Hong Kong needs more private museums... say private museum operators
Operators seek more government support to boost city's role as arts hub
Operators of private museums have urged the government to provide more support to develop the sector and help the city become a genuine arts hub.
Although the city lacks a museum law, they want a museum council to be set up to formulate policies and in the long run develop new tourist attractions.
Yeung Chun-tong, director of the newly established Sun Museum in Kwun Tong, which aims to promote a better understanding of Chinese art and culture, said such a council could set policies and offer grants to support private museums.
"A museum council can offer grant schemes like the Arts Development Council does now. The grants can be in the form of matching grants to help cover the cost of exhibitions," Yeung said.
Chloe Suen, chairwoman of the Simon Suen Foundation, which backs the Sun Museum, said: "To make the city a real arts hub, we need more private museums. If we can have 20 to 30 private museums in the coming five to 10 years, Hong Kong will be a real arts hub. We hope more collectors can join us."
Yeung said museums set up by individuals to showcase private collections had a long history in the West. The growth of private museums on the mainland, now numbering over 1,000, was also astonishing, he said.
