1. Introduction
Hong Kong, a place often described as a "Cultural Desert," has led the Hong Kong government to implement several cultural policies to boost the artistic atmosphere in the city. The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is one of the biggest policy-generated places recently. Ideally, the government aims to create a world-class culture space, promoting contemporary and performing arts, and provide entertainment spaces for citizens through WKCD (Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, 2022). Being at the center of Hong Kong, near the high-speed station and Western Harbour Crossing, WKCD is expected to be very vibrant. Unfortunately, the effectiveness is certainly not as high as expected due to over-commercialization and capitalization. There is also news stating that the WKCD Council is running out of money, leading to the sale of land to maintain financial stability. As a result, the value of culture in WKCD decreased. In the following essay, the relationship between WKCD and capitalism will be analyzed based on geographical location, usage, and effectiveness.
2. Cultural Geographical Perspective in Use
From a cultural geography perspective, places are shaped by cultural traces, which emerge through the actions of governing authorities and the interactions of people within these areas. How a place is shaped can influence people’s perception towards this place and one’s connection to it. David Harvey (1989) proposed that cities have adopted an entrepreneurial approach to address economic challenges, with their primary aim being to attract talent and capital to stimulate economic growth. One common strategy is the development of cultural facilities that aestheticize cities and foster a culture-based economy. This would lead to the commodification of art which culture is not an end but a tool for economy.
In the colonial period, Hong Kong’s government had considered culture facilities as a welfare provision (Yiu, 2022). Since the handover of sovereignty to China, Hong Kong has embraced an entrepreneurial approach in the development of its infrastructure and cultural facilities. The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is one of the largest cultural projects in Hong Kong. Its purpose remains in attracting tourists and capital.(Zheng & Cartier, 2024). From its planning and construction to its architecture, WKCD reflects the Hong Kong government's business-minded approach and its intent to assert authority. Various traces of WKCD, such as Lau Bak Livehouse, M+ Museum and Freespace, embody these values. Hence, the West Kowloon Cultural District remains a culture business, instead of a center for nurturing artists and aesthetic education.
In this analysis, secondary data and academic articles would be used to investigate the cultural and economic implications of WKCD.
Figure 1 The conceptual framework of our study suggested by Anderson (2010)
3. Empirical Analysis
Trace 1: Lau Bak Livehouse
Live house, similar to places like a club or a bar, is a place for music performances. Its significance lies in its role as a platform for less renowned musicians and bands to deliver lives. As a crucial part of arts and music culture, live house has been included in WKCD, operating by Lau Bak Livehouse (留白 Livehouse) currently.
Lau Bak Livehouse serves customers music shows every Friday and Saturday night and gastronomic offerings as another highlight other than performance during business hours. Such business mode manifested a contrast to the conventional live house culture, where the concentration should be on music alone, with other services like delicacies, alcohol, and seats are to be subordinates, even absent sometimes. Leasing the location to profit from dining and leisure purposes apart from music means government’s further commercialization of the live house beyond its primary staging function for artists in the first place.
Lau Bak Livehouse in WKCD can hardly be differentiated from a bar out of live show period, with meal sets, light snacks, and drinks available. When it comes to showtime, things like illuminations and settings are adjusted to create a space favorable to performance and creation of vibe. Under the stage are diners and visitors - the former take seats and enjoy both dinner and music, whereas the latter stand behind and enjoy live shows without ordering food. The switch between the two modes of operation and the divergence from typical live house during performance time presented Lau Bak Livehouse as a trace embodied both artistic culture of live house and ideology of capitalism when they encounter and merge with each other. That is, while the emphasis remains on music, a higher degree of commercialization in the provision of catering service is found to be a new attraction to make income, in addition to live shows supposedly.
Figure 2 Lau Bak Livehouse at different time with diverse usage of the place (Source: Google Map)
Trace 2: M+ Museum
The M+ Museum, located in WKCD, presents itself as a breakthrough in the preservation of the contemporary visual culture of Hong Kong and the international stage. The exhibitions include visual art, design, and architecture, and persist to inspire the audience with the help of a collaborative business model with entrepreneurs. Immense investment in the design and construction of the M+ Museum indicates the ambition for a peak in the fusion of cultural sustainability and commercialization.
Figure 3 M+ Museum (Source: Ming Pao)
The M+ Museum commits to accessibility and connection to the public. Partial workshops and programs are free of charge due to sponsorship as well as exhibitions. One of the remarkable exhibitions was ‘Hong Kong: Here and Beyond’, in which artists interpret the features of historic stages of Hong Kong in the form of visual art. In addition, the entry was handled free of charge as sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Chartwell Capital. The museum succeeding in multiplicity in passionate art expression is ascribed to the stable financial foundation provided to the artists and venue without the scenario of operating on strictly controlled budget from the government that disturbs the fluidity of art expression. Therefore, the primary distinctive feature of the collaborative business model is the financial stability provided for cultural sustainability.
On the other hand, the course of art expressions may be redirected due to profit maximization by the partnered entrepreneurs. The business model welcomes partnerships with custom schemes offering commercial benefits to each partner, including promotion through souvenirs, digital marketing events and sociality through exclusive events. Although accountability exists in M+ Ltd, influences are often indirect and subtle to originality. Therefore, while finances guard cultural sustainability, commercialization of the institution may restrict the maximization of freedom of art expression due to the intervention of entrepreneurs.
Figure 4 HSBC becoming the leading sponsorship partner of M+ Museum (Source: HSBC)
Trace 3: Freespace
Freespace in WKCD is designed for contemporary performing arts in Hong Kong. The area offers a platform for different kinds of programs and activities like art exhibitions, community activities, modern dance, music festivals, and theatrical experiences. Committed to presenting performances and promoting innovative artistic experiences as well as corporations, Freespace allows people of different ages and backgrounds to enjoy arts and communicate.
In Freespace, the relationship between commercialization and cultural sustainability through its diverse programming and community engagement is shown. For example, events like concerts or art exhibitions were hosted to attract large audiences. Also, it can generate revenue while promoting accessibility. However, the larger focus on popular and commercial events may overshadow niche artistic self-expressions. Some public-private partnerships with corporate sponsors providing fundings could influence the topic or form of pieces directly. It manifested the challenge of balancing the economic interests under capitalism and commercialization and implicit voices or purpose of the exhibited works.
Furthermore, Freespace is attractive because of insufficient open spaces in Hong Kong. It supports the development of creative industries by providing affordable rental space for artists. This lowers the entry barrier and allows talents to show their work and develop sustainable business models. Art and businessman’s vision are interdependent, and this most accurately describes the capitalistic approach, whereby branches to which cultural organizations belong learn how to bring value to the audience while preserving creators’ vision. It is a win-win scenario if a young artist can offer an attractive place where space is provided at moderate prices. It enables all to evolve by creating cultural initiatives that seek efficiency even in a capitalistic model which demonstrates that cultural activities can indeed be sustained by developments in the business realm rather than the opposite occurring.
Figure 5 Freespace (Source: West Kowloon District Authority, taken by Winnie Yeung)
4. Conclusion
To conclude, capitalism leads to the emergence of the WKCD and the architectural structures mentioned earlier. Examples such as the Live House, M+ Museum, and Freespace clearly illustrate the concept of cultural geographical use, where places are molded by cultural imprints arising from the actions of governing authorities and interactions among people within these areas. This demonstrates the common practice in Hong Kong of utilizing this approach to shape spaces. However, questions arise regarding the original intent behind the creation of the WKCD. Under capitalism, how can cultural development be sustained? It poses a challenging situation, yet there are some brief policy recommendations. For instance, leasing out spaces to individual artists and organizations to enhance vibrancy, with the rental income aiding sustainability. The aim is to establish a cultural hub that fosters interaction among diverse cultural practitioners, rather than solely operating as a business, as typically seen in Central or Wan Chai. Let’s look forward to how WKCD will be better in the future.
References
Harvey, D. (1989). From Managerialism to Entrepreneurialism: The Transformation in Urban Governance in Late Capitalism. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 71(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/04353684.1989.11879583
West Kowloon Cultural District. Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. (2022, July 22). https://www.cstb.gov.hk/en/policies/culture/west-kowloon-cultural-district.html
Yiu, M. H. L. (2022). Cultural Centers in Hong Kong: Welfare Provision or Economic Instrument?. Architecture and Culture, 10(1), 58-75. https://doi.org/10.1080/20507828.2021.2020040
Zheng, J., & Cartier, C. (2024). Territorializing the Pearl River Delta:“state entrepreneurialism” in the cultural facility boom. Urban Geography, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2024.2387994