Outdoor art display boosts HK as a cultural hub: govt
Hong Kong's outdoor art project along the harbourfront, which includes displays of illuminated ovoids, would play a role in making the SAR a hub for global cultural exchanges, the government has said.  The "Art@Harbour 2024" runs from March 25 to June 2 on both sides of Victoria Harbour, featuring several large-scale art installations. Officiating at Sunday's opening ceremony, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said the harbourfront exhibition pop-ups were among an array of arts and cultural events in the SAR, such as Art Basel and the International Cultural Summit.  "All these and many other arts and cultural events make a compelling case for Hong Kong's fast-rising role as the 'East meets West' centre for international cultural exchanges," he said at the opening ceremony.  "Hong Kong believes in the power of arts and culture to unite, to inspire, and to create a community and an economy that rewards us all."  Eve Tam, a deputy director of leisure and cultural services, said the scale of the event was much larger compared to when it was first held in 2022.  "Last time, mainly for the Tamar Park, we have mostly focused on Hong Kong artists because it's still in the Covid period. But this time, we can have teamLab to do a very large-scale installation, and we still have Hong Kong artists with us, and also the international partners engaged by our different partners," she said.  One key feature is the collection of 200 giant glowing ovoids in Tamar Park from international art collective teamLab. The egg-shaped pieces, which sit both on land and water in Victoria Harbour, change colour based on interactions while interconnecting with lights on the nearby trees.  Takashi Kudo, teamLab's communication director, said while there were previously similar displays in Japan, the exhibition in Hong Kong offers a brand new experience.  "The biggest difference is that here, there is Tamar Park, and it's [on] the harbourfront... Even if it's the same material, if we did it in a different place, it's going to be like a different canvas," he said. Other pop-ups include a multi-sensory LED art installation titled "Voyage with Van Gogh", and an exhibition of art pieces featuring light elements.  Officials earlier expected the installations to draw two million people.