Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District Threatened by Funding Crisis

Hong Kong’sWest Kowloon Cultural District(WKCD), the massive arts hub that is home to M+, the Hong Kong Palace Museum, and the Xiqu Centre for Chinese opera, will have to cut museum opening hours if the government does not address its looming funding crisis by August. Speaking withiCable Newson May 18, WKCD board chairman Henry Tang said the district had submitted a financial plan to authorities aimed at generating revenue for the cash-strapped hub, which is facing possible bankruptcy, but had not yet received a reply.

Occupying a 99-acre wedge of land bordering Victoria Harbor, the WKCD was established in 2008 with a HK$21.6 billion ($2.7 billion) endowment, the lion’s share of which was earmarked for infrastructure. Beset by construction delays, cost surges, and the Covid-19 crisis, the district saw losses increase from HK$869 million ($111 million) in 2021 to HK$1.56 billion ($199 million) the following year. Tang last August sounded the alarm regarding an imminent cash crunch, warning that funds could run out by June 2025 if measures were not taken, severely hampering the ability on the part of the district’s institutions to plan exhibitions and programming.

Among the proposals the WKCD has floated to Hong Kong’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau are reviewing service charges, raising ticket prices and venue rental fees, and selling off land. According to ArtAsiaPacific, the bureau is seeking independent counsel on the matter but has not yet approved any of the proposals. Should they fail to do so, the WKCD would be forced to reduce the number of days per week that the museums are open from six to four and to limit the operating hours of the opera house. “But will this be fair to the public?” Tang asked in the May 18 radio interview. “After all, this is not a commercial undertaking but a key public policy project.” Tang posited that reducing opening days could negatively impact the city’s attempt to establish itself as an international cultural hub.