Let's open the gates of opportunity
Over the next two weeks, New Yorkers will be braving chilly temperatures to view a US$20 million temporary artwork, a gift from the husband and wife artists, Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The couple has been wrapping urban geography since 1961, and this project, like many before it, involves drapery: The Gates consists of 7,500 metal arches hung with sheets of orange nylon, creating a billowy passage through Central Park.
To me, the gateways look like oversized croquet hoops, but they are giving Manhattan an opportunity to do what it does so well - indulge in an orgy of self-celebration. The artists are selling posters and original drawings, and otherwise having a field day with self-marketing. There is nothing wrong with that, and the project offers Hong Kong a few lessons, as well.
First, Christo and Jeanne-Claude like to think of their art as a communal experience, because of its scale and temporary nature. They made a special concession to New York by allowing the exhibition to run for 16 days rather than the normal 14, because New York is 'their home' (Christo is originally Bulgarian, Jeanne-Claude was born in Casablanca). Public art of this kind can serve a role in stimulating tourism - as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg argues - but also in bringing a community together, much as theatre and the performing arts do, just on a larger scale.
The use of art to build community is not entirely new to Hong Kong, but there could be more of it. This April, Hong Kong's version of The Gates will open near the Po Lin monastery on Lantau Island, with 36 wooden pillars inscribed with the Buddhist Heart Sutra in a copy of the calligraphy by the renowned mainland scholar, Jao Tsung I. Arranged in the figure eight that stands for infinity in the Greek alphabet, the work will make people think, react and talk to each other, and is likely to lure tourists, as well.
While wrangling over the future of such lucrative property venues as the Tamar Site, West Kowloon cultural hub, and the former Kai Tak airport, the city could invite proposals from artists and others to make these empty spaces into temporary venues for creative mingling. Works of art and even buildings do not need to be permanent to have an impact on culture, identity, and the sheer enjoyment of life.
Another lesson that Hong Kong could take from New York's current extravaganza is even more basic - encourage philanthropy. This does not always come easily or naturally to municipal administrations. When The Gates was first proposed in 1981, New York turned it down. Now, the art-loving mayor has given his approval, but only after persistent lobbying by the artists.
In Hong Kong, the most recent example of philanthropy disregarded was the offer by Robert Ho Hung-ngai, a grandson of the legendary Sir Robert Hotung, to set up a $500 million trust to preserve and operate the Central Police Station as an arts academy and performing arts complex.
The lesson from The Gates is twofold. The Ho family should not give up, and the government should look for ways to integrate the proposal not only into planning for the Central Police Station, but for the arts generally. Setting up a public trust for the arts and historic preservation, with professional curators, might give the city more to celebrate in both departments. The campaigns to save historic buildings, or claim a public role for the West Kowloon arts hub, are part of a process by which Hong Kong is shaping its values in the arts, and its own history.
Hong Kong has more than enough wealth, ideas and creativity to compete with Manhattan, Paris, London, Shanghai and Beijing. Perhaps all the city needs is another lesson from New York - to have more confidence.
Edith Terry is a writer based in Hong Kong
