Hong Kong Art School Shau Kei Wan Campus Naming Ceremony

28 March 2011 | Hong Kong – Promoting art education has always been a major mission of the Hong Kong Arts Centre throughout the years. In 2000, the Hong Kong Art School was officially established as a division of the Arts Centre to spearhead development in this important aspect. Over the past ten years, the School has successfully developed as an accredited art institution providing a comprehensive range of well-recognised academic programmes. 
  
In recognition of its achievements and proven capability, the School successfully acquired a campus in Shau Kei Wan through the Education Bureau’s Land Grant / Vacant School Premises Scheme in April 2009. Being an independent and self-funded art organisation in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Arts Centre has been calling for donations from its friends in the community to support the long-term development of the School, as well as its extensive art promotion and art education programmes. 
  
A fund-raising campaign was run by the Arts Centre following the completion of the initial renovation work of the campus, and has been receiving very encouraging responses from various donors, namely,  B.S.C. Group Limited, Hopewell Holdings Limited, Intex Corp., Newstimes Group, Sa Sa International Holdings Limited, Tung Chun Soy Sauce Co., Ltd. & Group of Companies and Y.K. Pao Foundation. 
  
In connection with this, a Naming Ceremony of the campus was organised this evening (March 28) to honour the generous contribution from respective donors. The campus has been named as Pao Haung Sue Ing Campus with the other facilities of the campus named as the Hopewell Design Studio, Intex Terrace, Newtimes Terrace, Roca Multimedia Lab, Sa Sa Rooftop Studio and Tung Chun Arcade.   

The Arts Centre was honoured to have Mr. Michael Suen, GBS, JP, Secretary for Education of the Education Bureau; The Honourable Ronald Arculli, GBM, GBS, JP, Chairman of Development Committee, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority; Mrs. Lisa Tang, Honorary Patron of The FRIENDS of the Hong Kong Arts Centre; Mrs. Cissy Pao Watari, BBS, Chairman of the Board of Governors, the Hong Kong Arts Centre and Mr. Sebastian Law, Chairman of the Hong Kong Art School Council to officiate at the Naming Ceremony. 
  
In his Opening Remarks, Mr. Arculli expressed his appreciation for the Art Centre’s unwavering endeavours in promoting contemporary arts and in providing arts education for the whole community throughout the years. “I want to congratulate all members of the Board and committees and everyone at the Arts Centre for their excellent work and genuine passion that have brought forth such an achievement as a self-funding organisation with stringent resources,” he said. 
  
Mrs. Cissy Pao Watari, BBS, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Hong Kong Arts Centre said, “Art education has always been a key aspect that the Hong Kong Arts Centre places heavy emphasis on. The Centre established the Education Department to promote art education in the community in 1984, and set up the Hong Kong Art School in 2000. In 2009, the Government granted the School this Shau Kei Wan premises which is the third campus of the School. The acquisition of this campus not only signifies the Government’s recognition of our achievement, but also reaffirms our dedication in contributing to society through arts education. The self-financing mode of operation has brought many challenges to the School, yet its slim administrative structure, a team of most professional and dedicated management and staff, and the unwavering support of the Hong Kong Arts Centre have made the School versatile and swift in responding to the changing needs of society, enhancing the long term development of arts education, and encouraging support from individuals and corporate entities.”

Being the only local art institution that offers major studies, the School emphasises small-class and studio-based teaching practice which enables it to maintain an intimate and unique approach for practical art training. “‘Small is beautiful’ could be one of the best ways to describe the School and its development direction. However, if we look at the impressive figures – over 2,000 graduates from award-bearing programmes and around 25,000 students enrolled into its short courses over the past ten years, we will understand that “small” not only means beautiful, but also implies the dedicated effort and commitment which have helped shape the cultural landscape of Hong Kong,” said Mr. Sebastian Law, Chairman of the Hong Kong Art School Council.

The campus now serves as the teaching base of the School’s applied art and media art programmes and houses the majority of its Higher Diploma students. Located in the heart of the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island, the campus is well-suited to foster the connection with the local community, encouraging the students to obtain comprehensive learning experience through active participation in community-based projects, and to become caring contributors to society. 
 
Having just celebrated its 10th Anniversary and striding into its 11st year of development, the School will further refine its award-bearing curriculum in the four core academic areas, namely, Fine Art, Applied Art, Media Art and Drama Education, which cover academic levels ranging from Foundation Diploma, Higher Diploma, Bachelor Degree to Master Degree, as well as the short courses and the outreach projects that run parallel to the award-bearing curriculum. 

Annie Ho
Director, Marketing and Development
Hong Kong Arts Centre 
Tel：2824 5306 / 9481 8706 
Email：aho@hkac.org.hk

Patricia Chan
Manager, Communication and Development
Hong Kong Arts School 
Tel: 2824 5369 / 63803681 
Email: patchan@hkac.org.hk