Hong Kong outdoes Jakarta with its art facilities

By Helly Minarti

HONG KONG (JP): Two of Asia's bustling capitalist hubs, Hong Kong and Jakarta much something in common. Driving from Kai Tak or Soekarno-Hatta airports to the city's downtown areas, one sees similar signs of regional metropolitan life; from towering skyscrapers, long toll roads, and glittering malls to bleak slums and densely populated residential areas.

But the similarities end when it comes to another facet of big city life -- the arts scene. Hong Kong has put much more effort into building up its cultural infrastructure, even though it did not start working on it until 25 years ago. Impressive arts venues are found within walking distance of rows of shopping malls and stores, the most renown are the Hong Kong Cultural Center in Tsim Sha Shui (established in 1989), the Academy of Performing Arts (APA) in Wanchai (opened in 1984) and the older City Hall (opened in 1962).

And it seems there is never a dearth of arts festivities in the former British colony. The Hong Kong Arts Festival recently filled the above venues with first-class groups like the Los Angeles Opera playing Richard Strauss' Salome, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and Bacchae, a joint production by the China National Beijing-Opera Theater and the New York Greek Drama Company.

Organized by the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society, it saw 34 local and international groups perform from Feb. 10 through March 8.

"Two years ago we invited (choreographer) Sardono from Indonesia and maybe we will invite Boy G. Sakti (of Gumarang Sakti Dance Company) in the future," said Grance Lang, the festival's program director.

Ticketing and promotion began a year before the festival. Prices started from HK$50 (US$6) for students to HK$840 for the best seats in upscale shows.

Developing a love of art in the younger generation was also on Lang's agenda. "We encouraged students to appreciate the arts by giving them free tickets," said Lang.

Forty-five percent of the funding came from grants from the Hong Kong government through the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the Provisional Urban Council and the Hong Kong Jockey Club, 37 percent from ticket sales and the rest from private sponsors.

The overall budget for the 1998 festival was around HK$6 million.

Since the end of the 1970s through the early 1980s Hong Kong's upstage arts scene was enriched by the founding of performing companies such as the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Dance Company, the Hong Chinese Orchestra and the Hong Kong Repertory Theater.

The key to ensuring art continues to flourish lies in the collaboration between the government -- which plays a mainly facilitating role -- the artistic community and the people.

The government develops local theater groups by providing venues -- more than 20 of them. All nonprofit arts organizations can get 65 percent off their venue's rent.

Hong Kong also gives room for new talent to blossom. Two independent arts centers -- the Hong Kong Arts Center and the Fringe Club -- are among the most well-known alternative forums for this purpose.

The Hong Kong Arts Center, which generates funds by renting its building to cultural organizations like the Goethe Institut, has a Board of Governors consisting of around 10 government- appointed members from the arts community, business sector, and government departments related to culture. Each serves for between two and four years.

"Their role is to monitor the overall direction and financial situation of the center -- not the day-to-day operations and program selection. So if they want to control us they have to do it indirectly," said Louis Yu, the center's performing arts director.

"If they want to interfere with our programs, they can. But thus far they never have," she said.

Even though she doubts whether the Chinese government, which took over Hong Kong last year, will stick to that policy, she is certain that arts in Hong Kong has a liberal future.

Compared to Hong Kong, Jakarta's art scene seems gloomy.

It has no international-standard venue. The two main facilities, Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center and the historical Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, are struggling with eternal financial problems. Audiences have to wait for months to see a good performance.

"The rents are high and the bureaucracy is complicated," said Sitok Srengenge -- a curator of Teater Utan Kayu -- an independent arts center founded last August.

Moreover, the issue of censorship hovers above everything. Even though artists basically do not need permits to perform, the security forces can ban anything they want.

Many arts events -- like Composers' Week -- cannot occur continuously because of a lack of funds. Organized by the Jakarta Arts Council, the annual festival was first held in 1979, but then halted in 1988, mainly because of financial problems. It was held again last month after the council received fresh funds from the National Development Board.

Council member Otto Sidharta said the city administration provided small subsidies for its programs. "I can't disclose the figure, but it is not enough."

Last year, the National Development Board allocated Rp 1 billion (US$117,000) for the council's activities from April 1997 to April 1998.

"We didn't receive the funds until last December... so we had to utilize them in such a short time. We distributed them to every department -- music, literature, dance, theater and fine arts."

"We hope to get the funds for the next term from the same source, but we don't know yet." he said.