[1] Apart from the usual practice of inviting participating artists, the event also incorporated an open call for submissions, which caught the attention of the local art scene.

In his introductory text for the exhibition catalogue, the museum's curator John Warner explained what he envisioned as the "valid art forms of to-day": "They have shown a preference for material quality, intelligent experiment and originality rather than outworn cliche, dull technical skill and cheap imitation.

[3] As a prominent event in the series of inaugural programmes for the new premises, Hong Kong Art Today was a manifestation of this mission.

The open call was successful in generating immense interest from the local art scene, however, it was for this reason that the exhibition soon became controversial.

[1][5] The issues surrounding the debate included: works by famous artists of the time failing to be accepted through the open call; many rejected artists coming from the same art club (the Contemporary Chinese Artists' Guild, of which Chan was chair); the obscure criteria of adjudication under the confidentiality of the selection panel; the imbalanced quantity of Chinese paintings and Western paintings being selected; and the selections leaning towards abstract art.