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Arts Mart, the first arts education fair co-organised by the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB), the Education Bureau (EDB) and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), will be held at the Exhibition Gallery, Hong Kong Central Library, tomorrow and Saturday (January 16 and 17).
"With the importance attached to culture and the arts in the school curriculum, we consider it high time that we provided an open platform for artists and arts groups of different art forms to introduce to the school sector arts education programmes they can offer to primary and secondary students," a Home Affairs Bureau spokesman said today (January 15).
"The Arts Mart is our attempt to put in place such a platform through an arts education fair. School heads, teachers, parents and the public are encouraged to visit the fair," he said.
"The participating artists and arts groups can also tailor-make arts education programmes suitable for students' aesthetic experiences under the New Senior Secondary School Curriculum to be introduced in the 2009-10 school year."
More than 70 arts groups and individual artists will take part in the fair and there will also be live performances and demonstrations.
The Arts Mart will be officially launched on Saturday by Under Secretary for Home Affairs Ms Florence Hui, Deputy Secretary for Education Dr K K Chan, and Chairman of the Committee on Performing Arts Dr Darwin Chen. Also joining the ceremony are renowned visual artist and scientist Professor Dominic Lam, renowned actor and photographer Yam Tat-wah, and renowned choreographer and actor Lau Siu-ming.
Professor Lam, Yam and Lau will be speaking to more than 200 school heads and teachers at the "Dialogue with Celebrities and Exhibition ¡ª Nurturing Students' Well-being through the Arts" to be held at the Lecture Theatre of Hong Kong Central Library before the launching ceremony. The three artists will share their vision and experience as artists with the audience. Their artworks will also be on display at the Exhibition Gallery. This dialogue session is one of a series of arts education programmes organised by the EDB to promote arts education in schools and to prepare schools for the New Senior Secondary Curriculum.
The opening hours of the Arts Mart are -
Tomorrow (January 16) 2pm¡ª8pm
Saturday (January 17) 11am¡ª8pm
Admission is free. For further details, please visit the websites of HAB, EDB and LCSD at
http://www.hab.gov.hk
http://cd.edb.gov.hk/arts
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/ab/en/home/index.htm
Ends/Thursday, January 15, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:06
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