Embracing arts on the way to knowledge

Books are the ladder of human progress. —— Maxim Gorky

This reflects in the design concept of our library.

As a two-storey open library, the space for bookshelves and seats is purposely designed to encourage exploration for knowledge in books with an open mind. The wooden staircases on both sides of the library provide convenient access to different floors and also function as bookshelves and seating area, maximising the use of staircase structure. The library is close to the art classrooms, where a lot of art students will pass by every day. This led to a cross-over initiative between the two departments.

Plaster carving, 3D modeling and textile workshop are the three co-curricular activities conducted by the Art department for this term. Students can experience a wider variety of skills and techniques, develop creative thinking and a larger scope of talents and body of work (portfolio) that will all later feed into university application. The textile workshop has successfully attracted the attention of our librarian.

Instead of using knitting needles, students used their hands or arms to make cushions in different shapes and patterns. The cushions will be used to decorate the staircases on both sides of the library, creating a comfortable and artistic seating space for the whole community.

Supervisor of the textile workshop, Ms Yu introduced, “It is an incredibly fun process, as the students will have not only a cushion but maybe a handbag, a box or a lampshade as an end product when leveraging their creativity and skills. They will discover that there’s no right or wrong in arts, and learn to be an adventurer in arts with the positive attitude for both success and failure. Only through continuous adventure and exploration can one see more possibilities.”

In fact, it is one of the campus decoration projects that art students have been participating in since Dulwich Zhuhai moved to the new campus. The Art department is dedicated in motivating the ownership in students by encouraging them to decorate their own campus in a creative and artistic way，in class or in co-curricular activities. “We love to see students think outside of the box, be bold in taking risks, and having fun experimenting with new ways of visual depiction and design. It is nice to see them keep exploring the age-old question of ‘what is Art’ ”, said Ms Van Buul, Head of Arts in Dulwich Zhuhai.