The Inaugural Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo in 2024
To Be the Up-and-coming Flagship Platform for Performing Arts in Asia
(From right to left) Kenneth Fok, Chairman of the HKADC Council; Alain Paré, Tisa Ho, Jennifer Dautermann, Douglas Gautier, Yvonne Tham, Members of the HKPAX International Advisory Panel; Winsome Chow, Chief Executive of the HKADC
The inaugural Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo (HKPAX) organised by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) from 14 – 18 Oct 2024 concluded with a great success. The five-day mega event welcomed over 1,600 arts leaders and practitioners from over 60 regions, and in particular, representatives from the Mainland China, the Middle East, Canada and Australia topped the list. Aimed at establishing a flagship platform for artists, producers, presenters, and cultural leaders of performing arts in Hong Kong, the HKPAX showcased a myriad of diverse programmes featuring over 100 performances, leadership talks, and networking events. Additionally, there were nearly 100 exhibition booths set up by local and international arts groups and professionals, facilitating industry exchanges and partnerships.
Perhaps, Perhaps… Quizas, an International Showcase presented by Gabriela Muñoz (Finland / Mexico)
The diversified line-up of the 15 International Showcases and the 16 Expo Programmes were presented by arts groups from 14 different countries or regions, which attracted over 18,000 attendees. Some of the positive feedback from the performing groups are as follows –
“Congratulations on the successful completion of your first HKPAX! The promotional materials seen around the city, the variety of programmes and the professionalism of our Showcase team showed how meticulous and detailed your preparations were… Many people who attended our performance have expressed interest in working with us and have inquired about our touring plans for the 2025 season…” – Seo Jungmin (South Korea), performing artist of the international showcase, ONE, My Utopia!
“It was a truly enriching experience, and I’m grateful for the warm hospitality and excellent organisation provided by you and the HKPAX team… The event was a great platform to connect with international presenters, and I certainly look forward to exploring potential collaborations…” – Maher Dance Company (Germany), performing art group of the international showcase, To Break Free is To Be.
“Thank You. It was a very big experience and opportunity for me to perform in Hong Kong. It was huge honour… I have made some great connections to the Scandinavian and Australian delegates and also met some great Hong Kong artists, whose work I’m having a look at and vice versa…” – The Rebel Alliance (New Zealand), performing art group of the international showcase, Back To Square One?
“Thanks so much for having us at HKPAX, and for all your help facilitating everything… So far we’ve had some nice responses from delegates, and we’ve also received some initial interest in discussing possible touring opportunities… Hopefully something will come up from these discussions for bringing LauZone outside of Hong Kong in the near future. ” – Anna Lo and Rick Lau (Hong Kong), performing artists of the international showcase, LauZone.
To connect with like-minded fellow participants, industry partners, artists, international presenters and producers at the Structured Networking session
On the last day of the HKPAX, participants from different regions had the chance to have a taste of the traditional Poon Choi lunch in the north district in Hong Kong sharing a very local delicacy with each other
Alongside the performances, there were ten Leadership Talks, three Forums and two Creative Sharing presented by more than 40 arts leaders from various regions to lead over 2,500 participants through inspiring dialogues and valuable insights on the performing art world. Other activities, including Networking Receptions, Pitch Sessions, Ground Search with rotating performances, Exhibitions, Poon Choi Lunch, etc., brought together participants from different arts hubs to approach cross-cultural audience and explore overseas collaboration opportunities. A Tour to Shenzhen and Guangzhou was also organised at the end of the week as an optional itinerary inviting like-minded arts professionals and enthusiastic supporters to visit the two neighbouring cities in the Greater Bay Area next to Hong Kong. Around 50 participants joined the tour to know more about the performing arts scene there.
The five-day expo concluded with a total number of attendees surpassing 31,000. Apart from performing arts practitioners, the expo also encouraged public engagement by inviting nearly 2,000 attendees from local education sectors, non-governmental organisations and the general public to take part in the event.
For future reference, an independent market research company was engaged to conduct quantitative surveys and qualitative evaluation studies during the expo. While the qualitative studies still need time to analyse, the quantitative surveys, based on feedbacks collected from 330 participants, show the following –
- Overall satisfaction level and ratings of HKPAX programmes and events:
- – Average rating is 7.76 on a scale of 10
- – The top three categories of events go to Cultural Offering (8.28), International Showcase (7.96) and Pitch Session (7.87);
- Nearly 90% of the respondents agreed that HKPAX would help promote Hong Kong’s development into the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange;
- 97% of the respondents said they would attend HKPAX or any other HKPAX-related events again.
The success of the HKPAX is attributed to the dedicated support of the Hong Kong SAR Government, the active participation of the local arts and cultural community, and the assistance and sponsorship from various organisations. The Team is now waiting for government’s response and anticipating the second edition of the HKPAX in two years later. Next time, come and join this global party again!
Video links:
1) Relive the exciting moments of the first two days at HKPAX and feel the magic of performing arts https://youtu.be/jtGlUuiDvp0
2) HKPAX brought together influential art leaders from around the world https://youtu.be/6BglBdtToK8
3) Relive the amazing performances at HKPAX! https://youtu.be/_zbh8QS9zdM
4) HKPAX’s cultural celebration showcased the essence of Hong Kong https://youtu.be/DROr4ttGveQ