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The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts has welcomed measures covering arts and culture, higher education and the Northern Metropolis in the city’s first Five-Year Plan and the 2026 Policy Address, saying they would support the academy’s next stage of development.
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The Policy Address confirmed plans for a second HKAPA campus in the Northern Metropolis as part of efforts to strengthen Hong Kong as an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange. The government is also developing three university towns in San Tin, Hung Shui Kiu and Ta Kwu Ling, with education, technology, industry and talent among their core functions.
HKAPA said it envisages the new campus as more than an expansion of teaching space. It plans to use the site as a hub for creative technology and interdisciplinary research, working alongside its main campus in Wan Chai and strengthening links with the Greater Bay Area.
The academy also plans to increase its intake of non-local students and expand cross-disciplinary collaboration as Hong Kong promotes the “Study in Hong Kong” brand and its role as an international education hub.
HKAPA Council chairman Symon Wong Yu-wing said the Northern Metropolis campus would give the academy more space to raise performing arts standards and develop talent.
“As an institution ranked 10th globally and 1st in Asia in the QS World University Rankings for Performing Arts, we have a responsibility to nurture artists who are not only technically accomplished, but also culturally grounded and globally minded,” Wong said.
Academy director Anna CY Chan said HKAPA was also changing the way performing arts education is delivered in response to developments in technology and the creative industries.
“In early 2027, the Academy will launch the HKAPA Creative Futures and Innovation Centre, aiming to open new possibilities for our students, educators, and young artists to experiment with emerging technologies, incubate innovative ideas, and develop new forms of creative expression,” she said.
Chan added that the initiative would be accompanied by green theater standards and AI-enriched curricula, with the academy placing greater emphasis on the intersection of artistic practice and technology.
HKAPA was ranked 10th globally and first in Asia for performing arts in the 2026 QS rankings, and has said it expects its Northern Metropolis campus to strengthen its capacity to train cultural talent and support the creative industries.
