts and technology sectors, and recommends that existing funding schemes open their doors to more applications from creative projects.
To address the information gap between Hong Kong’s creative and technology circles, the government should look to Britain’s example in allocating funds to set up a digital culture platform, run by an intermediary, with close partnerships with universities, research centres and the industry.
As the world continues to change, the need for arts innovation becomes more pressing, and the imminence of arts tech ever clearer. Hong Kong needs a plan to boost its cultural and creative assets. The pandemic has shown that arts tech is inevitable, and therefore essential, whether we like it or not.
Helen So is a researcher for arts innovation at Our Hong Kong Foundation