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HKBU establishes the School of Creative Arts to nurture future talent

13 Jun 2022

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(From left) Dr Glos Ho, Programme Director of the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Business Administration (Global Entertainment); Professor Jeffrey Shaw, Chair Professor of the Academy of Visual Arts; Professor Johnny Poon, Founding Dean of the School of Creative Arts; Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor; Mr Norman Chan, Acting Director of the Academy of Film; Dr Francis Yu, Acting Director of the Academy of Visual Arts; and Mr Kingsley Ng, Programme Director of the Bachelor of Arts and Science (Hons) in Arts and Technology.
Professor Alexander Wai shares the University’s vision for the School of Creative Arts.
Professor Johnny Poon introduces the education, research and professional endeavours of the School of Creative Arts.

 

HKBU will establish the School of Creative Arts (SCA) on 1 July with a revitalised vision to nurture the next generation of creative talent for Hong Kong, and contribute to the city’s development as a creative arts hub for China and the world.

Consisting of the Academy of Film, Academy of Music and Academy of Visual Arts, the SCA will be an ideal platform where the best art and artists can emerge and converge. It will enhance collaboration amongst the scholars from different disciplines, leading to an enriched student learning experience and more diversified and impactful research outputs in the creative arts and culture by leveraging the latest technologies.

Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor, says: “Recent advancements in digital technology have opened up new avenues in the world of arts. By capitalising on the new opportunities and the latest technological advancements, and with the synergies created by the establishment of the School of Creative Arts, the University will take the development of the creative arts to a higher level, and set new standards for future teaching and research.”

Professor Johnny ML Poon, Associate Vice-President (Interdisciplinary Research) and Dr Hung Hin Shiu Endowed Professor in Music, has been appointed as the School’s Founding Dean.

“The SCA is well poised to disrupt creative practice and art education in film, music and visual arts. Certain aspects of the world of arts – namely, its creative genealogy and methodology – require a radical rethink. A new framework of education and research is needed for artists to ‘think’ about futurity.

“The new school, rooted in HKBU’s liberal arts ethos and transdisciplinary inquiries, aims to interrogate the infinite acts of human creativity, reassess the different roles of the arts in our time, and create new artistic opportunities for the future,” says Professor Poon.

In addition to the existing programmes offered by the University in the disciplines of acting, film, music and visual arts, the SCA will also house two new transdisciplinary programmes, namely the Bachelor of Arts and Science (Hons) in Arts and Technology and the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Business Administration (Global Entertainment), which will be launched this September. These two uniquely designed programmes will nurture future-ready students who are well-versed not only in the arts and culture, but also in business and technology.

In terms of research and professional development, the SCA will facilitate broader collaboration with local and overseas universities, research institutions, government departments, professional bodies and industries.

Furthermore, the SCA’s capacity to fuel the development of the creative arts will be substantially strengthened when the Jockey Club Campus of Creativity, which will feature state-of-the-art facilities for a comprehensive range of creative arts disciplines, is completed in 2024.