Good news for Hong Kong’s legion of arts fans!  Over 100 works from the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMAC) in Nice, France, will be showcased at Hong Kong City Hall from 5 May to 27 May 2018. The School of Nice – From Pop Art to Happenings exhibition is the opening programme of Le French May 2018 and also one of the four programmes supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Officiating guests at the opening of the festival and exhibition today (4 May) included Club Chairman Dr Simon S O Ip; Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Cherry Tse; Consul General of France in Hong Kong and Macau Eric Berti; Chairman of the Board of Le French May Dr Andrew Yuen; Deputy Mayor of the City of Nice and Former Vice-President of the French National Assembly Rudy Salles, celebrity ambassador Karena Lam and other guests.

“The Club’s support for Le French May, now in its seventh year, reflects our strong commitment to the arts, culture and heritage in our city. Through our support we aim to build a culturally vibrant Hong Kong, enrich our citizens’ lives and promote social inclusion throughout our city,” said Dr Ip. “This is why community outreach and arts education are essential parts of the Club’s support for Le French May. Some 38,000 citizens will benefit from these activities, while 1,000 students from less-privileged backgrounds will receive complimentary tickets. There will also be special programmes for those who are visually and hearing impaired. And in a new initiative, university students and fresh graduates will be able to work with and learn from the festival’s world-class performers, curators and organisers.”

The School of Nice – From Pop Art to Happenings exhibition will feature a variety of works from MAMAC including paintings, photographs and sculptures, all demonstrating how artists in Nice have been driven to extend their creativity into new artistic realms and adopted such movements as New Realism, Fluxus, happenings and and Pop Art. Their work reflects the last major art movements in post-war France and in particular, illustrates the Mediterranean city’s remarkable contribution to the history of art in the 1960 and ’70s.

Other Le French May programmes being supported by the Trust this year are Les Forains, Ballet Urbain, a combination of classics and hip hop, ballet and acrobatics; one of China’s four great folktales The Butterfly Lovers, presented as a classical piano duet performance with live sand-painting; and Georges Bizet’s Carmen, a new interpretation of this world-famous opera by Opera Hong Kong. For more information, please visit: http://www.frenchmay.com/.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2016/17, the Club’s total direct return to the community was HK$30.5 billion. It is Hong Kong's largest single taxpayer, one of the city’s major employers and one of the world's top ten charity donors. The Club is always "riding high together for a better future" with the people of Hong Kong.