By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-09 04:36:25 | Updated at 2025-03-09 16:00:54
11 hours ago
A prominent family behind three local businesses has donated HK$100 million (US$12.9 million) to the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to expand its art museum to help strengthen the city’s status as a hub for cultural exchange.
The new 1,770 square metre extension, set to open next month, was funded by the Lo Kwee Seong Foundation, whose eponymous founder started the beverage business Vitasoy in 1940, before his children went on to launch fast food chains Cafe de Coral and Fairwood.
“Universities are important melting pots for academic exchange. Museums elsewhere might have their own agendas and policies, but one that is grounded in academia could bring research, curation and promotion together, and would be more neutral,” foundation chairman Peter Lo Tak-shing said.
He hoped that the addition to the museum could become part of the fabric of Hong Kong’s artistic ecosystem and contribute to the city serving as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.
“It’s a cross-discipline space and not just one for arts and humanities students, but also those who are in scientific research,” he added.
The new Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion houses the Harold and Christina Lee Gallery, which was made possible by a HK$50 million donation from the family behind the Lee Gardens shopping malls in Causeway Bay.
