What does Hong Kong’s growing art scene mean for the education sector? As collectors flock to Art Basel and M+ museum, students and aspiring creatives can look forward to more opportunities
- The city’s increasing interest in the arts should lead to the development of more academic programmes at City University, Hong Kong Design Institute, Baptist University and more
- Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) unfortunately closed its Hong Kong campus with a US$4 million deficit, but Hong Kong Art School offers a fine arts international partnership
The opening of new galleries and museums shows that Hong Kong’s art industry is growing more vibrant and international, presenting more opportunities, according to Stephen Thorpe, a former professor at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Hong Kong, which closed two years ago.
“Art Basel Hong Kong brings in international art, galleries and educational programmes and talks,” said Thorpe, who now teaches at SCAD Atlanta.
At the same time, “young students are immersed in a cultural world that is stimulating and vibrant”, said Xavier Pick, a professor of drawing and design at Arts University Bournemouth International in Hong Kong, who has been teaching here for nine years.
“There are many fantastic art and design colleges here in Hong Kong, such as City University, Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Design Institute and Baptist University,” Pick added.
Not all forays into art education have been successful. SCAD Hong Kong shut down in 2020 after about a decade of operation and with a US$4 million deficit.
Kaylin Dashkewytch, who studied 2D animation at SCAD Hong Kong, said the foundation courses she took there were informative and in-depth. Dashkewytch transferred to the school’s campus in Savannah, Georgia.
“We worked on talking about each other’s work and practised our public speaking when it came to art. That way we got lots of feedback from different perspectives on our artwork,” Dashkewytch said.
