(Reflections on AAPPAC’s Training Exchange) A QPAC visit to WestK: insights into programming and promoting one of the world’s most ambitious cultural precincts

At the commencement of my AAPPAC Training Exchange, I was particularly interested in the marketing and communicating of West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK) as a multi-venue, multi-use precinct which grapples with operating at scale and volume. In my role as Publicity and Content Manager at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), these learnings have put me in good stead as QPAC has just become the largest performing arts centre under one roof in Australia.

FunFest

During my visit I attended WestK FunFest, the equivalent of QPAC’s Out of the Box festival for Under 8s, as well as the flagship exhibitions at M+ and Hong Kong Palace Museum. I was thankful to spend time with multiple business units across WestK to get a holistic view of the precinct. I also relished the opportunity to explore other creative precincts in Hong Kong including Tai Kwun and PMQ.

Hong Kong Palace Museum

After shadowing the WestK Performing Arts team, I was immediately struck and greatly impressed by WestK’s level of support for local artists – looking to Snowmelt as an example – and how time is valued as a key creative resource. By giving early and mid-career artists long incubation periods and ticketed work in progress presentations, a space is created for ideas to evolve with audience feedback, while the luxury of time allows work to mature to an international standard.

Snowmelt

During FunFest, I was deeply moved by the Performing Arts Learning and Participation team’s investment in supporting community groups and NGOs by giving them opportunities to attend with the support of partners and donors. They were passionate hosts and these experiences were no doubt transformative for the audience, artists and staff alike.

Looking to WestK’s Business Development unit, I was reminded that placemaking can be a primary engagement strategy, and not to forget the real world in marketing and branding. That is, we should treat our foyers and surrounding outdoor spaces as audience‑building infrastructure. All the while, partnerships and strategic venue hires can also serve a brand. That is, a brand doesn’t need to be all things to all people; instead, look for partnerships with brands or events that have the audience you want to capture.

This exchange also led to a significant paradigm shift for me. The WestK Performing Arts Marketing and External Affairs teams are aligned in the belief that marketing and publicity should not be about convincing people to like culture but rather creating conditions in which people feel comfortable discovering it – this belief is now imbued in my strategising.

As someone who has familial ties to Hong Kong, I was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be immersed in the creative community of the city. At a personal level, this exchange strengthened my connection to my Chinese heritage.

It was truly inspiring to meet passionate and like-minded arts workers, who are driven by a belief in the life-changing power of the arts. I saw this power in spades as the WestK Performing Arts Learning and Participation team delivered FunFest:

• In Tiger Tales, I saw a group of school kids suddenly realise the difference between the theatre and the classroom; that they could laugh out loud, dance in their seat and play with the performers
• During The Cats that Slept 1000 Years, I observed deaf and blind-led tours, which empowered the guides and allowed their community to experience art in a way they had perhaps not thought possible
• At a performance of To Copy, I witnessed a room full of people – who would not usually be able to afford a day out to the theatre – watch an award-winning international show
• And in Mushroom Fantasy a black box was brimming with joy as different generations of all abilities came together in the shared language of circus.

A sincere thank you to Paul Tam and Winsome Tam and the WestK Performing Arts division for welcoming me with endless kindness and generosity, and a special thanks to my host Jessie Chung for a carefully curated programme that I will forever cherish as a career highlight.