Will Hong Kong’s plan to showcase national achievements push Science Museum from prime spot and shut Heritage Museum?

National security, aerospace technology and Hong Kong-specific content will also be showcased there.

Under the proposal, the new museum would take over the site of the Science Museum in busy Tsim Sha Tsui and relocate to the Cultural Heritage Museum’s Sha Tin space.

The city’s Minister of Culture, Kevin Yong Yun-houng, has previously stressed that rebuilding is only an option while considering the possibility of using other sites with the Development Authority.

He added that all museum plans are considered individually and are not linked to each other.

But critics fear this could mean the end of heritage museums.

These two museums are among 15 public museums managed by the Hong Kong government. Some other facilities are operated by private or statutory bodies.

The Post looks at the current state of museums and what the future holds.

Which museums attract the most visitors?

The Science Museum was the city’s most popular in 2022-2023, attracting more than 1.1 million visitors. We have had a store in Tsim Sha Tsui for 32 years.

The Space Museum, with its distinctive egg-shaped dome, was the second most popular, attracting 870,000 visitors.

There are two interactive permanent exhibits, the Hall of the Cosmos and the Hall of Space Exploration, and a giant 23-meter (75-foot) diameter hemispherical screen for screening documentaries.

The nearby museum welcomed 584,000 visitors last year. Evolving from the city’s first public art museum, it houses a collection of more than 18,800 items, ranging from Chinese antiques, paintings and calligraphy to contemporary art.

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Admission is free, except for special exhibitions, such as the current exhibition of works from Italy’s Uffizi Gallery. Ticketed events cost HK$30 (US$4), but discounted tickets are half that price.

Also popular is the Oil Street Art Space in North Point’s historic complex, which will host 623,000 visitors in 2022-2023 for events related to design, architecture, contemporary art, and new creative media. had.

Are the two museums affected by this disruption?

The Science Museum is popular with children, parents, and teachers for its interactive exhibits that allow young visitors to experience high technology up close. Topics range from geology and biodiversity to sound and speed.

The most eye-catching installation is the four-story “Energy Machine,” which shows how energy is converted by a ball moving in orbit.

It has also been used as a venue for major international exhibitions, including a masterpiece by French Impressionist Claude Monet in 2016. water lily.

Culture Minister Yong said a government study found that some existing exhibits could be suitable for other facilities that are not yet completed, so there may not be a new cultural heritage museum. be.

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What is the newest art museum in Hong Kong?

M+ has 33 galleries, spread over 65,000 square meters (699,654 square feet), and features a foundation collection of 1,510 works of art sold or donated by Swiss collector and former diplomat Uli Sigg. Emphasis on contemporary art and design.

It houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of contemporary Chinese art, spanning 40 years from 1972 to 2012, covering paintings, prints, sculptures, performance art, photography, and digital art.

The Palace Museum displays treasures from Beijing’s Palace Museum. Between its opening in 2022 and July of this year, items on loan from the nation’s capital were rotated five times.

The museum collaborates with some of the world’s top museums, including the Louvre in Paris. Currently on display are 52 paintings by European artists from the collection of the National Gallery in London.

Adult admission is HK$120 up to M+ and HK$60 for the National Palace Museum, with discounted tickets for both half price. Special exhibitions require an additional fee.

Which is a famous private museum?

The Hong Kong Maritime Museum, located at Central Pier 8, showcases the trade and maritime activities of the Pearl River Delta and was founded by the Hong Kong Shipowners Association.

According to the museum, 100,000 people visit each year. Among his more than 1,100 objects displayed in 13 galleries is a large illustrated scroll depicting Guangzhou, a bustling 18th-century foreign trading port.

The Liang Yi Museum, located on Central’s busy Hollywood Boulevard, houses a collection of antique Chinese furniture owned by former banker and investment firm president Peter Feng Yufai.

His centuries-old chairs, tables, cabinets and bed frames are on display in a four-story former retail and warehouse space in the heart of the city’s antiques trading hub. It has been.

The self-funded Hong Kong News Expo, held in a historic building in Sheung Wan, documents the development of the city’s news media industry.

The expo, now in its fifth year, is run by a nonprofit organization and admission is free.

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Are museums popular in Hong Kong?

Although there are numbers that rank museums in the city based on the number of visitors, Oscar Ho Hing Kei, an adjunct associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who specializes in museum management, points out that art museums cannot be judged solely by the number of visitors passing through them. said it was not fair. door.

Ho, who is also an art critic, explains, “The popularity of a museum depends on many factors, including location, convenient transportation, frequency of special exhibitions, advertising budget, and planning of special activities such as school tours.” did.

“Larger museums typically have the budget and human resources to hold more events and put on expensive exhibits, so they tend to attract more visitors.”

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Have Hong Kong museums ever faced controversy?

Ai-chan’s Study of perspective – Tiananmen (1997), which features a photo of the artist holding up his middle finger against the backdrop of the Gate of Heavenly Peace in central Beijing, has attracted attention.

This work has not yet been exhibited, and the image has been removed from the online catalogue, but Ai’s other works are on display.

Tiananmen memorial group fined for operating June 4th museum without permission

The June 4 Museum, which opened in 2014, is run by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Chinese Patriotic Democratic Movement.

The museum displayed photographs, a model of Tiananmen Square, and records of the 1989 student protests.

However, after the national security law came into force, the museum announced it would temporarily close following complaints about its license. It has not been restarted.

Three alliance leaders were jailed in national security-related cases earlier this year.