FOREWORD

The city and the rural are interdependent, the pace of development between them is different and gradually the communication in between becomes deficient and alienated. Rachel Cheung, the curator of “On Earth” Ceramics Festival, employs ceramics as the main medium and invites artists to encounter with the nature, to create artworks that share their ideas and expectation toward the city and the rural, in order to foster the importance of balance and coexistence between “city and rural” and “nature and modernization”.

Ceramic art and education are becoming more and more popular in Hong Kong. It may be a good timing now to present this event as a ceramics festival so as to reflect the current situation of the diversified development of ceramic art. In this festival, artists are invited to explore the “people”, “land”, “resources” and “urban-rural” in nowadays’ Hong Kong from a multi-angle perspective. It also hopes to promote the concept of rural sustainability and urban-rural coexistence through art to linkage different communities. This festival is a good opportunity to unite the ceramic practitioners in Hong Kong and to positioning and stimulate the development of contemporary ceramic art.

“On Earth” Ceramics Festival is the themed exhibition of JCCAC’s annual art festival, which is copresented by Unit Gallery and JCCAC, and curated by Rachel Cheung, the founder of the Unit Gallery. Under the Festival, there are three exhibitions: On Earth Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition, Exhibition of Lai Chi Wo Art Project, and Artists’ Studio Open cum Exhibition. There are also fringe activities: art talks, art demonstrations, workshop and exhibition guided tours.

Heartfelt thanks to the JCCAC, the Policy for Sustainability Lab of the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong (the “Co-creation of the Community” Scheme under the “HSBC Rural Sustainability” Programme) and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council for their generous supports.

This e-book is supported by The Policy for Sustainability Lab of the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong (the “Co-creation of the Community” Scheme under the “HSBC Rural Sustainability” Programme).