In 2019, Mr. Eddie NG Hak-kim, GBS, JP, the Former Secretary for Education, HKSAR, led more than 50 school supervisors and principals of early childhood education institutions to Foshan, China for early childhood education inspections and academic exchanges. Those local schools had integrated ceramic art education into school-based curricula, left a deep impression on our experts, and gave birth to the idea of promoting ceramic art education in Hong Kong’s early childhood sector.
The pandemic has brought a “new normal” to parenting in Hong Kong since its inception in 2020. With the class suspension in place, conflicts among parents and their children emerged. A group of like-minded early childhood education experts so decided to use ceramics art to help ease the tense parent-child relationship, and bring positive energy to Hong Kong families.
We have launched the “Young Children Pottery Promotion Campaign” in 2021, introducing the fun of pottery art by sending air-dry pottery clay kits, on-campus parent-child ceramic classes, and tutorial videos to over 70 kindergartens in Hong Kong and a reach of 15,000 families. The campaign has also introduced pottery art to kindergarten teachers, supported by a comprehensive training programme. Given the positive responses to the campaign, it has reflected the interest and needs of Hong Kong children’s families in art. In view of this, The Hong Kong Children’s Arts and Cultural Exchange Association (HKCACEA) was formally established, through organizing arts and cultural activities, committed to promoting the development of children’s art education in Hong Kong.
