As well as a lack of teaching talent, senior secondary reforms threaten to bump subject off agenda, says critic
Visual arts are in danger of being sidelined by the planned senior secondary curriculum, says a leading art critic.
Oscar Ho Hing-kay, chairman of the Hong Kong chapter of the International Art Critics Association, doubted many students would opt for visual arts from two or three electives under the reforms.
He also questioned the abilities of teachers. 'Many are not equipped to teach visual arts. There will be a painful transition period when the new curriculum is brought in, and a great need to provide support for those teaching it. But I am worried whether parents would want their children to study it,' said Mr Ho, who is also a lecturer at Chinese University and academic adviser for the Arts Centre's Art School.
He stressed visual arts training was part of a holistic education. Rather than just the acquisition of certain skill, it developed an understanding of cultural values.
'A contextual study of visual arts would enable students to develop a crucial survival skill of being able to understand more about their society and the implications of various visual images which are becoming more and more powerful in today's society,' he said.
He cited the display of Pablo Picasso's three-storey theatre curtain Parade at the Two IFC Atrium in Central as an example of art diplomacy by the French government.