The Jockey Club ‘Handmade Wellbeing’ Youth Craft Education Programme is a 3-year initiative launched by CUHK Department of Fine Arts in collaboration with Design and Cultural Studies Workshop and The Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence Teachers’ Association. Sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the programme offers cross-disciplinary learning for secondary students through craft-making to foster creativity through cultural perspectives. Ceramics and Woodwork are explored within the contexts of Culture, Craftsmanship, Creativity and Entrepreneurship.
During the 3-year ‘Handmade Wellbeing’ programme, students were taught the culture of craft through tailored teaching materials and had a chance to put it into practise by forging everyday wares with their very own hands. They then applied their know-how in culture and craft to create fitting works of craft for specific target users, before testing their entrepreneurial wit at the fair with custom-designed handmade craft. The process was satisfying and helped promote social inclusion and bring smiles to people’s faces.
Core Vision:
Culture
Cultural identity and global perspectives
Craftsmanship
Craftsmanship and self-realisation
Creativity
Creative thinking and problem-solving
Entrepreneurship
Creative economy and entrepreneurial spirit
The Programme is underpinned by the 4 interconnected elements of Culture, Craftsmanship, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. Students were offered a glimpse of the history and cultural inheritance associated with woodwork and ceramics in China and other parts of the world, and learned techniques of craft-making. They then creatively conceived works of craft that can be used in everyday settings before promoting the products as a business, one that carries a human touch.
Craft education is a social practice. The 4 core elements of the programme echoed key parts of the senior secondary curriculum, and could be realised in everyday life. In the history of time, everyday wares used by different people have always embodied outstanding craftsmanship and mirror the socio-economic achievements of an era. Contemporary design aesthetics and marketing within the cultural and creative industries now form an integral part of craft education – an endeavour that imbues commercial value to traditional craft, while influencing common perceptions on culture and aesthetics.
Principal Organiser:
CUHK Department of Fine Arts
The CUHK Department of Fine Arts is the Principal Organiser of the ‘Handmade Wellbeing’ programme. Established in 1957 at the former New Asia College, the Department focuses on both studio art and art history, and aims to explore contemporary art while promoting traditional Chinese culture. The programme marries the cultural and historical aspects of traditional crafts with contemporary art practice, which bodes well with the philosophy of the Fine Arts Department. The professors in the Fine Arts Department have great knowledge of art education in secondary schools which facilitates the develpoment of the ‘Handmade Wellbeing’ programme.
Members of the ‘Handmade Wellbeing’ Programme :
Director of Jockey Club ‘Handmade Wellbeing’ Youth Craft Education Programme
Ho Siu Kee
Associate Professor, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK
