Fresh Trend 2017 Art Graduates Joint Exhibition gathers the most outstanding art graduates from the three local art institutions. A total of 23 local graduates have been nominated by the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and Hong Kong Art School (HKAS) for this exhibition organised by Hong Kong Art Network and supported by Hong Kong Arts Development Council. The award winners were announced during the opening ceremony held on 27 October 2017. Three fresh graduates of the Academy of Visual Arts of HKBU won the Karin Weber Art Award and the Affordable Art Fair Art Award, two of the exhibition’s biggest awards, as well as the Fresh Trend Art Award. This is an enormous encouragement to AVA as this is the second consecutive year that AVA students have received two of the most prominent awards of the exhibition!
Lam Tsz-ching, who won the Affordable Art Fair Art Award, collected bras and took out the wires and fabric to weave a Cradle to represent the female form. She feels very thankful and honoured to receive this unexpected award. She wanted to deliver a message to all young artists—follow your heart and intuition despite external expectations, flattery or criticism, and hold onto the internally driven desire to create.
Tse Chun-sing, who received the Karin Weber Art Award, broke apart the instruments he did not succeed in playing and with his interest and knowledge in mechatronics he created his own sound-making device which he named The Music Instrument. He wanted to generate his own music through this device and express his regrets to his parents and deliver the voice from his heart. He thanked AVA for nominating him as well as the exhibition for providing him with an opportunity to display his works. This experience which facilitated communication with students from other institutions has encouraged him to carry on creating art.
Wang Yiyi, who received the Fresh Trend Art Award, put her stories into the objects that she sealed as a vacuumed product in her artwork Objects Obsession. They record and preserve the memories of a Beijing-born Hong Kong resident and show the relationship between the two cities. She said the award is a huge encouragement as her art has been questioned and criticised by others. This recognition proves the value of her effort and her art. She said she wanted to take this opportunity to tell AVA students to never doubt themselves.
For more information about the exhibition, please go to the exhibition website or the exhibition facebook page.