Tisa HoExecutive Director of Hong Kong Arts Festival Society Ltd
Tisa Ho has been the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival since 2006.
Previous leadership in the performing arts includes supervision of government owned venues in Singapore; and management of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Victoria Concert Hall. Special achievements included establishing the Singapore International Piano Festival, setting up the Alliance of Asia Pacific Orchestras, and building the first Shaw Foundation Concert Stage at Symphony Lake, Botanic Gardens. In her community work she was President of the Association of Women for Action and Research, Chair of the Council of Women’s organisations, represented the NGO sector in UN meetings on the Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women, and was active in the ASEAN Women’s Network as well as the International Women’s Forum.
In Hong Kong, Tisa has served on the Board of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, and numerous advisory committees in education and in the arts. During her term as Chair of the Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association, she re-invigorated and professionalised the organisation, initiated the annual Cultural Leadership Summit and started a series of professional training activities.
Internationally, Tisa is the first Chinese to Chair (2019-2022) the Board of the International Society for Performing Arts headquartered in New York, USA. She has chaired the International Advisory Committee of the Tongyeong Concert Hall, South Korea, and is an honorary citizen of that city. She is on the International Advisory Committee of the Busoni-Mahler Foundation in Italy where she is also on the International Faculty of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan; and the Advisory Board of the International Association of Theatre Leaders.
Tisa was voted Master of The Arts by the American Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong in 2020, and elected member of the Hong Kong branch of the All China Literature and Arts Association in 2022. She also received a Merit Award from the Government of Hong Kong for services to the arts in 2021. She is recipient of the Degree of Doctor of the University from the Griffith University in Australia in 2019, and an Honorary Doctorate from the Baptist University of Hong Kong in 2022.
