Repositioning a literary magazine to an art group : challenges and strategies

Abstract

Hong Kong has long been accused of being a “cultural desert”, an image that found resonance largely due to the lack of support and recognition from the government for the cultural industry. In recent years, with the debate on the government’s proposal of setting up a Cultural Bureau, the cultural industry has received unremitting attention and it has pushed the government to invest more in order to support the development of Hong Kong’s arts and culture. Yet, Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), the statutory funding body, tends to provide funding support to established arts institutions; smaller arts groups received little money and attention, and thus their survival is indeed at risk. With the lion’s share of the government support goes to established groups, the literary groups, like others small arts groups, have faced severe challenges. In this connection, some literary practitioners have taken measures to reinvent themselves conceptually to adapt to the cultural reality. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of repositioning a literary magazine to an art group with sustainable income under the current Hong Kong’s cultural environment. By focusing on the recent transformation of Fleurs des Lettres (字花), a Chinese bi-monthly literary magazine which is supported by HKADC, from a purely literary magazine to an art group; it attempts to explore the crisis it faced and the measures it has taken to respond to the cultural reality of Hong Kong. The paper considers the part played by Fleurs des Lettres in sustaining a healthy future for literature, with particular attention given to audience demands and expectations.