Sustainability Art Mentorship Scheme aims to nurture and support artists who would like to pursue sustainable art practice, particularly in upcycling, environmental, and community art, by providing access to the guidance and skills of experienced artists, venues and facilities for art creation, and a supporting community for long-term development.

 

7 renowned and dedicated artists will provide guidance for artists and art learners in developing sustainable art practice, using a strategy integrating intellectual learning, skill training, and hands-on practice.  Each mentor will take on 3 to 7 mentees and provide 8 lessons/workshops to equip them with relevant knowledge and skills, and also to help them develop their vision and elevate their artistic creation.  Mentees will also have the chance to take part in creating their mentors’ grand projects for the first Sustainability Art Exhibition in Hong Kong and to share with the public what they have learnt about and reflected on sustainability art.  

 

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Programme

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1. 2 large-group discussion sessions for all mentors and mentees

2. 8 mentor-guided workshops / lessons.

3. 8 talks / seminars on sustainability art. 

4. Participate in mentor-led art project for Sustainability Art Exhibition

5. Sustainability Art Docent Programme

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Mentorship Period

 

February to October 2021

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Fee

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Free of chrage

Docent allowance available

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Application Eligibility

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Persons over the age of 18 passionate about sustainability art are welcome to apply. Artists and experienced art learners will be given priority. Interview may be required.

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Application Form

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To apply, please fill in the application form via the link below: https://forms.gle/YrQU8MuvkjWW7giv6

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Application Deadline

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 5 Feb 2021

Limited vacancy, first apply, first considered

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Introduction of Mentors (In alphabetical order)

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Cornelia Erdmann

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German visual artist based in Hong Kong since 2006. She currently pursues her Ph.D. at the Academy of Visual Arts of HKBU. With her background in fine art (MFA Public Art and New Artistic Strategies, Bauhaus-University Weimar, Germany) as well as in architecture (Dipl.-Ing. Arch, Bauhaus-University Weimar, Germany) she likes to blur the boundaries between creative disciplines and subjects specialising in public art and commissions.  She uses light as an integral medium in her pieces. The intangible light and the physical space have reciprocal qualities and depend on each other, which in combination with other materials and/or technologies, she employs to create playful site-specific installations that interact and surprise the audience on various levels. She likes collaborating with communities to co-create public artworks that help to build and generate collective memories.  Light festivals, amongst Wellington Lux 2013, iLight Marina Bay 2010 & 2012, Singapore, and Vivid Sydney 2011, are her favourite exhibition grounds. For commissions, possibly her best-known work is the light sculpture "The People" for the main lobby in the new Legislative Council Complex in Hong Kong.

 

"The events of the past year have for many of us triggered the need to re-evaluate what is important and meaningful in life. For many, a need to connect with family, loved-ones and nature have become of importance. Creativity, in general, is a paradigm to make the world a better place. Art is, on the one hand, about making sense of our everyday reality, and at the same time, it is a way to escape from a place that we are familiar with. Art can be a means of connecting an individual (thought) with the community at large.

 

My concept for the Sustainability Art Mentorship Programme is to create a community-made structure comprised out of smaller units made from a sustainable material (bamboo) that built up the large sculpture. Over time, the artwork will grow with the contribution of many. One person’s contribution will be as significant as the whole work itself.  In the end, there shall be a piece of art that many can be proud of, that is visible to the community during the day, and hopefully shines as a light sculpture not only at night time.

 

For all, I hope being involved, hands-on in building a life-size sculpture can help to evoke reflection and understanding of the world we live in, of values and meaning. Making art can help us to reconnect with oneself and with nature."

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Celia Ko

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Renowned painter, mixed-media artist, and a pioneer in community mural painting in Hong Kong, Ko holds a BFA (Drawing and Painting) at California State University, Long Beach, and a MA at the University of Hong Kong (Literary and Cultural Studies). Celia has rich experience in conducting public art education programs, also gives online lectures on art-making and art history. She teaches art and design at various universities in Hong Kong and is currently a visiting lecturer at HKBU, HKU-SPACE, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her works exhibit internationally and locally, and are collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art and private collectors.

 

“The idea of community art can be furthered to a most personal level. Where do we live? How is the world around us look like? How can we connect the world by expressing it through drawing? Observation is the very key to understand the world around us. It is essential to draw from life first-hand instead of copying from photographs second-handedly. Drawing is not only the key to art, but it is a tool for us to observe, understand, recognize, and eventually, to comprehend reality and to express it. Eventually, it is a way to preserve and, therefore, a way to contribute to the world we live in. It is an investigation in the physical and an inspiration to the mind. It is my goal to give this tool to whoever is interested in learning how to draw from life: the tool of observation. “

 

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Evelyna Liang

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She is an artist, art educator, and community arts advocate who has been passionately promoting community arts in Hong Kong, China, and Asia for over 40 years, helping the underprivileged in need and giving them a voice through artistic empowerment. She is the founder of the "Art in the Camp," "Art in Hospital," and "Art for All," all of which are groundbreaking achievements in Hong Kong. She has taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her personal creations focus on female empowerment and artistic healing.

 

“I am willing to work with someone who dares to say "No!" to authority ...including me!”

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Tony Ng

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Tony, (MFA, RMIT,) A renowned Contemporary ink painter, Tony Ng has expanded his art creations to sculpture and installation in recent years. His body of work includes the design and production of various art projects and public art programs.  Ng has received numerous major art awards both locally and internationally. His work is collected by both the Hong Kong Museum of Art and private collectors. Ng also teaches at various art institutions in Hong Kong.

 

“If you are interested in crafts and art and are willing to participate in community activities and art exhibitions, then you are welcome to join this ‘Woodworking craft and sculpture creation workshop’ experience programme.”

The programme comprises two parts: 

The first part (woodworking craftsmanship) includes eight sessions; each session lasts for 2 to 3 hours. 

1. Learn the traditional craftsmanship about mortise and tenon connection through examples of refurbishing old furniture. 

2. How to use hand tools and machines and safety rules. 

3. Provide the service of repairing wooden furniture for the community.

For the second part (sculpture creation), students who have completed the first part can continue participating and assisting the artist in completing the creation. 

1. Try to form creative concepts that connect sculpture with the environment.

2. Recycled wood processing and sculpture-making process. 

3. Participate in outdoor installation and exhibition arrangement of works. “

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Eric Niebuhr

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An American-Australian painter based in Hong Kong since 2012, who earned his MFA at Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.  He is well acclaimed for his paintings that reflect his keen observation, insight, and sensitivity towards Hong Kong's local culture.  His paintings have been shown in Hong Kong and internationally, including the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and the Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

 

“My goal for the programme is to bring a connection to the landscape and the historical environment of the area in which the piece is located. I would like to teach the mentee about natural systems, animals of Hong Kong, working with young people in the community, varied approaches to mural making, planning, and developing large scale outdoor paintings. The mentees will have the opportunity to get hands-on experience in public art-making by preparing painting surfaces, painting on repurposed surfaces, working with young children, and learning about the development of my project and design. They will also have opportunities to present their own artworks to myself and the group for feedback and encouragement. Potential applicants should have a general interest in historical and contemporary painting. ”

 

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Dio Wong 

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With exquisite sculpting skills, Dio is the first-generation figurine sculptor (げんけいし genkeishi) in Hong Kong, and is widely known in Asia.  He is also an outstanding printmaker.  His ex-libris have been selected for exhibition in various European and Asian countries.  In parallel, he is an enthusiastic educator, and set up a website to provide printmaking education materials.  As a pioneer in integrating art, animation, manga and media, he established DIO Channel and served as the Producer since 2017.  In 2018, in collaboration with Artists Co-op, he invented a pedal-driven paper pulp-making machine for developing zero-carbon paper art processes.

 

“During the global pandemic, many people have lost their way in life. We hope to give a new meaning to the existence of waste products by decomposing and re-creating them, so that we can inspire new goals for the participants in the process of creation.”

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Margaret Yeung

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The Director of the “Hong Kong Modern Chinese Ink Painting Society” has practiced 

modern Chinese ink painting since 1986.  She graduated from CUHK and RMIT University with BA (Fine Arts), MFA (Fine Art), and DFA (Fine Art). Her artworks have been collected by various art museums, such as the Shandong Museum, Weifang Museum, Jiangsu Art Museum, and Xiangning Art Museum, etc.  By means of integrating Chinese painting with technology, she has committed herself to exploring the “hybridity” and “harmoniousness” between them.  Over the last ten years, she has started using recycled materials to make landscape sculptures, to reinterpret the Chinese Landscape Aesthetics in a three-dimensional way.

 

“The goal of the programme is to promote Sustainability Copper Sculpture.  By learning the techniques of upcycled copper wire sculptures, such as dead tree treating and copper wire welding, etc., as well as exploring the tree character and artistic conception of ancient landscape painting, mentees will create their own small copper wire sculptures and a large-scale collaborative sculpture permanently installed in the Sha Lek Corner. Moreover, by sharing their experiences, mentees will inspire more and more audiences to learn and practice Sustainability Copper Sculpture for the community.”