From the moment one steps through the entrance of the new Ronald McDonald House in Kwun Tong, every visitor will be greeted by the vibrant art pieces that are carefully crafted to inspire a sense of hope and healing.
The “Gift of Love” project is aimed at engaging different parties to create art pieces that breathe life into every corner of the House. We are glad to invite Dr. Lisa Lam, Director, Centre for Innovative Service-Learning and Mr. Tom O’Dea, Assistant Professor, Programme Director of BA (Hons) in Visual Art, Academy of Visual Arts (AVA), Schools of Creative Arts of Hong Kong Baptist University, to share with us the experience on leading a team of talented and budding artists who have created two vibrant murals adorning the House.
How did this collaboration of the “Gift of Love” project come about?
Dr. Lisa Lam: This collaboration was born over a meaningful conversation between Ms. Grace Fung Oei, the Chairperson of RMHC Hong Kong and Dr. Eva Wong, the Consultant of HKBU, to decorate the new Kwun Tong House with art pieces to brighten the days of the ill children and their families. Dr. Wong then brought this “seed of love” to me where the idea found fertile ground.
With the full support of Dr. Albert Chau, Vice-President (Teaching and Learning) and Acting Dean of Arts, and under the guidance of Mr. Tom O’Dea, two talented student-artists were handpicked to turn mere walls into canvases of hope and endearment. It was truly a joy to see how art, creativity and the talent of our students all weaved into this “Gift of Love” project.
What do you think about the service of RMHC Hong Kong?
Dr. Lisa Lam: RMHC Hong Kong meets critical needs faced by children experiencing illness in Hong Kong by enabling families to live together and offering services and resources during challenging times. The newly built Kwun Tong House is a beautiful, uplifting, and safe haven for these children to rest amidst a busy and dense city. It has been designed comprehensively to meet holistic developmental needs and bring communities together. We are grateful for the opportunities that our institution and students can contribute their skills and creativity to better the lives of families in need.
How did the students being selected to take part in the project? What were the criteria or rationale behind it?
Mr. Tom O’Dea: Following a visit to the first Ronald McDonald House in Shatin, I was particularly impressed by the restful and upbeat feeling there and the positive and loving outlook of RMHC Hong Kong’s leadership, support staff and volunteers. It struck me as a very special place for seriously ill children and their families at the most challenging of times and The Love Companions who return to support new families after being previous guests in the House themselves were especially inspirational.
Chairperson Ms. Grace Fung Oei shared her aspirations that the new House, then under construction in Kwun Tong, retains some of the charm and sense of community of the Shatin House despite being much larger. We considered that inviting our talented and caring students to share their gift of love to the children and families in the form of wall art might go some way toward adding some elements of joy and comfort.
We issued a call out to our students for donations of artwork. We were hearted by our student body’s generous community spirit and impressed by the quality of the responses. When we reviewed the submissions from the Academy of Visual Arts (AVA) student body, we quickly recognized that instead of the anticipated collage of multiple artworks, the submissions by Yeung Tsin Tsin and Fung Wing Hung, Rain stood out as being ideal as individual and coherent wall art pieces.
Please tell us about the two artworks. What are the essential must-have elements to be included and why?
Mr. Tom O’Dea: Each artwork has a coherent sense of space and operates in a self-contained way that complements the comfortable, homey and carefully designed interior of the House. Each work offers a joyfully warm imaginary space that has a sense of childlike innocence while being quite aesthetically mature in its way.
Rain’s work ‘Future Land’ developed from digital drawings offers a dreamy fantasy space that the viewer can enjoy being momentarily absorbed into. Tsin Tsin’s ‘Tin Tin Music Band’ is an immersive and raucous artwork featuring a cast of characters developed by the artist over many years that was scanned from an oil painting, making for a very interesting visual texture when scaled up to wall size.
What were the experiences you wanted the students to have through participating in this project?
Mr. Tom O’Dea: As a service-learning project, the priority was for the students to strike a balance between aesthetic and artistic judgement while meaningfully engaging with and serving the community of Kwun Tong House. As the scope of each artist’s involvement became more substantial, the project offered a meaningful professional experience that saw each student apply their interdisciplinary skills developed at AVA by also serving as project designers in adjusting and formatting the wall art pieces in response to feedback from RMHC Hong Kong and to working with the architects and design teams to match the specifications required for high-quality printing tolerances.
After their hard work, it was rewarding to visit KT House during the final construction touches for Rain and Tsin Tsin to oversee the installation of their artworks. They were especially impressed with the quality of paper chosen by the architects and the printing quality that helped make their works resonate. During the return visit after the first group of families had moved in, they were very much moved by the amazing work done by RMHC Hong Kong for the families making their homes there during difficult times and glad of the small difference their work was making.
How do you think the artwork could help our children and families?
Mr. Tom O’Dea: The goal of the project is to help make Kwun Tong House a little more fun for the amazing children and their families. The hope is that the works and the worlds they create can provide a little spark of joy and wonder during difficult times. The Kwun Tong House is a credit to all involved; AVA looks forward to facilitating further volunteering efforts from our community-focused students in the future.
Photo captions:
- Tsin Tsin’s ‘Tin Tin Music Band’ located on 7/F of Kwun Tong House
- Tsin Tsin’s ‘Tin Tin Music Band’ located on 7/F of Kwun Tong House
- A group photograph of the representatives from RMHC Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University
- Rain’s ‘Future Land’ located on 13/F of Kwun Tong House
- Rain’s ‘Future Land’ located on 13/F of Kwun Tong House
