West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA), the organisation in charge of developing a creative hub of Hong Kong that includes the long anticipated M+ Museum, has confirmed that Jeremy Stowe has resigned as chief of projects following a prolonged leave of absence after a visit from law enforcement officers on 12 May, The Standard reports.
The organisation told the news outlet HK01 that Stowe had taken leave for ‘personal reasons’, though it is unclear whether this was connected to the visit from the law enforcement officers.
Although Stowe reportedly returned to his office the following day, he had not engaged in work with WKCDA since then. WKCDA then released a statement with the assurance that the organisation’s work ‘will not be affected by Stowe’s leave of absence’.
With the official news of his departure, WKCDA are now looking to hire a new chief of projects while Norman Heung Yuk-sai (formerly the deputy director of civil engineering and development) continues to temporarily fill the position.
Stowe, an RIBA-registered architect, joined the WKCDA in March 2012 as the head of construction project management. After he spent three years as the director of project control from 2016, Stowe was promoted to his current position in January 2019, where he oversaw the design, construction and project management of all WKCDA projects.
The announcement of his resignation follows on the heels of other departures from prominent positions held at WKCDA. Duncan Pescod, who worked with WKCDA for five years, was asked to leave his position as CEO of the arts organisation in October 2020 and in April 2021 Alison Friedman resigned her position as artistic director of performing arts after four years in the role.
