Ms Winsome CHOW
wwschow@lcsd.gov.hk
Chief Manager
Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Winsome Chow is a senior performing arts administrators of Hong Kong.  She is presently the Chief Manager of Leisure and Cultural Services Department
(LCSD) responsible for several major cultural and entertainment events organized in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Winsome started her career in the City Hall, Hong Kong's first performing arts centre.  In the 1980s', she joined the festival team and shared the work in organizing the Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Festival of Asian Arts; at the same time, a chance was given for her to try
out a children and youth festival in summer.   She was appointed as one of
the two Senior Managers organizing the opening festival of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre held in late 1989.  In the 1990s', she took the initiative to advance her career development in community arts, managing the Sha Tin Town Hall and two other associated venues on the one hand while building district relationships and experimenting different programming for the local audiences on the other hand.  In the year of 1997, she left the Government for some months to become the first General Education Officer in the University of Hong Kong. Since the re-organization of the Government and the establishment of the LCSD in 2000, she has created three arts festivals including the New Vision Arts Festival, World's Cultures Festival and the International Arts Carnival which have become significant performing arts events every year in Hong Kong.

Winsome became a Chief Manager in 2003 and took on additional responsibilities of audience building, festive community carnivals and district programmes and subvention for major performing companies, apart from the supervision of the festivals organized by LCSD.  She was the project manager of the 20th International Congress of the International Society for the Performing Arts held in Hong Kong in mid-2006 which had the highest participation rate and the most positive responses.

Synopsis

Is an arts festival creative or the making of it creative? How does an arts festival relate to the people?  What is the context for an arts festival to curate upon?  Creativity and teamwork do not create resonance or is the statement untrue?  What does Hong Kong need and what does this city need to do?  These are questions that I always bear in mind when conceiving festival programming and in any new arts events.  I hope to share my experience and perspectives with participants during the forum and also be enlightened by professionals and experts coming to Hong Kong for this special gathering.

周蕙心女士

周蕙心女士是香港一位資深的藝術行政人員。現時，她是康樂及文化事務署（康文署）的總文化事務經理，負責安排幾項慶祝香港特別行政區成立十周年的文化娛樂節目。

她在香港首間表演藝術中心，即香港大會堂開始她的藝術行政事業。在八十年代，她參與籌辦香港國際電影節及亞洲藝術節的工作，期間亦為一個兒童及青少年的暑期藝術節作了不同的探索和實驗。在一九九七年，她轉任香港大學的首位通識教育主任，一年內重返政府工作。自從政府在二○○○年的改組及成立康文署，她創造了三個不同的藝術節，包括新視野藝術節、世界文化藝術節及國際綜藝合家歡，現今均已成為香港每年的藝術文化盛事。

她在二○○三年被委任為總文化事務經理。除了繼續帶領藝術節的發展外，亦負責康文署的觀眾拓展、節慶社區活動和主要表演藝團的撥款。她亦是國際演藝協會的二十屆國際會議的統籌，會議於二○○六年六月在香港舉行，得到協會最高人數參與及與會者的一致讚賞。

簡介

一個藝術節是否富有創意或是在創作的過程有創意？一個藝術節如何與人連繫？在甚麽的基礎和背景上創作？香港需要甚麽和香港須要做甚麽？這些是我經常在構思藝術節節目及新的藝術節時給自己的問題。我希望與會者分享經驗和觀點，亦期待在此特別的聚會中，從眾專業人員和專家中得到啟發。