A two-week candidate nomination phase for the Arts Development Council nomination exercise will run tomorrow until August 16, the Home Affairs Bureau says.

Arts professionals wanting to participate in Hong Kong's arts development should submit their candidate application forms as soon as possible.

The current council members' term of office will expire December 31. The bureau is conducting an exercise to nominate representatives of 10 arts interests for the next term beginning January 1.

The 10 arts interests include arts administration, arts criticism, arts education, dance, drama, film arts, literary arts, music, visual arts, and Chinese opera.

To stand for nomination a prospective candidate must be a registered voter of the particular arts interest for which they are standing as a candidate, and nominated by at least five proposers or 1% of the number of registered voters from the same arts interest, whichever is higher.

There will be a four-week electioneering period for the candidates after the close of nominations. A candidate forum will be organised by the nomination agent for candidates to present their platforms and address their voters. Polling will take place September 17 to 19.

Registered eligible voters will receive notification letters and candidate application forms this week. They can also download the guidelines and forms here.