Recent discussions on the financial sustainability of the West Kowloon Cultural District have raised broader questions about the direction of cultural development in Hong Kong. While flagship institutions play an important role in shaping the city’s international profile, they are only one part of the wider cultural landscape.

Across Hong Kong, smaller community-based venues have been steadily gaining momentum. These spaces are making culture part of everyday life and contributing to a more diverse and resilient arts ecosystem.

Indeed, Hong Kong is experiencing a quiet form of cultural renewal driven not by scale, but by accessibility, relevance and participation. This development may not always attract headlines, yet it is influencing how residents engage with the arts and how visitors from the Greater Bay Area and beyond experience Hong Kong.

Venues such as the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, Oil Street Art Space and Cattle Depot Artist Village show that meaningful cultural impact can grow from spaces that are closely connected to their communities.

Take the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, for example**,** which was a decade in the making and opened this month. The HK$4.18 billion (US$536 million) complex next to Kowloon Bay MTR station houses a 1,200-seat auditorium, a 536-seat theatre and smaller venues and facilities including a testing studio called The Lab.

This was designed to cater to arts tech productions, so artists can test and create innovative audience experiences. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has even launched a 24-month Arts Tech Trainee Programme to support such productions.