Cattle Depot Artist Village
The slaughterhouse was originally located in Hung Hom, occupying 1.7 acres (0.69 ha) which could hold 120 head of cattle, 200 lambs and 400 pigs.
[1] It was moved to Ma Tau Kok near To Kwa Wan due to the construction of Kowloon–Canton Railway.
Central planning and development occurred throughout the years and people started to reside at Ma Tau Kok.
In 1999, the old Ma Tau Kok Cattle Depot was finally closed down due to expressed concerns by the neighbouring residents about hygiene problems deriving from a slaughterhouse in the urban area.
The site was made up of 5 blocks of distinctive red-brick buildings, offering a total space of 15,000 square metres (160,000 sq ft).
[2] The old cattle depot was renovated and developed into the present village in 2001 for an artist community originally occupying the former Government Supplies Department Headquarters at Oil Street, North Point.
[3] They were temporarily relocated to the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir and the site of the former airport at Kai Tak as well as assorted factory buildings during the works.
The village arouses people's interest in knowing the artistic development in Hong Kong.
In addition, the study will also suggest how the revitalisation of the Cattle Depot can have a synergetic effect on the surrounding areas including Kai Tak new development area and the old quarters in To Kwa Wan like the 13 Streets, with an investigation on the antiquities value of Kowloon City, the impact on the whole district and the possibility of exploiting a heritage trail/network.
The Development Bureau is still consulting the public in terms of the conservation method and future revitalisation of Cattle Depot.
[8][11] Due to the Cattle Depot being listed as a historical building, there are regulations placed on resident artists.
Previously there was a stringent rule of checking visitors' HKID cards before they could enter Cattle Depot, but this has been relaxed.
It is also conveniently just one MTR stop from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, from which many of these art graduates hail.
It is rather inconvenient when compared to Cattle Depot where the red-brick houses are horizontally laid and people can get into the studios easily.
Also, unlike studios located inside factory buildings, the doors are not necessarily closed all the time at Cattle Depot, there are more interactions and scope for creativity.
Moreover, Cattle Depot offers convenient access to nearby residential communities, it can take up the role of introducing developments in art to the public easily.
Despite limited government promotion of Cattle Depot as a village for local artists, it is already known overseas.
The Arts Development Council expressed the view that Cattle Depot may be better managed in the future.
At present, some artists use it as store room, plant flowers on the site and do not pay any rent.
In Hong Kong, the public has always argued that there is not enough venues and working space for local art groups.
The idea came up after the announcement of plans to turn a nine-storey government factory building in Shek Kip Mei into a centre for visual arts.
In Hong Kong Policy address 2005, it was mentioned that creative industries can be extended to cover areas such as community building and the creation of an urban image.
This is because the importance of coherence of artistic atmosphere is still in the blind-spot of government cultural development policy.
More investment and cultivation of talented people will equip Hong Kong with the diversity and long-term creative industry development.
