Co-published with Hong Kong University Press
This highly personal memoir offers a vivacious slice of Hong Kong life, of arts and culture development at a time of minimal institutional support. The story, told in a colourful and anecdotal manner, speaks to arts and culture practitioners as well as a cross-section of readers who are interested in the story of an arts aficionado who pioneered and navigated creatively and intelligently through dreams, friendship, the unknown, personal and socio-political and economic uncertainties, and the many decision-making moments in what arts and life are offering.
Born in Singapore and educated in Hong Kong, Paris and Louvain-la-Neuve, Benny Chia Chun Heng started the Fringe Festival in 1983, founded the Fringe Club in 1984 and steered the Fringe Club as Managing Director and Artistic Director through to 2022 – almost forty years. He has scripted six stage shows, written three English Readers published by Oxford University Press, and contributed articles for the South China Morning Post and several magazines. Chia was a founding member of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association. Honours include the Bronze Bauhinia Star from the HKSAR Government, the Badge of Honour from the former Hong Kong Government, Best Arts Promoter from the Hong Kong Artists Guild, and Hero of Hong Kong from Time Out Magazine.
320 pages. 60 illlustrations
Paperback
152 (W) x 228 (H) mm
English
ISBN 9789888842957
Benny Chia, founder of the Fringe Club and champion of cultural
policy, is a revered pioneer. To me, his forty-year love affair with
the Fringe is the best Hong Kong success story in terms of cultural
exchange and arts engagement. This compelling memoir reveals the
secrets behind Benny’s achievements – his unparalleled qualities as an artist, manager, entrepreneur, intellectual, connector and friend.
Sun-Man Tseng
Adjunct Professor, Education University of Hong Kong,
author of The Practice of Arts Administration
Wonderful! What the Fringe Club did for the arts in the 1990s
and early 2000s was extremely important. If you were there, then
read this and learn some of its secrets. If you missed it, then read
this and be stirred to do something extraordinary yourself. Benny’s
book manages to inspire, enrich and entertain all at the same time. Just as the Fringe Club used to do.
Victoria Finlay
Author of Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox,
former arts editor, South China Morning Post