CityU hosts IT in Visual Arts Competition
Scarlett Leung
The aim of the competition was to provide opportunities for students to gain exposure to information technology in arts education, arousing their interest in this field and equipping them for upcoming career challenges in an ever-evolving society.
Using design software, contestants from 72 schools are required to create and submit an artwork based on a designated theme within a set time. They participate in categories such as personal portrait, daily-life objects, graphics and animation. This is the largest competition of its kind in Hong Kong.
The opening ceremony was held on 8 March in the Multi-Purpose Rooms at CityU. Officiating guests included Mr She Mang, Chief Curriculum Development Officer (Information Technology in Education) of the Education Bureau, Mr Jonathan Shea, CEO of HKIRC, and Professor Horace Ip Ho-shing, Chair Professor of the Department of Computer Science and Director of AIMtech Centre at CityU.
“This competition provides a timely platform for our students to take up these challenges and, through that process, help them acquire the 21st Century skills applicable to IT in art,” said Professor Ip.
“CityU is devoted to promoting the amalgamation of IT and art in order to develop innovative applied research and to cultivate a new generation of creative media professionals. Through this competition, we hope to inspire secondary and primary school students to pursue the possibilities presented by the collusion of art and IT,” Professor Ip added.
Information technology is likely to become a key to success in every sector of society, Mr She said. “It is essential to nurture talent with information technology knowledge. We are delighted to observe the progress made over the past decade. The Education Bureau has been dedicating resources to this area and we see this competition as a milestone as well as a reward for our hard work,” he said.
Besides serving as competition judges, CityU provides the venue and equipment for the contestants to prepare their works.
A judging panel was formed by representatives of universities and art organisations to select the champion individual and school entry. Dr Ken Law Chee-keung, Associate Professor, Dr Andy Chun Hon-wai, Associate Professor and
Dr Raymond Wong Hau-san of Department of Computer Science, Dr Wong Kam-wah, Assistant Professor and Ms Koala Yip Choi-fung, Instructor of School of Creative Media, were members of the judging panel. The results will be announced at an award presentation ceremony to be held on the morning of 12 April 2008, in Tsuen Wan City Hall. An exhibition to be held on 26 April in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum will showcase selected artworks.
In a bid to further encourage students to make use of the internet to share their completed artwork with others and establish an online presence, each student will be eligible to receive a free ‘.hk’ domain name, website and storage space in the form of an online portfolio for one year.