Old dockyard to re-open as an art center

Ung Vai Meng (second right) explains the plan for the new arts center

The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) revealed that an old dockyard located close to the A-Ma Temple will be opened to the public by the end of this year as an arts center.
The IC invested MOP10 million in restoring the building, which was vacant. Previously it had been used for building and repairing ships.
The area surrounding A-Ma temple has been planned as a large public transport hub. Located between Sai Van and A-ma temple, the soon-to-be arts center, along with A-ma temple, is believed to “have a great economic and social potential,” said Ung Vai Meng, president of the IC, during a press conference on Saturday.
The building will be divided into three parts. The exhibition space will present modern visual art; the public area will have bookstores, gift shops, spaces for people to rest, and regular lectures for the public will also be held there in order to promote art education; the remaining areas will be for offices, collections, storage rooms, and basic facilities. “The building will present a new look. It will combine both the historical character of the city and modern art,” said Kent Chi-Kin Leong, acting chief of the Cultural Activity Department of the IC.
The dockyard was first established in the 1890s. Besides the building that will be used as arts center, there exists another building that was used as an office, canteen, medical room and other functions. The lack of space prevented the dockyard from being further developed, and the technology and equipment had fallen behind modern-day requirements.