Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (HKYAF) was established by Lindsey McAlister OBE, in 1993. It serves people in Hong Kong aged 5 to 25 years. It is one of the largest youth art organisations in the world.
History In 1993 Lindsey McAlister founded the Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival for people aged 5–25 to engage in multidisciplinary arts, regardless of their cultural background, language or ability. Her intention was that she “didn't want anybody to have to pay for anything”, so needed to find external funding to cover all expenses. Initially, unable to find a sponsor as she had no track record in Hong Kong, she took out a personal overdraft to cover the costs of the first two-week festival. McAlister sent a copy of the festival brochure to everyone she had approached for sponsorship, including Po Chung, the then-head of DHL (Asia). He got in touch with her, asking who her sponsor was. Hearing that McAlister was funding the whole enterprise herself, Po Chung gave her a cheque to cover the first festival's costs, and also paid for the following festival too.
After Chung's donation, “word about the festival was spreading like wildfire” and other sponsors joined including Morgan Stanley, MTR Corporation, ABN Amro, Standard Chartered Hong Kong and Swire Properties. The first two-week festival took place in 1994.
HKYAF was located at the Hong Kong Arts Centre from 1995 until 2005 when it moved to its current location in Quarry Bay. With the move, their facilities grew to include on-site rehearsal and workshop spaces. In 2006 HKYAF was considered “the world's largest arts programme for young people”, at which point 94% of participants were from 800 local schools, with most projects conducted in Cantonese.
Funding and support HKYAF is supported by corporate and private funding; it receives no direct funding from the government. The first two festivals were supported by Business for Art, which twinned the “commercial world with arts events.” In 1995 Standard Chartered Hong Kong joined as the main sponsor. Long-term supporters of the foundation also include Hong Kong Jockey Club Charity Trust, the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation and Swire Properties. Early patrons were David Tang, Lavender Patten and Rita McAulay.
International events Early in its existence HKYAF took three productions to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe:
Curiouser and Curiouser and Ssshhh…! (1997) Who's Afraid of Monsters? (1998) Matilda (1999)
Social awareness Over the course of its history HKYAF has run projects and events based on a variety of social and environmental issues, including:
BEA's Beyond Environmental Arts Festival #BeTheChange, a dance and spoken word film series that tackled social issues including climate change, the need for food banks and plastic pollution Eco-art installation at The Loop, Taikoo Place Theatre productions dealing with issues regarding mental health, body image, gender identity and social media
Flagship events Each year HKYAF runs approximately 100 events for visual, performing and literary arts. Its two annual flagship events are a large-scale youth theatre production and Arts in the Park (formerly Arts in the Plaza), a two-day community arts event.
Theatre productions Since 1998 HKYAF has produced an annual youth musical or drama, directed by McAlister. Locations for performances have included Hong Kong Arts Centre's Shouson Theatre, the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, ArtisTree, the Fringe Club and Free Space, West Kowloon Cultural District.
Year Title Venue Notes1998 Matilda Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre Created by McAlister. Music by Nick Harvey. McAlister secured the rights to Dahls's work through David Tang's friendship with the Dahl family. GodspellSt John's Cathedral, Central Adapted by McAlister1998 Matilda Venue 34 at Edinburgh Festival Fringe West Side Story Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre The Magic Flute Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2000 Grease Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2001 Little Shop of Horrors Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre The Secret Garden Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2002 Bugsy MaloneShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2003 Blood BrothersShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre The Wiz Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2004 Footloose Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2005 Fame Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2006 Disco Inferno Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre2007 Insomnia Fringe Club, Central 2008 Lear's Daughters Fringe Club, Central 2009 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre Storm in a Teacup Fringe Club, Central2010 Rent Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2011 Spring Awakening Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre The Story of a Girl Fringe Club, Central2012 Godspell Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2013 A Chorus Line Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2014 Oliver! Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2015 The Evil Within CIS Auditorium Blood Brothers APA Amphitheatre 2016 Rent Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2017 Melodia Queen Elizabeth Stadium Written by McAlister. Music by Violaine Corradi and Rose Winebrenner PROJECT AFTER 6: Cube Culture ArtisTree, Taikoo Place Written by McAlister. Music by Nick Harvey2018 FameShouson Theatre 2019 If Not Me, Who?ArtisTree, Taikoo Place Written by McAlister. Part of Theatre Bites series. Music by Violaine Corradi2020 #HashtagShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre Written by McAlister2021 Only a GirlShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre Written by McAlister2022 I’mperfectShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre Written by McAlister2023 24:7:365 The Box, West Kowloon Cultural District Written by McAlister PROJECT AFTER 6: You Man Tai ArtisTree, Taikoo Place Written by McAlister. Music by Nick Harvey2024 Gen Last The Box, West Kowloon Cultural District Written by McAlister. Music by Amuer Calderon
HKYAF's annual Pull Back the Curtain series, showcasing local playwrights and actors, began in 2014. It was started by local director Clare Stearns and was inspired by London's National Theatre's course for young playwrights.
Standard Chartered Arts in the Park (AIP) HKYAF produces the Standard Chartered Arts in the Park (AIP) annually. It is Hong Kong's largest outdoor youth festival. It began as a “small event in Southorn Playground in Wan Chai” in 1993 and 1994. It was developed into Arts in the Plaza and has been held on Hong Kong island (except during the pandemic) every winter since 2001. The first location was Stanley Plaza with “only hundreds” of participants. In 2008 it changed its name to Standard Chartered Arts in the Park, returned to Victoria Park, Causeway Bay and became a two-day event.
Year Name Location Date/s Theme 1995 Arts in the Park Victoria Park, Causeway Bay November 1995 1998 Arts in the Park Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 1 November 1998 With the Standard Chartered Wiggly Squiggly Circus 2001 Arts in the Plaza Village Square, Stanley Plaza 2002 Arts in the Plaza Village Square, Stanley Plaza 3 November 2002 2003 Arts in the Plaza Village Square, Stanley 2 November 2003 2004 Arts in the Plaza Village Square, Stanley Plaza 31 October 2004 2005 Arts in the Plaza Village Square, Stanley Plaza 30 October 2005 2006 Arts in the Plaza Village Square, Stanley Plaza 5 November 2006 2007 Arts in the Plaza Carnival Village Square, Stanley Plaza 28 October 2007 The event also raised awareness of HIV/AIDS 2008 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Mardi Gras Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 8 November 2008 Including a Gulliver's Travels themed parade with over 500 performers 2009 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Mardi Gras Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 14 and 15 November 2009 2010 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Mardi Gras Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 14 and 15 November 2010 Inspired by the elements: fire, earth, air, water and metal 2011 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Mardi Gras Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 12 and 13 November 2011 Inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 2012 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Mardi Gras Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 17 and 18 November 2012 Theme: Circus – A Feast for the Senses 2013 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Mardi Gras Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 16 and 17 November 2013 Theme: Gallery in Motion 2014 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Mardi Gras Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 14 and 15 November 2014 The theme was Defying Gravity 2015 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Mardi Gras Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 14 and 15 November 2015 A classical music theme including Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade and Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale 2016 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Mardi Gras Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 12 and 13 November 2016 Inspired by the work of William Shakespeare 2017 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Victoria Park, Causeway Bay Inspired by the world of Roald Dahl 2018 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 3 and 4 November 2018 Inspired by the Land of Oz. Featuring a night parade for the first time 2019 CANCELLED 2020 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Online 2 – 8 November 2020 10,000 art packs were distributed for online art activities 2021 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park West Kowloon Cultural District 6 and 7 November 2021 Inspired by Peter Pan. Included a 5-day online programme 2022 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park West Kowloon Cultural District Art Park 3 and 4 December 2022 Inspired by a Dickensian Christmas 2023 Standard Chartered Arts in the Park Victoria Park, Causeway Bay 2 and 3 December 2023 Inspired by Saint-Saën's The Carnival of the Animals
Notable visual projects HKYAF has created many visual art events including:
Year Project Location 1996 One thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine postcards Gallery 7, Central, Adelaide Festival 1998 Starry, Starry Night Hong Kong Arts Centre 2001, 2002 World of Words Pao Galleries, Hong Kong Arts Centre 2004 Jockey Club Pop Art Made in Hong Kong City Plaza, Festival Walk, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Pacific Place 2012 Aedas Secret Spaces Shek Kip Mei 2014 - 2016 Ocean Art Walk Stanley Plaza 2017 onwards Hong Kong Urban Canvas – shop shutter art Various2019 East Rail Line – Fun Fun Art Draw HK PMQ, Central 2020-2023 Jockey Club Project Silver Intergeneration Arts Project Various
Select performances and exhibitions
Notable collaborations Over the course of 30 years, HKYAF has worked with both local and internationally recognised artists, educators and specialists, including: Phil Ashcroft, Xenz and Mr Jago – street artists David Branson – theatre director Lola Clavel - fashion designer Violaine Corradi - composer Heidi Duckler – choreographer PatPatKate - illustrator Ralph Koltai – stage designer Maysum - visual artist, makeup artist Rory Mullarkey - playwright Marsha Roddy - designer Tracy Lee Stum – artist Uncle – mural artist Noble Wong – mural artist
The following are some of the organisations and businesses it has collaborated with: City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) Chung Ying Theatre Company International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) Lantern Co. – UK prop designers National Youth Theatre of Great Britain Third Rail Projects - New York site-specific dance company
Notable alumni The following people attended HKYAF events as young people: Ansonbean (Anton Chan Ngai-san) - singer Cletus Chan - actor Natalie Hsu - actor Sadie Kaye – author, actor, filmmaker and TV presenter Matthew Leonhart - actor Jade Ma - actor Shannon Murphy - TV and film director Alistair So - actor Isabella Wei - dancer, actor
References