The Hong Kong Prize
The Hong Kong Prize aims to inspire and recognise students of all ages with exceptional talent for the arts. The winner will receive a cash prize of HK$200,000, as well as a trophy and a certificate. The runner-up will receive a cash prize of HK$10,000, and the winner of the Student Choice Award will win HK$10,000 as well. Each prize category has its own judging criteria. The prize is open to all enrolled secondary school students in Hong Kong. Students must be nominated by their teachers in order to participate.
The prizes are determined by an independent judging panel consisting of leading artists, art historians and curators. The prizes are given to works of art which reflect the prize themes, and which have artistic merit in both concept and execution. Each year, the Prize is awarded in different disciplines.
There are six prizes in total, with a first prize of up to HK$10 million and a second prize of up to HK$5 million. The prizes are awarded at the end of each year in a ceremony at the prestigious Victoria Concert Hall. The prizes are a recognition of the excellent quality of local art and are presented by the Society for the Promotion of Chinese Culture.
This year’s theme, Our Changing World, calls for submissions by artists on various aspects of global evolution. The Justice Centre Hong Kong has also established an InkluVision Award, co-sponsored by EU Office in Hong Kong and Macao and Goethe-Institut Hong Kong, for an artwork that advocates an inclusive society without limits or defines inspiring visions.
If the 1st and 2nd prizes are not won, the money that would have been paid out is added to a jackpot (Duo Bao Jiang) for the next draw. If the next draw has no winners, the jackpot grows, and so on. In this way, the 1st division prize can build up to about HK$100 million (compared to the normal HKD$8 million), as seen in 2004, 2005 and 2016.
The organiser of the hk prize is responsible for drawing up rules of the competition, publicising it, inviting entries and conducting a preliminary evaluation. It also arranges the award ceremony and ensures that the competition is fair. Employees of HKJC’s security and customer service departments strictly check all materials used in the draws, including boxes, from the moment they are boxed up to when they are delivered to the venue for the draw. They are also measured, weighed and examined by X-ray on a regular basis. In addition, the balls for the draw are not reused after each event. Moreover, the whole process of the draw is recorded for posterity. The winning numbers are then published on the official website of the hk prize. HKJC also provides the winning numbers to its members and to other media organizations in Hong Kong, including the media bureaus of the two major political parties. This enables the media to quickly and accurately report on the results of the draw.
