HONG KONG – For a little over a decade, Flora Yu has been working for the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF), starting out as a Development Director in late 2011, before filling the shoes of Tisa Ho, the festival’s former Executive Director of 16 years, in 2022. This year’s festival is bigger than ever, with 45 international and local productions produced as part of the festival, now in its 52nd edition, while the city welcomes guests and visitors from all over the world as they present the best and most innovative of the performing arts.

Speaking to Flora, we spoke about her thoughts helming the festival, as well as its significance to the greater Hong Kong landscape, and the secret to its longevity and success, as it opens to yet another successful edition, with at least 80% of tickets already sold. “It’s been a busy period both before and during the festival, but we’re used to it by now,” says Flora. “Having been around for 52 editions, we’ve already long established our position in the local and international arts scene and calendar, where the public knows our brand and what to expect, as we continue to meet the needs of different sectors of the community through our various programmes.”

The HKAF is certainly one of the oldest and largest festivals in the region, having been a stronghold and internationally-renowned event to look forward to for the past 50 years, covering multiple genres of the best of the best, all in a relatively accessible city. “Not just that, but there are plentiful opportunities for collaborations as well, as we invite overseas arts groups to work with locals to produce new work,” says Flora. “For all those reasons, the HKAF has been integral in shaping Hong Kong’s cultural landscape and history, and remains such a major international event even today, as we continue to pioneer and lead in the scene. We receive so much support from the citizens, many of whom grew up with the festival themselves, and now take their own children or even grandchildren to the festival.”

How then does Flora feel about taking on the reins of such an institution, compared to her previous role? “Back when I was Development Director, my main role was to raise enough money to support the festival so we could achieve our core objectives of promoting the arts and bringing the very best from around the world to Hong Kong,” says Flora. “These days, as Executive Director, I also have to oversee the festival as a whole, and ensuring that all the right systems are in place and necessary resources are available, so the people in my team are empowered and can do exactly what they’re best at in running the festival.”

Especially considering how much things have changed in the last few years, we finally seem to have arrived at a stable post-pandemic situation, where things are slowly but surely returning to normal. “People stayed home for so long, that their buying and consumption habits have really changed such that they still tend to buy tickets slightly later before committing,” says Flora. “We do still have very loyal ticket buyers, and the Festival Friends who get priority bookings for shows. But our aim is also to grow and develop our audiences, both locally and from the mainland, since it’s becoming more convenient than ever to travel here, as we expand our range of offerings and develop further interest in the arts.”

“One of our areas of focus would be youths – there’s still very much an interest in the arts, with many parents wanting their children to learn an instrument or at least gain some kind of exposure and appreciation of the arts, and we have so many opportunities now for more of that with the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District and other institutions,” she adds. “I think children these days are very lucky when it comes to the arts, and we want to help them too, with our Young Friends of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, or the support from the Hong Kong Jockey Club that helps underprivileged students attend shows free-of-charge, and even to help provide transport to the cultural centres. The point really is the maintain affordability and accessibility, and hopefully they pay back in kind when they grow up, whether bringing their own children to the festival, or their own students, or even their own employees and colleagues.”

For now, Flora is envisioning a HKAF that continues to change and adapt to the times, adhering and paying close attention to the latest trends and remaining at the top of the festival game. “The festival is evolving constantly, like how we’ve turned a lot of our focus to art and tech, and worked on bringing a lot of those works to Hong Kong, some of which unfortunately never got staged due to the pandemic. In the coming years, we also want to examine issues, like responding to climate change as a festival,” says Flora. “We do want to bring in the most renowned works, but also smaller, more niche programmes that people may not be aware of. Our programming is important because our baseline funding is only about 12% of our expenditure, while the rest is made up of fundraising and box office returns as well as matching grants – so we have to ensure we attract sponsors and general audiences, which in turn allow us to bring in the more avant garde works.”

Holding a BA in Fine Art from Wheaton College in the US, an MA in Literary Studies from the University of Hong Kong, and an MBA from the University of British Columbia, Flora herself is well-versed in the arts, and ends off recalling her own time growing up in an artistic environment and her own pursuits. “I’ve always enjoyed reading and music, even playing the double bass in secondary school, though I was terrible at it,” says Flora. “Having such a background is helpful for a career in the arts, and this year, I’m really so excited by the plethora of programmes we’ve managed to bring in, from the rarely performed The Peony Pavilion in its entirety, or the chance to see internationally renowned companies like La Scala ballet or the Bavarian State Opera, or figures like Angélique Kidjo. There really is something for everyone.”

For more information about the Hong Kong Arts Festival, visit hk.artsfestival.org.