The Hong Kong Arts Festival steps into the second half of its first centenary in the year 2023. Since its first edition in 1973, the HKAF has been committed to serving the city by sharing our love for the arts with the people of Hong Kong and all who come to visit Asia’s World City. We do this by bringing in the best of the performing arts from around the world, nurturing the city’s own talent, and stimulating the next generation’s interest in the arts through investing heavily in arts education.
During the past five decades, the HKAF has spearheaded the city’s efforts in promoting international cultural exchange. This—along with our annual Festival itself—has been made possible by generous contributions from donors and sponsors, the Government’s subvention, as well as the support and trust from dedicated audiences. On behalf of the Festival team, I sincerely thank every one of our supporters.
The theme of the upcoming Festival is “Coming Back, Moving Forward”—we gather once again to celebrate the performing arts; we welcome returning artists who have formerly graced the Festival stage; and through new works, special curations and cross-disciplinary collaborations, we explore the possibilities of the arts, honour our history and legacy, and remain hopeful for a limitless future.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to the international artists joining us—including Ballet of Slovene National Theatre Maribor, which will open the Festival, Insula orchestra, accentus, Handspring Puppet Company, Natalia Osipova, Philippe Jaroussky, Cameron Carpenter and Michel van der Aa, to name a few. We are particularly appreciative of the artists returning after the previous Festival’s cancellations due to COVID-19, among them the Bamberg Symphony and Esmé Quartet.
We are pleased to showcase Hong Kong’s home-grown talent in the highly anticipated HKAF-commissioned production Table for Six on stage, as well as the long-awaited musical Yat-sen. An exciting line-up of traditional and new Cantonese opera works awaits, including Cantonese Opera Classics Circa 2023, Love in the Bamboo Grove and The Painted Skin (Refined Edition).
The Festival team and I look forward to seeing you in theatres and concert halls at the 51st HKAF.
Flora Yu
Executive Director
Hong Kong Arts Festival