Why has the Hong Kong Arts Centre seen an exodus of staff in the past 12 months?
- At least half of the Hong Kong Arts Centre’s staff have left since the previous executive director stepped down in August 2022, former employees say
- Many have left because they can’t bear to work on programmes ‘with little meaning’, one ex-employee says, while the centre blames various financial pressures
Management’s attempt to overhaul the Hong Kong Arts Centre has triggered a mass walkout at the 46-year-old non-profit institution, with former employees reporting that at least half of its staff have left since the previous executive director stepped down in August 2022.
Those who have left in recent months include key personnel such as programme director Teresa Kwong, director of its Ifva film and video festival Kattie Fan, and senior programme manager Ian Leung, according to several people.
According to its most recent annual report, the centre had a staff of 63 as of June 30, 2022, excluding the Hong Kong Art School, a subsidiary relatively unaffected by the management change.
Former employees tell the Post that at least half of those people, as well as some recent recruits, have gone, mostly voluntarily, since Connie Lam Suk-yee left after 13 years at the helm.
Lam, who had been with the organisation since 1997, did not give a reason for her departure. The board replaced her with Rebecca Ip, a former executive director of the Hong Kong Ballet who was most recently the head of private nursery and kindergarten operator Victoria Educational Organisation.
