Innovative Program and Venue Upgrade Redefine its Identity - East-meet-West Center Brings Art to a Broader Audience

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 December 2023 - Hong Kong's vibrant arts and culture scene is set to flourish even further as the iconic Hong Kong Fringe Club proudly announces its successful win of the open tender issued by the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau ("CSTB") of the Hong Kong SAR Government. Our esteemed platform for the arts has been granted the opportunity to continue to operate in the Grade 1 heritage building located at No. 2 Lower Albert Road in the Central District.

Since September 2022, under the supervision of its Board of Directors and a newly appointed General Manager, the Fringe Club has re-started its mission to bring innovative, cutting-edge, avant-garde, and non-mainstream art to its exhibition and performance spaces. The Fringe Club is also dedicated to aligning with current government policy to develop Hong Kong into a hub for East-meets-West artistic exploration and cultural exchange. In this regard, new elements and programming will be incorporated into the Club's annual activities, including a city-wide Fringe Festival, talent incubation and art-tech incubation programmes, coupled with cross-genre showcases and Chinese culture at the premises.

In our proposal submitted to CSTB in this highly competitive open tender process, we presented an innovative and comprehensive plan which aims to preserve and revitalize Hong Kong's rich cultural legacy, nurture and promote emerging local artists, while fully embracing and answering the desire of the contemporary arts community in Hong Kong to interact with artists from Greater China and beyond.

Mr. Anson Chan, Fringe Club's Acting Chairman, expressed our board's continued commitment to nurturing and incubating young artists, ultimately presenting them on an international stage. "We are dedicated to delivering pluralistic and innovative programmes to the general public, while ensuring smooth and financially-sustainable operation of the Club's Premises," said Chan.

We are especially pleased to announce our invitation to two distinguished Hong Kong citizens, Mrs. Regina Leung Tong Ching Yee and Mr. Gustav Mak Ka Lok, to join our Board of Directors. Their extensive expertise in NGO management, passion for the arts and music, and their invaluable insights into how Hong Kong's creative industry should position itself for the future will further strengthen the Club's ability to foster creativity, innovation, and artistic excellence in our city.

The heritage building located at No. 2 Lower Albert Road, with its unique architecture and historical significance, provides an ideal canvas for the Hong Kong Fringe Club's ambitious plans for the future. Our organization envisions a revitalized space that will serve as a creative epicenter for visual artists, performing artists, and musicians to showcase their talents to our city's residents and visitors. The Club premises will continue to function as a dynamic platform for artistic expression, collaboration, and cultural exchange.

An event-based, innovative external lighting/ projection system will transform the Club's façade walls into a captivating visual spectacle, mark a significant milestone in the Club's ongoing commitment to promoting artistic expression, and signal our Club's importance in our city's cultural landscape.

In summary, we hope that our Club's efforts to revitalize No. 2 Lower Albert Road into an iconic hub for artistic expression will strengthen our city's position as an East-meets-West cultural hub in the Far East. The Hong Kong Fringe Club looks forward to collaborating with artists, arts organizations, philanthropies, and the wider community in Greater China to realize this shared vision; and we are committed to maintaining the Fringe Club as a thriving platform which showcases artistic excellence.

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About Fringe Club

Since its establishment more than 40 years ago, the Fringe Club has functioned as a vibrant contemporary arts organization where artists create and showcase their artwork, and where members of the general public who enjoy the arts can come to meet and see shows and exhibitions. Facilities for exhibitions and performances on our premises, improved significantly over the years, are offered to both emerging and established artists from Hong Kong, Mainland China, and overseas.

The Fringe Club has been an open platform for the arts in Hong Kong since 1983. By pursuing an open access policy, subject to observance of the National Security Law, the Fringe Club has come to be identified with freedom of expression. This freedom is invariably associated with the pleasure of creating, showing, and enjoying the arts.

In 2001, the Fringe Club won the HKSAR Government's first-ever Hong Kong Heritage Award, and its premises were declared Grade-1 heritage in 2009. In 2018, the Fringe Club received the HKICON Conservation Award. By creatively transforming this old 1890s colonial-era building and giving it an entirely new existence and identity, this landmark building has become identified with the energetic and rapid development of arts and culture in Hong Kong.