Beyond the Arts Fellowship

Beyond the Arts Fellowship: Mixing Mediums & Bridging Disciplines in Hong Kong

For many artists and administrators who arrive in New Haven, their fellowship serves as a springboard for deeper artistic endeavors, broader career enhancements, and a bevy of opportunities allowing them to create art that transcends borders and cultures. The Yale-China Arts Fellowship is a rare opportunity for open collaboration with other artists and partners across Yale and New Haven, as they experiment with new art, new concepts, and new research to which they otherwise would not be able to have time, space, and resources to dedicate. Over the years, the Arts Fellows have shared their explorations publicly through the International

Festival of Arts & Ideas and other partners, exposing global audiences in the

Americas, Europe, and Asia to their work.

Despite the onset of a global pandemic, three Yale-China Arts Fellows successfully re-immersed themselves in Hong Kong, each building upon their experience in the U.S. and working across disciplines to expose universal truths, engage the senses, and educate the public through art.

“When we exchange art and ideas, we open our minds and expand our horizons,” says 2020 Yale-China Artist Fellow

Hong Zeng, an academic, curator, artist, and current research associate professor at Lingnan University.

Academic, Curator, and Artist Hong Zeng, 2020 Yale-China Artist Fellow Yale-China’s values of interconnectedness and shared experiences that transcend borders and cultures is evident in the work of academic, curator, and artist Hong Zeng. Currently serving on the faculty in the Department of Visual Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, Zeng continues to explore visual culture and creative industries in Hong Kong and China, with a focus on contemporary art and film. Using multimedia art, she interweaves political, societal, and ecological themes into her thoughtprovoking pieces—for example, she recently curated a virtual exhibit titled

My Trajectory, which followed the pathways of migrant women and the objects they carried with them.

“Stories about immigrants have always inspired me on how flexible we can push ourselves to be,” says Zeng. “Even though we are in a world that has been through intense globalization, leaving one’s homeland

to another place means we give up what is familiar, and we expose ourselves to the discomfort of the unknown–from new languages and new food to new ways of living.” As a feminist scholar and cultural worker, Zeng noticed that women’s voices are lacking in mainstream immigrant stories. She was particularly interested in exploring themes of intersectionality and finding common ground in the experiences of women who had experienced forced migration and those relocating for better opportunities. No matter where they were from or where they relocated, all experienced loss, perseverance, and hope. “Today’s political climate is intense, but these themes of humanity are universal. We can come together through everyday life experiences—from the different foods in the grocery store to the different ways we practice our lifestyles. There is not just one way of eating, dressing, and being,” says Zeng. This intersection of geopolitics, sociology, feminism, and art continues to serve as the cornerstone in her work in Hong Kong, and she credits her Yale-China fellowship with allowing her to experience much of what her subject matters have lived. “My fellowship had a huge impact,” Zeng remarks. “I work in a competitive profession, and I would not be here had it not been for Yale-China. Personally, it was an experience into the unknown. It was a unique period where I had both time and resources to create projects, and I grabbed the opportunity!” Cross-Disciplinary Artist Wong Chi-yung, 2020 HKETO-NY Arts Activator Merging mindfulness and multimedia art, the latest sensory installation artwork by cross-disciplinary artist Wong Chi-yung offers visitors a space where they can use sight, sound, and touch to experience contemplation and introspection. This is Solis Occasus, Wong’s latest exploration of contemplative spaces within the science of mindfulness presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) in Hong Kong. Named after the setting sun, Solis Occasus features a semicircular, illuminated sculpture made from dry twigs inside a crescent-shaped metallic structure. With minuscule pieces of cork lining the floor and soothing music playing, the installation turns into a screen where dark silhouettes of fish, ducks, dogs, and elephants flit across, encouraging viewers to take in the environment and let go. “Both the setting sun and (the act of) letting go keep changing at every moment, making them difficult to capture,” says Wong. “A brief moment, however, may stay in people’s hearts and inspire them with meaning.” Wong has explored the relationship between mindfulness and the arts for many years, including during his Yale-China fellowship. While in New Haven, he developed workshops focused on the intersection of mental health and art with students, researchers, and professors. “For me, the best way to understand the world is to reflect and then to create art,” he adds. “Artwork is a bridge to connect with others.”

Incoming 2023 Yale-China Artist Fellow

Kit Hung is a filmmaker and plans to produce and direct a short film during his fellowship in New Haven.

Impact By the Numbers

arts

16 Arts Fellows in New Haven

Since 2014, Yale-China has hosted Arts Fellows, supported by The Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office of New York and the Council on East Asian Studies at Yale.

Yale-China Arts Fellows span the contemporary arts, including sculptors, multimedia artists, arts managers, dancers, film makers, theater producers, curators, sound artists, and even a Chinese opera ethnomusicologist. Former Artist and Arts Activator Fellows have gone on to show their work in international arenas, reaching audiences far beyond New Haven and Hong Kong and extending into mainland China, Europe, and other U.S. locations.