Bridge Building

At this blog, we call it ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’, for in our programme, we frequently describe cultural management as mediation. Mediation serves between two sides; culturally, it is a bridge that brings art products to their consumers. Such bridging is fairly troublesome, for building a bridge is much more than just a technical and managerial process of transporting arts from one end to the other.

First of all, for effective transportation, it requires many capable mediators, not just the curator and his/her working team, but also the technicians, security guards, venue management staff, and many others. There is also another group of mediators, such as critics and educators, who equip the audience with the knowledge and sensibility toward the consumption of art. If we go further, there is also the funding infrastructure, such as the various arts councils, institutions, foundations, individual funders, and more. One way or another, they influence the design and operation of the bridge.

As a curator, you need to take care of the functional and operational needs of your institution, hold onto your own artistic and cultural values, and meet the preferences of the cultural infrastructure, including the various establishments that shape the cultural values of art. Of course, conflicts always happen during this process.

This is a long and complicated process. I like to use one simple aspect of the intended function of the bridge as an example showing how the intended function affects the design. If this is a bridge simply for the effective moving of vehicles, the bridge should just be strong, straightforward, and broad enough for swift moving. But if the bridge is a place for the public and tourists, stylistically it needs to be attractive, in a way that reflects the cultural characters of the place, with a broad walkway so that people can walk slowly. Probably there are fences with crafty patterns that open up the views for enjoying the river and the city, with nice, comfortable benches for people to relax. There should be flower pots all along to make the place charming.

Building a museum is like building a bridge; it is outrageously complicated and challenging. You may think a cultural venue is always like building an enjoyable bridge, with a nice lobby to sit down, relax, and chat with your friends. Can you think about the art spaces in Hong Kong? How many of them give you that feeling?

Building a cultural bridge is extremely complicated; I will talk more about that.

Oscar

Oscar Ho is Adjunct Associate Professor of Cultural Studies, CUHK. He was formerly the Director of the MA in Cultural Management Programme (2006 – 2020). Visit https://www2.crs.cuhk.edu.hk/faculty-staff/adjunct-professors/ho-hing-kay-oscar

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