Fireside Wednesday:

Episode 5 – Art & Innovation
第五集 – 色空變焦

April 22 (Wednesday)

 
English Synopsis

Art museums and galleries are closed, exhibitions cancelled, Art Basel HK launched online viewing… With COVID-19, how can art professionals continue to showcase their work, and engage audiences regardless of distance and space? Do online exhibitions work? What are the possibilities to widen the scope and audience reach?

Award-winning photographer Tugo Cheng admitted that seeing a framed photo or an art piece physically is important to most audiences and collectors. But he said he is not frustrated at this challenging time as, “We may come up with new ideas during this special time. For example, in order to maintain social distancing at my exhibition held earlier this year, we used a robot with clips of my voice to lead tours for visitors. In fact, artists and photographers are perceptive and sensitive to social issues. Curators are versatile… There is always an abundance of good themes and topics.”

Founder of gallery and art space William Fong agreed, “Many artists will use what is happening in our society as the theme of their works. For example, the panic buying of toilet paper, and everyone wearing masks to guard against the pandemic.” William looks at this time of COVID-19 positively and said, “The Art circle has not spent a lot of effort and resources on online platforms compared to other businesses. This time has pushed art professionals to work more on electronic platforms. The pandemic may have positive effect on some artists. They can now concentrate on creativity, and reflect on their artistic pursuit and direction.”

Stephanie Ho, a fresh graduate of 2019 who newly joined the art business as a curator, said, “COVID-19 has given young artists new opportunities. They can partner with other artists to brainstorm new ideas to do more despite limited resources; for example, host joint exhibitions together. Exhibitions are cancelled, and online platform has its limitations; sometimes I wonder if there are other special spaces to showcase the artworks… How about convenient stores?”

In wrapping up So King-Hang, who graduated in 2003 at the time of SARS, remarked that: “This is the best time for sparking creativity. Under the current unconventional living patterns, one can reflect more on what we need and care about most, the way of life we are really looking for.”

 
足本重溫 Video Link :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2q8Ucnrh0Y

 
Host:

  • So King Hang 蘇敬恆 (BSocSc 2003)

 
Guests:

  • Tugo Cheng 鄭振揚 (BA(ArchStud) 2005; MArch 2008; MSc(ConstProjectMan) 2010; LLM(Arb&DR) 2012)
    National Geographic Award-winning Photographer and Architect

    本地建築師兼攝影師，曾獲國家地理攝影大賽冠軍、年度國際攝影師大獎、索尼世界攝影獎、藝術攝影獎等。不少國際媒體，如 CNN、BBC、《衛報》等皆曾刊載其照片，國家地理雜誌更以其作品作為 2019 年 4 月號的封面。他不但在香港和歐亞等地展出作品，更於內地和歐洲拍賣作慈善用途。為表揚其藝術成就，他於 2017 年獲選為「Perspective 亞太區 40 位年輕藝術家」之一。

    他剛在「海港城 ‧ 美術館」完成了個人攝影展「一方水土」，拍攝西藏內陸以至東南部沿海漁村的地理和人文面貌。
     

  • William Fong 方圓明 (PCLL 2008)
    Curator, Founder of Boundless Artists Collective and Pottinger 22

    方圓明創辦 Boundless Artists Collective，致力與藝術家共同探索其藝術及商業潛能，鏈接商業機構跨界合作，以推廣藝術家。他亦成立了藝術空間 Pottinger 22，除了展出藝術品，更著重為文化、藝術工作者提供平台，促進文化、藝術及商業品牌的交流。William 亦是一名律師，現時擔任香港畫廊協會的法律顧問及行政秘書。
     

  • Stephanie Ho 何謹言 (BA 2019)
    Curator

    剛畢業的 Stephanie，大學時曾協助港大通識籌劃Refugee Art Movement，及於 Bonhams HK、香港大學美術博物館實習。畢業後加入 SHOP Taka Ishii Gallery，亦於工餘時間與年輕藝術家、作家及音樂人合作。

    最近 Stephanie 與年輕校友攝影師范家朗合作，為其香港國際攝影節衛星展覽「人像日記：十八港孩」負責策展。

 
Fireside Wednesday 星期三開爐 new online series for the HKU Family – alumni, students, staff and friends – for partnership, passion and paths. The 10 episodes will cover tourism, retail, culture, social, NGOs, freelancing (slash), education, technology… Resources and support available to students and fresh graduates at HKU iDendron. Tell us if you want to suggest themes and speakers for future episodes. Share and stay tuned!

 

Revisit –

Episode Four: Sports & Innovation (Apr 8)
第四集 – 運動急變速
[ 譚志源 • 方力申 • 江嘉惠 • 楊文蔚 ]

Episode Three: COVID Cadenza (Apr 1)
[ Prof Daniel Chua • Cy Leo • Serrini • Daniel Lei ]

Episode Two: Retail – Partners & Opportunities (Mar 25)
第二集 – Shopping 變陣
[ 羅永聰 • 陳子堅 • Terence Hon ]

Episode One: Culture, Tourism & Innovation (Mar 18)
第一集 – 旅遊變法
[ 陳志雲 • 陳智遠 • Rubio Chan • Jamie Cheung • Gurpreet Singh ]