Cattle Depot Artist Village

The Cattle Depot used to be a few blocks away from where I lived. When it was still used as a slaughterhouse till the 90s, locals seldom walk pass that area and avoided it like a plague, because of the intense smell of pigs and cows emitting from within (people who frequented locations next to the old times KCRC railway tracks would know what I meant, same thing as when the livestock carts pass by, only that for the depot, the smell STAYS).
Around the year millennium, it ceased operation finally, and was listed as grade 2 historical building by the Antiquities and Monument Office. It was revitalized (well, revitalization is a new term, there was no such terminology back then, simply — kept and reused) as an Artist Village, aimed at providing studio space for the artists expelled from Oil Street Artist Village when the land was reclaimed by the government.
During its early days as an Artist Village, it was managed like a private rental premise and wasn’t opened for public visits, expect for the open day origanized for a few times, when the artists display their works like an exhibition. There was a guard at the gate, and back then architectural students had to reason quite a bit with the guard, showing student cards and all, to ask for permission to visit the place and take pictures for school projects, paper research etc. etc. (or sneak in when Mr. Guard was shirking somewhere). Coming to the present day, the depot outdoor area is finally open daily for free visits from 10 to 10. I’m truly glad about the change in policy and in the raised social awareness about historical sites in HK. It is most certainly beneficial for citizens to feel a sense of belonging when given more access to places of local history merits.
One can’t help but compare the Depot with recent revitalization-​for-​art projects like the PMQ in central (which I have a separate review) that generated much more buzz. The low-​profile Depot had been repurposed for over 10 years but still seems to be lacking a ‘business model’ that can elevate it to the communal level, and explore its full potential in activating the district or the art-​design scene. On the other side of the coin however, as it is not managed by a private group, it is less governed by commercial viability and the rent can remain low, for the benefit of artists to retain their independent stature. This give and take, how would you balance?
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