Hong Kong Museum of Art

The Hong Kong Museum of Art focuses on collecting local and Chinese art works, including Chinese painting and calligraphy, antiquities, historical pictures and contemporary local art. The museum offers a variety of thematic exhibitions, covering ancient and modern art themes.

    In 2002, the museum staged 15 exhibitions. Three of these featured international exhibits from overseas and the Mainland, including Origins of Chinese Civilisation — Cultural Relics from Henan Province, a special exhibition jointly presented with the Cultural Relics Bureau of Henan Province to commemorate the HKSAR's 5th Anniversary. More than 100 important archaeological finds unearthed in Henan were exhibited. Other highlights were Alberto Giacometti, which featured the master's sculptures and prints, and Wu Guanzhong — A Retrospective which introduced representative oil and ink paintings by the innovative master. During the year, 22 representative works by Hong Kong artists were exhibited in London as part of the three-month Hong Kong Festival.

    To complement the museum's collection, six permanent exhibitions, supplemented by exhibits loaned by eminent local collectors, were organised. Among them was the retrospective exhibition, Lu Shoukun: New Ink Painting, which reviewed the works of the master who initiated the 'New Ink Painting Movement' in Hong Kong in the 1960s and 1970s. The museum also offered a wide range of educational and extension programmes, including small travelling exhibitions, video shows, family programmes, art workshops and guided tours. Tailor-made extension programmes such as the The Discoveryland of Art, an interactive travelling exhibition for children, were organised to stimulate the interest of children and young people. The museums's exhibition programmes, together with educational and extension activities, attracted more than 298 000 visitors and participants during the year.

Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware

The collection of this museum comprises various kinds of teaware and related vessels from the collection of the late Dr K.S. Lo and rare Chinese ceramics and seals donated by the K.S. Lo Foundation. Two special exhibitions were held in 2002: A Story about Teapots illustrated the history of the development of teapots as well as the processes for manufacturing ceramics and producing tea in the 19th century; Far Beyond Teapots featured various vessels for tea and wine, of periods ranging from the Neolithic Age to the 20th century.

    The museum organised a variety of educational activities, such as demonstrations on Chinese tea drinking, tea gatherings for parents and children, tea gatherings with instrumental music, tea classes and video shows. During the year, 152 820 visitors were served.

Hong Kong Museum of History

The Museum of History staged four thematic exhibitions during the year — The Great Wall: Gems of Cultural Relics of the Nomadic Tribes; War and Peace: Treasures of the Qin and Han Dynasties; The Battle for Hong Kong: Hong Kong under the Camera of the Japanese Army; and Bits of Old Hong Kong: Museum Acquisitions in the Last Five Years. The first two exhibitions were joint presentations, respectively, with the Capital Museum of Beijing and the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Bureau. In the third exhibition, 70 photographs recorded through Japanese eyes the battle for Hong Kong from December 8 to 25, 1941. The Bits of Old Hong Kong exhibition depicted the life of local people in the past few decades by displaying artifacts acquired since Hong Kong's reunification with the Mainland. Altogether, the museum's permanent exhibition on The Hong Kong Story and the thematic exhibitions attracted 897 118 visitors.

    To enhance public interest in local history and cultural heritage, the museum organised 787 educational and extension activities, including guided tours, weekend lectures, workshops, demonstrations and performances, field trips, video programmes, symposiums and quiz competitions. Moreover, the museum and the Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture jointly organised the 1st Inter-school Competition of Study Projects on Hong Kong's History and Culture. The theme was 'Immigrants and their Impact on the Development of Hong Kong'. Among publications produced by the museum to promote culture and heritage were A History of the Municipal Councils of Hong Kong: 1883–1999 and History and Relics of the Great Wall.

    Besides the Museum of Coastal Defence, the Museum of History manages two other branch museums — the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum in Sham Shui Po and the Law Uk Folk Museum in Chai Wan. They attracted 70 438 visitors.

Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence

Converted from the old Lei Yue Mun Fort in Shau Kei Wan, the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence occupies some 34 000 square metres, comprising three main areas: Entrance Block, Redoubt, and Historical Trail. The Redoubt is the major exhibition area, housing the standing exhibition that depicts Hong Kong's history of coastal defence from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the present era. Visitors may also explore the historical military structures in the Redoubt and on the Historical Trail, such as the gun batteries, the torpedo station, caponiers and magazines.

    Thematic exhibitions presented during the year were The Medal Story (jointly with the Hong Kong branch of the Orders and Medals Research Society, Military Uniforms in Contemporary Warfare, and Dr Sun Yat-sen and Modern China.

Hong Kong Heritage Museum

The Heritage Museum, the largest in Hong Kong with a total floor area of 32 000 square metres, has become a cultural landmark and an attraction for both local residents and overseas visitors since its opening in December 2000. There were 745 043 visitors in 2002. The museum has 12 galleries, six for permanent exhibitions and another six for thematic displays, featuring various topics of local history, arts and culture. The major programme in 2002 was the Women Festival, which featured a series of thematic exhibitions and related activities about the role of women in the community. In addition to the exhibitions, 821 educational, extension and theatre programmes were staged during the year.

Sam Tung Uk Museum

This museum in Tsuen Wan was originally a Hakka walled village built in 1786. The village has a traditional layout with an entrance hall, an assembly hall and an ancestral hall along the central axis. The village, a declared monument, is furnished with traditional Hakka furniture and farming implements. Two thematic exhibitions, From Study Hall to Village School and Tsuen Wan Now & Then: A Kaleidoscope, were staged during the year. There were 306 479 visitors.

Hong Kong Railway Museum

The open-air Railway Museum is located in the town centre of Tai Po Market. It consists of the old Tai Po Market Railway Station building, a narrow-gauge steam locomotive and six historical coaches. The station building, in Chinese style, was built in 1913 and declared a monument in 1984. The museum attracted 338 680 visitors during the year.

Sheung Yiu Folk Museum

This museum is housed in a fortified Hakka village built in the late 19th century at a scenic spot near Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung Country Park. It comprises eight domestic units, pig pens, an open courtyard and an entrance gate-tower. The village and a nearby lime kiln were gazetted as monuments in 1981. Despite its relative remoteness, the museum attracted 61 848 visitors in 2002.

Hong Kong Science Museum

Ancient Chinese Astronomy, an exhibition on loan from the Beijing Planetarium, the Beijing Ancient Observatory and the Suzhou Ancient Astronomical Chronograph Research Centre was presented from November 2001 until April. The exhibition featured astronomical instruments, two of which are Class One National Treasures and chronographs designed or built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, ancient star maps and meteorites discovered in the Mainland. The exhibition attracted 141 385 visitors, in total.

    In May, Flowers in the Mirrors, an exhibition conceived, designed and fabricated within the museum was presented. This exhibition was inspired by a Chinese novel of the same title written in the Qing Dynasty. The exhibition concluded in August with a total attendance of 107 472.

    A new gallery on science information, Science News Corner, was set up in mid-2002. With the aim of introducing scientific research currently conducted in local universities and disseminating knowledge of modern science, the 50-square-metre gallery has four zones of interest — SciTech Profile, Hot Talk, Science Windows and Science Web — which keep the public in touch with the latest science news.

    In June, the museum joined with the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in presenting a series of lectures given by three Nobel Prize laureates in physics: Professors C.H. Townes, C. Cohen-Tannoudji and Gerardus 't Hooft.

    A Resource Centre opened in June to provide science education reference materials and information services to visitors upon request. This facility, equipped with audio-visual equipment and computers, enables users to retrieve information effectively for their reference and studies.

    Another exhibition Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body was presented in November. More than a dozen interactive displays in the shape of exaggerated human organs were presented, addressing various aspects of bodily phenomena.

    The Children's Zone was renovated and reopened in December 2001 with the addition of five new interactive exhibits. These demonstrate interesting fluid phenomena, trackability of wheels with different shapes and various mechanisms for conveying objects. In addition, the 'Machine World' and the 'Safari' were produced to allow children to express their creativity by designing machines, animals or anything they could imagine.

    During the year, the museum worked with academic institutions, universities, and professional bodies on a number of special projects to popularise science. The museum's exhibitions and extension activities attracted more than 868 000 visitors and participants.

Hong Kong Space Museum

The Space Museum is working with the Hong Kong Astronomy League (the former Astronomy Workshop) to establish an Interactive Astronomical Observatory in Sai Kung. This project is funded by the Quality Education Fund and involves setting up a remote controlled telescope that can be accessed by teachers through the Internet for teaching and organising astronomical activities. Construction of the observatory is expected to be completed in 2003.

    The museum's Astronomy Resource Centre was opened to the public at year-end. During the year, the museum published two astronomical publications, Ancient Chinese Star Map and Butterflies in The Starry Sky, as well as the Astrocalendar 2003. The museum's two Sky Shows, four Omnimax films, and six School Shows attracted some 287 810 people. The museum also organised 145 extension activities that had 24 128 participants. Ten temporary special exhibitions and the groups of permanent exhibits in the Hall of Astronomy and Hall of Space Science attracted more than 287 720 visitors.

Hong Kong Film Archive

The Hong Kong Film Archive's major functions are to acquire, preserve, catalogue and document Hong Kong films and related materials. With a gross floor area of 7 200 square metres, the Film Archive's major facilities include a cinema, exhibition hall, resource centre and a number of temperature-controlled collection stores. So far, the facility has acquired more than 4 300 films and 101 579 items of related materials, mainly through donations and deposits.

    During the year, the Film Archive organised nine thematic exhibitions including the Tribute to Chang Cheh, Hong Kong Films and Popular Culture of the 50s and 60s and 11 film programmes (328 screenings). To complement the exhibition and screening activities, a number of seminars and workshops for film students, researchers and the general public were organised.

    The resource centre, equipped with computers, independent video booths and a rich collection of film-related printed materials, was well patronised by the public, attracting a daily average of 300 users. Overall, the Film Archive had a total of 214 284 visitors in 2002.

Art Promotion Office

The Art Promotion Office promotes local visual arts, with a focus on public and community art. Through different art projects, sometimes undertaken jointly with an outside partner, the office brings visual arts to citizens in their daily life and to different communities.

    A Mobile Art Gallery was jointly organised with the New World First Bus Services Limited and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, with 21 buses displaying the works of local artists on the roads from May to November. Art.Care is a one-year partnership project with the Art in Hospital. Between June 2002 and May 2003, a series of activities including painting activities, mural workshops and exhibitions is being held at five hospitals.

    As part of a joint art project with the Housing Department, the final batch of 13 works was selected through an open competition in 2002 for display at Yat Tung Estate in Tung Chung. Another public art project, the Public Art Scheme 2002, was launched early in the year. Also through an open competition, six works were selected, one for each of the LCSD's six cultural venues. With the continued support of the MTR Corporation Limited, works by 12 artists and one art group selected under the second Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme have been on display at various cultural venues and at MTR stations since August.

Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre

The Art Promotion Office is also responsible for the management of the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre. Apart from the continued provision of art facilities, including art studios and an exhibition hall, for hiring by the public at subsidised rates, the centre has also strengthened its visual arts training programmes. The first Art Specialist Course was launched in October 2001 to provide structured professional training in visual arts; 43 artists took part in the course as tutors, providing guidance as well as sharing their experiences. In September, an exhibition was held in the centre to celebrate the graduation of 36 participants. In view of the encouraging feedback, a second Art Specialist Course began in November.

Central Conservation Section

The Central Conservation Section continued to provide essential conservation services to 13 public museums and the Art Promotion Office as well as the Antiquities and Monuments Office. It has 13 conservation laboratories. In 2002, the section provided conservation treatment for 3 626 cultural objects including paintings, paper artifacts, textiles, photographs, metals, ceramics, organic materials and archaeological finds. It has devised preservation programmes for more than 200 000 museum collection items, and also provided technical support to a total of 68 thematic exhibitions.

    With the opening of the section's Resource Centre at the Museum of History, the public can now make use of the conservation reference materials there for study or research. The conservation website has also been revamped to enable people to book Resource Centre facilities, or make enquiries, through the Internet. To encourage schools to participate in cultural activities, the section received visits from 10 schools under the School Culture Day Pilot Scheme. In support of the 2002 International Museum Day, the section presented a series of academic and educational programmes for the public.