The Works：Impact of coronavirus on the arts: cancellation of HK Arts Festival, Art Basel & Art Centr

In last week’s show we talked about the effect the current coronavirus outbreak is having on art and cultural events and looked at the threat it poses to many planned mega events in Hong Kong’s Arts Month of March. Last week, after a long period of uncertainty, Art Basel finally announced it’s cancelling its Hong Kong event. As the virus continues to spread, it has forced many art organisations, including the City Contemporary Dance Company, to cancel or suspend events that they’ve been preparing for at least a year. And that’s not the only problem they face.

As we saw in part one, both Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central announced last week that their fairs were being cancelled due to the outbreak and spread of the new coronavirus. On Monday, the Hong Kong Arts Festival also announced the effective cancellation of this year’s festival. That will affect more than 120 performances and other related events. The festival’s Executive Director, Tisa Ho is here to tell us more.