Congratulations to Ms Winsome Chow for receiving the ISPA Award 2022 “International Citation of Merit”

The International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) today presented the 2022 International Citation of Merit to Ms Winsome Chow, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), in recognition of her distinguished achievement in arts administration. Ms Chow’s great leadership is imperative in bringing HKADC to a new era and improving Hong Kong’s arts ecology through new initiatives such as showcasing Hong Kong artists on the international platform and reforming funding schemes.

Since joining HKADC in 2015, Ms Chow has been introducing improvements to the Council’s long- standing grant schemes and devising new ones like the Matching Fund Scheme that has helped arts groups to grow with the support of their private donors and commercial sponsors.  She is keen to promote cultural exchange and led over 700 arts practitioners to various overseas festivals, expos, arts markets in Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands before 2020.  She also promoted 24 arts programmes in major cities in the Mainland with some in digital format in 2020 and 2021.  To help artists and practitioners under the pandemic, she devised a Support Scheme to distribute Government’s relief fund; concurrently, she sought sponsorship from the Jockey Club Charities Trust and engaged 68 arts units in a HK$25M project, “Arts Go Digital”.  She serves on the boards or committees of several arts and cultural institutions, sharing her experience and vision of arts administration.

Ms Chow is grateful to ISPA for bestowing the honour on her.  “What an exciting moment it is for me to evolve from a member to an organiser and now an award recipient! I am thankful for going on this journey with ISPA and hope our young artists and arts professionals would get encouraged to strive for what they have great passion for and belief in.” 

This is not only my personal honour but also an international recognition of Hong Kong’s soft power in arts and culture, she added modestly.

For details: https://www.ispa.org/page/awards_merit22_chow 

This edition’s recipients of Distinguished Artist Award include Mr Shen Wei, celebrated choreographer, dancer and painter; and Mr Yan Huichang, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for Life of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra while the Angel Award goes to Prof Tseng Sun-man, veteran arts administrator and educator. More On: https://www.ispa.org/news/604328/Announcing-the-Hong-Kong-2022-ISPA-Awards-Recipients.htm