In June 2024, a selection of UWE SoA students participated in the 2024 SHAPE Exchange programme with the Hong Kong Design Institute. Fourteen students from UWE, including those from the BA(Hons) Graphic Design, Illustration, and Fine Arts departments, along with students from HKDI (Hong Kong Design Institute), took part in this programme. The entire programme also included students and lecturers from Computer Science, Architecture, and The Built Environment.
The first phase of the programme involved a group of 22 students from HKDI visiting Bristol and engaging in a series of academic activities in May. We then traveled to Hong Kong on a study trip with a total of 51 participants. During our stay, we organised a series of didactic activities and field trips, visiting local museums and cultural centres such as M+, PMQ, K11, HDKI, Kim Hung Design Studio, MoA, and JCCAC.
These were valuable opportunities for the students to reflect on cultural differences and similarities between the two countries.
Our students collaborated with the Hong Kong students in a friendly and inclusive manner, the level of engagement and generosity was remarkable. We want to thank lecturers Sandra Wong, Vincent Lee, Wayne Lloyd, and Patrick O’Flynn for their hard work in making this possible.
Marco Ugolini and Marta Celio, the accompanying lecturers from the School of Arts, collected a selection of photographs and reflections from the visiting group and curated them on this website: typenowhere.com/hk2024. The results include a series of artworks, field trips, photography, fun moments, and reflections on visual culture and art education.
