Funding, audience development and innovation highlighted at AAPPAC conference in Hong Kong
Funding pressures, changing audiences and the future of performing arts centres shaped four days of discussion as the Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres marked its 30th anniversary.
More than 350 performing arts leaders, cultural practitioners and artists from nearly 70 cities gathered in Hong Kong for the Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres (AAPPAC) annual conference, held from 6 to 9 October.
Hosted for the first time by WestK, Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, the conference explored how institutions can sustain their work while responding to technological change, financial uncertainty and new expectations from audiences.
The opening panel brought together perspectives from government, philanthropy, major venues and independent theatre. Speakers included Sydney Opera House’s director of programming, Brenna Hobson, and Lee Hysan Foundation president Cecilia Ho, examining the choices facing organisations as they move from immediate survival towards longer-term planning.
Other discussions considered how technology can reshape performance and audience engagement, and how programming and marketing can help venues maintain artistic vitality. A closing panel chaired by WestK’s executive director of performing arts, Paul Tam, explored the changing role of arts centres, including the contribution of residencies and professional exchanges to artists’ development and international collaboration.
Keynotes by composer and musical director Leon Ko, artist and choreographer Amrita Hepi, and composer Huang Ruo approached these questions through creative practice, drawing on cross-cultural work, indigenous knowledge and the connections between artistic disciplines.
Delegates also previewed the WestK Performing Arts Centre ahead of its opening in 2027. Together with the district’s existing Xiqu Centre and Freespace, it will form a theatre hub comprising 10 performance venues with more than 4,500 seats. During the conference, WestK announced a residency partnership with Hong Kong Ballet and highlights of the new centre’s opening programme.
AAPPAC’s anniversary initiative, ‘30 at 30’, supported 30 emerging arts leaders from across the region to participate. Networking and discussion continued into the Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo, running from 9 to 13 October.
The next AAPPAC annual conference will be hosted by the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai in September 2027.