West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA or the Authority) today hosted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony to celebrate the establishment of impactful and long-term partnership with 21 leading arts and cultural institutions from across the globe. This significant milestone underscores WKCDA’s vision to support Hong Kong’s development into an international arts and cultural hub and its commitment to promoting East-meets-West international cultural exchange.

West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), Hong Kong’s cultural landmark and one of the world’s most ambitious cultural projects, today welcomed more than 100 leaders and visionaries from renowned global arts and cultural institutions who travelled from different parts of the world to Hong Kong to attend the MOU signing ceremony and the Welcome Dinner at the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM). The events raised the curtain of the Hong Kong International Cultural Summit (HKICS or the Summit) 2024 hosted by the Authority from 24 to 26 March 2024.

Forging global cultural connectivity through partnerships 

Dr Louis Ng, Museum Director, HKPM; Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+ and Paul Tam, Executive Director, Performing Arts, WKCDA, signed MOUs with a total of 21 of the world’s top museums, art conservation and research institutes, art centres, film archives, theatres and theatre associations from 11 countries, including France, Japan, Korea, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States, as well as cities in Mainland China such as Shanghai, Chongqing and Shijiazhuang.

The MOUs cover diverse areas of cooperation spanning co-production and touring of exhibitions, collection sharing, partnerships on conservation, digitalisation and scientific research, as well as educational and exchange programmes for art administrators and artists across HKPM, M+ and the Performing Arts Division of WKCDA. 

Henry Tang Ying-yen, Chairman of the Board of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, said, “We are thrilled to welcome distinguished speakers and leaders from renowned arts and cultural institutions worldwide to Hong Kong for three days of enlightening dialogue. We aspire to forge a globally connected museum community and cultivate a collaborative arts and cultural network that celebrates creativity, opportunities and synergies. These sustainable partnerships will shape the future of arts and culture in our region and beyond, fully testifying to Hong Kong’s strategic role as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.” 

Global arts and cultural institutions signing MOUs with WKCDA

Institutions signing MOUs with HKPM

• Shanghai Museum, China

• Guimet-National Museum of Asian Arts, France

• National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, France

• Tokyo National Museum, Japan

• Museo Nacional Del Prado, Spain

• Qatar Museums, Qatar (on behalf of Museum of Islamic Art)

• Victoria and Albert Museum, United Kingdom

Institutions signing MOUs with M+

Museums 

• Centre Pompidou, France

• Musée national Picasso-Paris, France

• The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan

• Leeum Museum of Art, Samsung Foundation of Culture, Korea

• Qatar Museums, Qatar

• Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates

• Tate, United Kingdom

Conservation Institute

• Getty Conservation Institute, United States

Film Archives

• Asian Film Archive, Singapore

• Film Archive (Public Organisation), Thailand

Institutions signing MOUs with the Performing Arts Division of WKCDA

• China Theatre Association, China

• Chongqing Chuanju Theatre, China

• Shijiazhuang Arts Research Bureau, China

• The Shanghai Center of Chinese Operas, China

Over 120 guests attended a Welcome Dinner at the HKPM this evening, with Kevin Yeung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the Guest of Honour. The dinner featured an insightful Fireside Chat between Henry Tang Ying-yen, Chairman of the Board of WKCDA, Dr Uli Sigg, member of the M+ Board, and Noah Horowitz, CEO of Art Basel, and showcased a captivating Cantonese music performance by WKCDA’s homegrown Cantonese opera troupe “Tea House Rising Stars Troupe”, along with a performance by local harmonicist Gordon Lee and pianist Helen Cha. 

The Summit, with the theme “Connecting Cultures, Bridging Times”, is the largest international cultural conference ever staged in Hong Kong, bringing together more than 1,000 global arts and cultural visionaries for three days of insightful dialogue and exchange. The Summit will feature an opening cum plenary session at the Xiqu Centre tomorrow (25 March) morning, followed by four themed panels to be held at M+ tomorrow afternoon and HKPM on Tuesday (26 March) morning respectively. More than 20 eminent speakers from 12 countries and regions, including the heads of major cultural districts and leading figures from some of the world’s top museums and international arts and cultural institutions, will address the Summit and share insights on hot topics related to the future development of cultural districts and museums.

Monday, 25 March 2024 Morning Session (Xiqu Centre) 
Opening Ceremony 
Plenary Session: Cultural Districts’ Contributions to Social and Economic Transformation of Cities

Monday, 25 March 2024 Afternoon Session (M+)
Panel Discussion (I): Promise of Digital

Panel Discussion (II): Decentring Digital

Monday, 25 March 2024 Evening (M+)
The Party at M+

Tuesday, 26 March 2024 Morning Session (HKPM)
Panel Discussion (III): Rethinking Museum Interpretation in a Global Context

Panel Discussion (IV): New Ways of Collaborating and Sharing in the Post-Pandemic Era: International Perspectives

A diverse array of networking opportunities will enhance the experience of the Summit participants, including The Party at M+ in the evening of 25 March expected to be attended by 3,000 guests, bilateral discussions, exclusive tours of museums and other cultural institutions in Hong Kong as well as attending performing arts programmes. Visitors will get the opportunity to connect and exchange ideas while experiencing the unique East-meets-West cultural flavour of Hong Kong.  

WKCDA extends its heartfelt gratitude to the sponsors whose generous support has made the Summit possible. These include the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the HKSAR Government, Major Sponsor of the Summit; Cathay, WKCDA’s Travel Partner; and The Peninsula Hong Kong and HKT, Hotel Partner and Technology Partner of the Summit, respectively. South China Morning Post and The Art Newspaper are the Media Partners of the Summit.

The Authority collaborates closely with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Information Services Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the HKSAR Government and Art Basel in publicising the Summit and Hong Kong Art Week. This concerted effort aims to elevate Hong Kong’s international profile as a cultural hub and premier cultural tourism destination.

Live streaming will be arranged to enable local and global participants to participate in the Summit online. For details, please refer to the Summit’s website: www.culturalsummit2024.hk.

Remarks

About the West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural projects globally. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on forty hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances and cultural events, providing twenty-three hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.