Signature tunes for museum revamp

January 13, 2019

Unique experience:

Hong Kong Museum of Art Curator Maria Mok says this is the first time signature tunes will be created for the museum and hopes this will provide an extraordinary artistic experience for audiences.

Professional expertise:

Musician Chiu Tsang-hei (left) will provide a half-year mentorship on musical composition and production to young composers, who will also learn about the museum’s four core collections from Museum Director Eve Tam (right) and her team.

Modern outlook:

The museum reopens in November and after the renovation, its reception lobby will be moved to the ground floor, its exhibition space will increase by more than 40% and there will be five more exhibition halls.

Iconic design:

The museum’s facade has been re-clad with modern architectural features and a transparent building design has been adopted to revitalise it as a prominent cultural landmark.

Download Video| Transcript

Voiceover:
Re-cladding the entire museum facade, adding a new rooftop gallery and a new annex block with a double-height gallery of nine metres, plus, relocating the reception lobby from the first floor to the ground floor, these are all part of the Museum of Art’s transformation.

After a three-year closure for the renovation and expansion works, the museum is set to open its doors again in November.

Hong Kong Museum of Art Museum Director Eve Tam:
We are actually increasing about 40% of exhibition areas after we reopen. And the number of galleries would be, we are having seven before, and then in future we will have about 12 galleries.

We would like to tell Hong Kong people that we are coming back. We are really hoping that the young talents could help us to interpret our collection with their own music and also a way that can help people appreciate our collection better.

Voiceover:
To do that, the Museum of Art is inviting young musicians aged 16 to 25 to submit their compositions.

Selected candidates will create signature tunes for the museum’s four core collections: China Trade Art, Chinese Antiquities, Chinese Fine Art and Hong Kong Art.

Their musical works will be broadcast at the museum’s exhibitions after the reopening and on different media platforms.

Hong Kong Museum of Art Curator Maria Mok:
This is the first time that the Hong Kong Museum of Art is launching a programme to create signature tunes for us.

The candidates who are chosen for this programme will receive a training that roughly spans for about half a year, under the tutorship or mentorship of Chiu Tsang-hei who is a very well-known music producer.

At the same time, they will be able to receive special training, a special briefing from our curators of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. We will tell them more about the history of the museum and the background information of our four core collections.

Musician Chiu Tsang-hei (Translation):
This is a journey to find the answers together. I am not guiding the candidates. Instead, we explore different angles together on how to interpret and illustrate the exhibits. For example, if they want to use orchestral music, we can find out together how the orchestral music should be used and what musical style should be adopted.

Voiceover:
The application deadline is January 15.

Here is some useful advice for candidates who want to boost their chances.

Hong Kong Museum of Art Curator Maria Mok:
If you take a second look at the application form, there is a special area where we ask you to write down a little bit of content or what are your thoughts behind your creation. And if you do share (with) us something special, I think it might get you a few extra points.

Musician Chiu Tsang-hei (Translation):
The most important thing is musical judgement. Young musicians should know how to choose the sound they like to express something. I hope I can see candidates with this ability.

Creative tunes will usher in the reopening of the revamped Hong Kong Museum of Art.

The harbourfront museum’s walls have been redone to adopt a transparent design using glass corridors and facades to better connect the museum with its surroundings and to revitalise it as a prominent cultural landmark.

As a prelude to its reopening in November, the cross-disciplinary Sig. Tune for HKMoA: Creative Music Programme was launched to invite young composers to submit an original tune of less than two minutes.

They will be judged by musician Chiu Tsang-hei and the museum’s curators who will select about 20 candidates in mid-February to compose a musical work under the theme of "Worlds of Contrast".

At least four outstanding finalists will be selected for a half-year mentorship under Mr Chiu to learn more about musical composition and professional music production.

They will also learn about and create music for the museum's four core Chinese Fine Art, Chinese Antiquities, China Trade Art and Hong Kong Art collections.

The tunes will be played at the museum’s exhibitions after the reopening and on different media platforms.

New interpretations

Hong Kong Museum of Art Museum Director Eve Tam said the programme is a way of spreading the word that the major museum is returning with a brand new look.

“We would like to tell Hong Kong people that we are coming back. We are really hoping that the young talents could help us to interpret our collection with their own music and also a way that can help people appreciate our collection better.”

While Curator Maria Mok said this is the first time signature tunes have been created for the museum and she hopes the music will provide an extraordinary artistic experience for audiences.

“Even for other museums worldwide, it’s a relatively new approach. There are other music programmes or other co-creations using music in museum galleries but not exactly creating a signature tune for the museum or for its collections."

The programme aims to unleash young composers’ talents and connect the museum and its collections to the Hong Kong people and other parts of the world.

Original talent

Musician Chiu Tsang-hei hopes the programme will attract talented and creative musicians.

“The most important thing is musical judgement. The young musicians should know how to choose the sound they like to express something. I hope I can see candidates with this ability."

The programme’s selection criteria includes originality, musicality, structure and content.

Interested parties are invited to submit the application form and their music by January 15. Shortlisted musicians will be announced on the museum’s website on February 19.

After the renovation work, the museum’s exhibition space will be increased by more than 40%.

Its exhibition halls will also increase from seven to 12 so that more expos can be held.