The exponential growth of the art market, and the creation of new cultural assets, such as Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural Center and the M+ Museum, are just some of the factors fueling a huge surge in demand in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and the region, for professionals trained in the field of art and cultural heritage management. With Hong Kong already home to what is ranked as the world’s second largest art market, and the Hong Kong Government’s 2022-23 budget statement including further significant financial backing for the SAR’s creative and cultural heritage sectors, this demand only looks set to grow.
This makes the September 2022 launch of the Master of Arts in Arts and Cultural Heritage Management (MA ACHM) programme, run in partnership by the School of Graduate Studies at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University and the Lincoln International Business School at the UK’s University of Lincoln, so timely.
Spanning East and West, the curriculum of this exciting new dual degree will integrate the theories and practices of arts management, cultural heritage policy, curatorial practice, art projects, entrepreneurial initiatives, and professional training. Students on the programme will get the chance to apply their knowledge in tackling real-world problems. They will also be able to experience professional interaction with art historians, collectors and museum professionals, through workshops and an internship.
The structure of the programme
During their first academic semester, students will take four required courses at Lingnan. These courses are: Critical issues for cultural and heritage management; History, heritage and regional perspectives; a cultural policy workshop, and; a workshop for arts administration and programme management.
The rest of the year will be spent at the University of Lincoln, where MA ACHM students will take courses in: Community organisation, sustainability and development; Research methods for tourism; Hospitality, visitor experience, and cultural and heritage attractions, and; Digitising cultural and heritage collections.
To graduate, students will also be required to complete a master’s thesis.
The value of the East-West partnership
Both Lingnan University and University of Lincoln bring first-class faculty, as well as access to important art and cultural heritage resources, to their collaboration.
Lingnan has strong partnerships with a number of local private and public organisations, including the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Furthermore, in his latest budget, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan made clear his desire to promote, and broaden, the development of the SAR’s arts and culture heritage sectors, and earmarked hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars for this purpose.
While Lincoln, and the surrounding area, is home to a number of exceptional heritage sites, including it’s 1000-year-old cathedral and castle. “The University of Lincoln also has established expertise in running taught masters degree programmes in the field of cultural heritage management,” explains the MA ACHM Programme Director at Lingnan, Professor Creighton Connolly.
The programme, therefore, promises to be an ideal foundation for either advanced study in cultural heritage management and conservation, or a professional career centred on museums, or in curatorial and other art-related roles.