Continuing Education

Collage works by Lai Sio Kit and students exhibited at IFT

中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

A total of 30 collage artworks created by local artist Mr. Lai Sio Kit and his IFT students, are now on display at the Team Building on IFT’s Mong-Há Campus. The exhibition, titled “Mixing This Matching That: Exhibition of Collage Art by Lai Sio Kit and his students”, runs until June 2.

In a bid to support the development of local cultural and creative industries, the IFT Tourism and Hotel School started in 2015 the “Macao Contemporary Artists Series”, an initiative whereby reputed local artists are invited to deliver art classes – including at introductory level – for local people. The current exhibition features works of students that have taken part in any of the past 7 editions of the “Creative Collage with Watercolour” introductory course taught by Mr. Lai. The course is part of the Macao Contemporary Artists Series.

During the exhibition’s opening ceremony on 7 March, IFT President Dr. Fanny Vong noted that IFT has organised numerous arts, cultural and creative courses in recent years, to help nurture new talent in Macao. “As IFT is a member of the [Macao Government-appointed] Committee of Cultural Industries, the Institute has a responsibility to facilitate the healthy development of these industries,” she said.

According to Mr. Lai — who is a member of the China Artists Association, Vice Director of the Macau Artist Society, and a Council Director of Art for All Society — collage is a more informal medium than painting, making it an easier starting point for newcomers to arts disciplines.

“Students might be lacking in basic skills and techniques regarding traditional art practices, so when I first planned this course I thought of focusing on collage, which can be easier for students to pick up,” says the artist.

Mr Lai is acclaimed for his oil and watercolour paintings, and his works have been showcased in a variety of places, including Mainland China, the Hong Kong SAR, the Macao SAR, Chinese Taiwan, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Portugal and the United States. His body of work has been highlighted in 16 solo exhibitions.

In the IFT Creative Collage with Watercolour courses, students can experiment with techniques used respectively in collage and in painting. Collages are traditionally works combining images cut from magazines and other printed materials, but the paper materials used in Mr. Lai’s collage classes are coloured by the students themselves, so introducing them also to painting.

“Through this course, I hope more people can be involved in the arts,” Mr. Lai says.

Ms. Doris Ieong, an administrative office worker who attended Mr. Lai’s classes in 2018, had her work featured in the exhibition. “I took this course because it was taught by Lai Sio Kit, who is a respected artist in Macao,” she says.

Ms. Ieong is now interested in further developing her skills in the field of collage. “Should IFT decide to organise collage art courses for intermediate or more advanced levels, I would definitely take them,” she says.

Ms. Heidi Ng also had her artwork featured in the exhibition. Ms. Ng, who is working in brand design and describes herself as an artist, has learned oil painting from Mr. Lai for years. Her first experience of working with collage however was through Mr. Lai’s course at IFT.

“Collage is very different from painting as there are more – uncontrollable – variables, so you will definitely have surprises in your works,” she says.

President’s Corner

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