The Visual Arts subject focuses on nurturing students' creativity. It’s often said that "art comes from life," and much of that life is found in our everyday communities, with inspiration often stemming from the ordinary things around us. What happens when art education steps out of the classroom and into the community? In recent years, Lok Sin Tong Wong Chung Ming Secondary School has launched a community-based art education program, aiming to bring community themes into art instruction. By collaborating with local artists and the community, they create experiential learning opportunities that enrich students' artistic skills and help them personally connect with the relationship between art and life.
What Does Art Education Teach?
Since 2020, the School has developed a unique "Artist-in-Residence Program x Community Art Experience," which extends from a humanistic perspective to community engagement. The program aims to bring art education to life through everyday experiences. It was created in response to the pandemic, when many teaching activities moved online, leading to a lack of face-to-face interaction that made students more passive and withdrawn in their learning. According to Ms. Leung Man-ting, head of the Visual Arts Department, "Art is a great medium to encourage students to step out of their comfort zones. Engaging in community art projects with artists helps them become more aware of local issues, interact with different people, and reflect on the cultural values of their community, as well as the connection between art and life." The school believes that while the skills and knowledge gained from art education are crucial, they also hope to broaden students' perspectives and instill positive values through diverse artistic learning experiences.
Connecting Life Through Community Art Teaching
What started as participation in short-term activities organized by various art groups has evolved into a comprehensive artist-in-residence curriculum. The teaching consistently emphasizes the connections between art, community, life, and human relationships. The "Artist-in-Residence Program" invites artists from various disciplines, such as graphic design, watercolor painting, community photography, and paper recycling, to serve as mentors. Through interactions and observations with these artists, students enhance their artistic talents and gain exposure to professional practices, broadening their horizons.
(Artist-in-residence Tsang Tak-ping teaches students watercolor painting.)
Classes aren’t limited to traditional classrooms. To integrate art into everyday experiences, teaching activities extend into the community, expanding the learning space. For example, some lessons take place in artists' studios, and students are encouraged to explore community streets, observing elements like signage, plants, shop fronts, and local facilities.
(Students walk into the area of Kowloon City that is about to be redeveloped, allowing them to observe and document various aspects of the community.)
Creating a Unique Artistic Community Atmosphere
The curriculum incorporates interdisciplinary elements, enriching the content. The school has established a Liberal Arts Technology program that combines visual arts, information technology, design technology, and humanities into a cohesive junior secondary curriculum. Ms. Leung highlighted that through this interdisciplinary collaboration, students learn in layers: they identify problems in their daily lives, engage in problem-solving, and ultimately expand their focus to address community issues.
By partnering with external organizations, the school has designed various visual arts courses. This academic year, the "Community Art Map" project encourages students to explore their local community from unique perspectives. They will create community art maps based on themes like trees, insects, daily commutes, and local infrastructure. Teachers guide them in artistic techniques and observational skills, while artists lead workshops on hand-drawing and writing about the community. Through engaging and enjoyable experiential learning, students integrate community and art into their education.
(Students observe the trees along the Kai Tak River in the community, using their imagination to create artistic maps and written texts that document and connect the art exchanges between the school and the community.)
Creating a Unique Artistic Community Atmosphere
Embracing the principle of "taking from society and giving back," the art education at Wong Chung Ming Secondary School draws inspiration from community elements while emphasizing the importance of giving back. The school features a dedicated exhibition hall that provides a permanent space to showcase student achievements. Ms. Leung noted that since the launch of this art education program, the school has held an annual open art exhibition to showcase student work to the community. The exhibition includes seminars discussing the evolution of art and offers workshops led by students, allowing them to apply what they've learned and give back to the community.
(Through sharing and appreciating artworks, connections are made between art, the community, and interpersonal interactions.)
By showcasing various aspects of art education, expanding community-based art education diversifies teaching methods and helps students discover the beauty of their community while documenting their connections to it. For more insights into educators' teaching experiences, you can revisit videos on Go eLearning to learn about diverse teaching approaches.