Site of Construction: The Reshaping of Hong Kong Culture after 1997

The strategy of developing spatial agglomerations that specialize in arts, cultural heritage, and creative industries, also known as cultural districts, has been subject to much scrutiny in cultural policy studies. While initially argued to originate in the West, mainly the USA and Europe, cultural districts have now become a trendy phenomenon with initiatives in East Asian cities. However, prior research has left empirical gaps in understanding the unique regional, historical, and geopolitical factors that shape East Asia's highly interventionist cultural policies. Social scientists have reached a consensus that the Asian city should be viewed as a cultural policy generator, not just a recipient, and policy-making on Asian modernity needs to be rethought. Policymaking for the nation and the local has become the leading debate, where the national government seeks to acquire "cultural capital," and the local authorities and artistic community advocate for representing local cultural identity to avoid cultural homogenization in a globalized context. This research aims to understand how the arts are situated as key signifiers of cultural identity within the planning and realization of a cultural district, especially under Asia's complex socio-political context. The study takes an interpretive approach to explore the role of cultural districts within Hong Kong's locality, using the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) as a case study. The research data are drawn from three primary sources: analysis of official documents, including meeting minutes from the Legislative Council, reports from the district authority, documents from both national and local bureaus, and press releases; interviews with artistic communities, artists, arts managers, and other arts professionals from southern China; and examination of the district's online programming content. The study reveals that the WKCD serves as a symbol of successful governance and stability under the "One country, two systems" policy, but has faced financial burdens due to unexpected delays. The government prioritizes profit from the tourist economy and creative industries, positioning the WKCD as a site for cultural consumption and international connections. However, there is an imbalance of funding and cultural production, with the government overlooking popular culture and disconnecting artists from policymaking. This has led to a sense of distrust between the local artistic community and the government authority, resulting in the domination of elite culture over cultural production and a disconnection from the local community. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the struggles, practices, and representations involved in shaping cultural identity within the complex socio-political context of Asia. It reveals a need for rethinking policymaking on Asian modernity and provides important insights into cultural policies within a global post-colonial and urban re-national context.