The Path to a Cultural City

What does a city need to go through to transform from a "cultural desert" into a "cultural city"? How many historical transitions? What policies need to be adopted? How many organizations and individuals, and how many years of dedication and effort are required?

This book focuses on Hong Kong, recounting how the city began promoting culture and arts in the 1960s and 70s, followed by a first wave of major infrastructure development in the 1980s that popularized art across all social strata. After the millennium, a second wave of major construction promoted the marketization and internationalization of art, leading to the planning of the West Kowloon Cultural District.

The author of this book is a veteran arts administrator in Hong Kong. Drawing from personal experience and reflecting on his past work in three major arts institutions, he examines how Hong Kong has embarked on this path to becoming a cultural city over the past few decades:

In 1994, he joined the Hong Kong Arts Centre, rising from Director of Performing Arts to Executive Director.

In 2007, he became Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

In 2010, he became Executive Director, Performing Arts, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, a position he held until 2019.

In 2022, the author's first book, "How Cities Become Cultural," was published to widespread acclaim, with subsequent expanded and reprinted editions, and won the "4th Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards." This book continues the theme of "Culture and City," starting from a personal perspective, focusing on the city, and telling a story that is both micro and macro.