Picasso works to grace Hong Kong in May

Hong Kong (CNS) -- The 20th edition of the annual "Le French May" art festival will hold an exhibition of Picasso's artwork in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum from May 19 to July 22. It will be the most important Picasso exhibition ever mounted in the "fragrant harbour."

Consul-general Arnaud Barthelemy at the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong & Macau released the schedule of this year's events at a press conference on Wednesday.

On display will be altogether 55 of Picasso's creations representing different periods of the artist's life: the Blue Period, Rose Period, Neoclassicism, and Cubism. The exhibits, collected by the Musée National Picasso and valued at 6.7 billion HKD (about 862.8 million USD), are currently on a world tour. Shanghai and Taipei are the two stops previous to Hong Kong.

The art festival is organized by the French Consulate in cooperation with the Alliance Fran?aise de Hong Kong, and financed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the local government and the Charities Trust under the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Tickets for the festival go on sale Thursday. Some other French cultural treasures will also join the exhibition in Hong Kong and Macau.