It could be anything from using AI and machine-learning to create music and paintings to creating non-fungible (NFT) tokens which are a variety of digital assets such as art, music and videos, or in-game objects.
The elements of immersive exhibits could include large-scale projected images or virtual and enhanced realities.
Experts said that the chaotic development of the market was due to a lack in clear goals, vision and measurements for the industry.
![A Baptist University concert in 2022 featured a live orchestra and an AI choir. Photo: Baptist University](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/04/19/cf416197-b48f-45e0-a63b-8de7aef76f6a_595de0ff.jpg)
Then city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor Many jumped on board when the announcement was made that art technology would be a major focus in 2020. This included universities, museums, public agencies and private companies.
There was a proliferation of buzzwords and new technologies, including AI, virtual and augmented reality (NFTs), immersive experiences, generative arts, and many more.
Hong Kong’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau reports that more than HK$160 millions were approved by the government for the crossover industry up until March of this year.
Hong Kong Jockey Club invested HK$630 Million in sponsoring a art-tech festival with over 500 performances and events taking place for eight months, 2022. West Kowloon Cultural district.
Hong Kong Palace Museum displayed life-size 3-dimensional models last year Holographic projections An ancient artifact from mainland China that is too fragile to transport to the city.
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Arts Development Council held two exhibitions, between 2022-2021, with 58 artists. These explored technology’s potential in art. One piece used AI, using machine-written style to recreate the writing of the late Nigel Cameron, a critic who died.
The art tech is also playing an increasing role in the annual Baptist University gala concert. From a live choir and orchestra in 2022, to dancing avatars created by AI dressed in ethnic Chinese Yao costumes in this year.
These AI-generated pictures are based off of the real movements performed by Yao dancers that a production team captured in Western mainland China this past year.
The scale is grander this time, Professor Johnny Poon said, ahead of Friday’s and Saturday’s concerts.
We have higher standards now that we’ve been in business for a while. “We’ve set up our business since Monday, and this time we are investing more.”
![A rehearsal for Baptist University’s 2024 gala concert, which includes an AI interpretation of “Dance of the Yao People”. Photo: Handout](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/04/19/cb6ea562-3abc-4321-8a9f-ffa1561e084c_1126e908.jpg)
The Duh Centre at PolyU was established in July last year. It is a partnership with companies that nurture talent in gaming, including mainland tech giant Tencent as well as other firms prominent in NFTs.
The university is the first in the world with a design program that has an agreement with the US-based semiconductor company Nvidia. Nvidia holds a near-monopoly of graphics processor units, used for training AI systems.
PolyU also signed an accord to establish a centre for creative technology in Beijing’s Chaoyang District.
The university has received HK$88.2million to support various projects in the arts, from music to cinema. It now offers a bachelor of honours degree with a focus on art technology.
Lingnan University offers a Master’s degree programme in Arts Technology and Business, while the Hong Kong Design Institute provides a Higher Diploma in Arts Technology.
The wider picture is difficult to pin down or define.
The sector is still in its early stages in Hong Kong, according to Lawmaker Johnny Ng Kit Chong. He’s a member the government’s Advisory Committee on Arts Development which provides funding for arts tech projects.
![An exhibition used AI to bring to life late critic Nigel Cameron by using a machine to replicate his writing style. Photo: HKADC](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/04/19/d0c15aef-bafb-487b-9392-00a479d95fa3_5a1f8a31.jpg)
Art tech is a vague term. Ng stated that if you asked 10 people you could get 10 different answers. In approving funds, we do not think that some applications are art tech. It’s also debated whether tech or art should lead.
The committee, he said, gave more weight to the “art side” of applications when evaluating them for funding.
He said, “We are hopeful that technology can elevate art.”
Step Out was one of the applications that received funding. It focuses on tapping dancing. It collects data by installing sensors on the dancers’ shoes to create a real-time projection.
They are extremely creative. “This isn’t extremely high-tech but we thought that it visualised their rhythms, which combined both their art and their technology”, Ng said.
Through the Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme, the government supported eight projects in art technology with an estimated funding total of HK$24.6million.
![The “Gazing at Sanxingdui: new archaeological discoveries in Sichuan” exhibition at the Hong Kong Palace Museum last year included 3D holograms of ancient artefacts. iPhoto: Jonathan Wong](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/04/19/6d87794d-2d19-4366-9b13-b59f62e73886_b3ac9c06.jpg)
The government announced that another HK$30million will be allocated to Arts Technology Funding Pilot Scheme in 2022-2023 in order to encourage performing arts groups of major importance to investigate ways in which they can apply art technology in their productions and presentations.
Five projects received a total of HK$17.36million.
It was hard to come up with specific indicators of key performance, so the legislator suggested that the success of art-tech companies in the city could be used to measure them.
Many firms in Japan and South Korea that combine art with technology are very profitable. He said that if Hong Kong could be the cradle of such platforms and companies, it would be an indicator of success.
Hong Kong, in addition to serving as a hub for cultural exchanges, is designated by central government officials as a hub of innovation. Like two decades ago, when other countries referred to our Octopus Card.
Some of the tech art start-ups based at Hong Kong Cyberport are: Nikopikco which specializes in 3D digital sculpting, and has worked with Tsimshatsui Cultural Centre on projects. ICE Production focuses on virtual realities.
![Swiss artist Dan Acher’s outdoor art installation “Borealis” was on view at the West Kowloon Cultural District for three weeks last year. Photo: Dickson Lee](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/04/19/441fe504-5a41-4b92-b044-cd95cffafeb4_90a74dbb.jpg)
Heiman Ng is an art adviser and teaches Art Tech at HKU Business School. He said that the development of the arts scene had been chaotic, not only because there was no clear definition.
He said that if art tech is not implemented properly, it could be reduced to mere gimmicks.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company also noted that the Government had become less supportive towards this sector. John Lee Ka-chiu.
The advisor recalled how, when he served as head of the business development department at the Digital Art Fair in 2021, 500 tickets were purchased for officials from the government to attend and gain knowledge about the art technology.
He said: “But if you take a look at recent policy speeches, there isn’t much on art tech.” “Perhaps government priorities have changed.”
He felt that it was important for the art-tech industry to continue to develop its own initiatives, as they had when Hong Kong became one of the leading markets around the globe.
He said that if the government could display art-tech projects in public spaces and museums, it would be a good thing.
He said that despite the absence of clear performance measures or definitions, the art technology field was worth pursuing because it attracted the younger generations and connected them with art.
![Thomas Campbell agrees that art tech is a way to engage with younger audiences. Photo: Elson Li](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/04/19/193750f4-a5d7-496f-95da-eeb2a35746d1_bf1c376c.jpg)
Industry practitioners needed to find ways to involve younger audiences if the gallery and museum experiences of old did not engage them.
He said: “If we don’t do art tech well, the younger generations may not get to experience it and the arts and culture ecosystem will be lost for future generations.”
Hong Kong is not alone in its situation. Thomas Campbell, the director and CEO of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco told The Post, during a visit to Hong Kong, that art technology was an effective way of engaging younger audiences.
In the past 10 or 15 years, He used contemporary art in museums to bring younger people into places that have long displayed historical works. Art tech, he thought, could be used to do this in the future.
Campbell stated that unlike historic or contemporary art art technology was still a young field, and its artistic value had yet to be established.
He said, “It is still so early in the AI field.”
Refik Adaol, an AI-artist whose work is in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection in the US said that art technology would be the future, but warned it was only a tool like brushes or canvases and not the end goal.
The Turkish-born man, who attended the International Cultural Summit in Hong Kong the previous month, said: “Let us remember that the tools are not going to make a breakthrough. They’re available to everyone.”
His tall screen installations that display luminous pigments and waves generated from data collected by him in an learning model are his most famous works.
For artists to have an impact, they must train and collect data on their models.
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Anadol believes that the city has tremendous potential for art technology, as evidenced by the overwhelming support of visitors at his three-week Central exhibition in 2021.
The artist said that he’d never seen such an enthusiastic response from anyone else. It showed a great appetite among a wide-eyed audience for AI-generated artwork.
Duh, from PolyU, said that Hong Kong must make use of the technology and art it has developed to further its cultural scene.
He said that artificial intelligence had leveled the playing field in art. “Everyone involved now has the same starting point,” added he, and that Toronto could take its place as a leader within the art technology sector by using its rich history of films, comics, and popular music.
The authorities have allocated HK$70million to improve government facilities between 2023 and 24 to allow arts groups to use technology in more of their performances.
The East Kowloon Cultural Centre, which was originally scheduled to open in 2023 but has now been delayed until 2025.
HKU’s Heiman Ng stated that art tech was more than just how much money the government invested in its development. It also included more substantive cultural materials which could help establish Hong Kong’s brand and position in the global market.
Art tech needed to be more than just a marketing tool.
He said: “When talking about art technology, it is important to include culture. This means that we must have substance in order to create complete, engaging stories.”
People often have the wrong focus and think that art technology is the end result. It is not. “If it is used just for its own sake, then it has lost the point.”