Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) is presenting the annual HKMU Creative Arts Graduation Show from today until 23 July on its Jockey Club Campus. This year's Graduation Show, themed “Imagination is Your Playground”, displays 112 works of over 290 graduates of the HKMU Creative Arts programmes. Through the creative artworks, which are in a variety of formats, including animations, short videos, interactive installations, photography works, advertising campaigns and creative writing, the students express their reflection on themselves and society and showcase their creativity and talent.

The opening ceremony was held today (14 July). The officiating guests included film producer Gordon Lam Ka-tung, independent creator Felix Ip Wai-ching, HKMU Council Chairman Ir Dr Conrad Wong Tin-cheung, President Prof. Paul Lam Kwan-sing, Provost Prof. Reggie Kwan Ching-ping, School of Arts and Social Sciences (A&SS) Dean Prof. Charles Kwong Che-leung, Creative Arts Department Head Dr Rebecca Leung Mo-ling, Graduation Show's Organising Committee Chairman Dr Angela Law Tsin-fung, and the Student Organising Committee Chairman Natalie Ng Wing-yee.

Addressing the ceremony, Natalie Ng Wing-yee, the Graduation Show's Student Organising Committee Chairman, introduced the theme of this year's Show. “The theme 'daydreaming' represents the imagination and hopes of the students,” she explained. “Illustrating the students' dreams, the artworks, in the forms of words, images, sound and touch, are the fruit of the students' exploration of their inner selves, their imagination of the world, and their vision of the future.” She said she was grateful to HKMU for providing a “playground” for the students to freely unleash their creativity.

In his speech, Gordon Lam Ka-tung encouraged the students to strive hard on their creative journey while sharing his own experience as an actor. “Dreams reflect our desire for a better future and are a source of happiness,” he said. “As long as you do not give up and work hard to pursue your dreams, I believe that they will eventually come true.” He also expressed his appreciation to HKMU for providing its students with a valuable “playground” for creation, and he said he looked forward to more exchanges with the students in the future.

The exhibited artworks were created by students from the five programmes in the Creative Arts Department of A&SS: “Creative Advertising and Media Design”, “Creative Writing and Film Arts”, “Animation and Visual Effects”, “Cinematic Design and Photographic Digital Art”, and “Computing and Interactive Entertainment”. The Graduation Show serves not only as a platform to showcase the students' learning outcomes, but also as a demonstration of the students' creativity and passion for art to the public and the creative sector.

The Graduation Show offers a glimpse into the students' perceptions of themselves and society through their projects, which integrate imagination and technology. Some of the projects are as follows:

• “Golden Sheep Road” [created by students in the BFA (Hons) in Animation and Visual Effects]: The animation is set in a futuristic animal city, which reveals the “law of the jungle” with a black sense of humour.
• “Gesture Racer” [created by students in the BA (Hons) in Computing and Interactive Entertainment]: This is a car racing game developed with mainly Mixed Reality Technology, which enables players to visualise images captured by the remote-controlled car in a headset device. Through hand tracking and gesture-recognition technologies, players can control the cars with intuitive gestures. A student on the project team applied in the project knowledge he had acquired during his internship in the HKMU School of Science and Technology, demonstrating the fruits of interdisciplinary learning.
• “Immersive Badminton Experience” [created by students in the BA (Hons) in Computing and Interactive Entertainment]: This is a badminton-themed virtual-reality sports experience system that allows users to participate in badminton matches in a virtual-reality environment and compete with computer opponents, providing a challenging and entertaining sports experience.

Admission to the Graduation Show is free. Members of the public are welcome to visit the Show. Details are as follows:

Date: 14 July to 23 July 2023
Opening hours: 10 am to 8 pm
Venue: Jockey Club Campus, 81 Chung Hau Street, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon
(Map: https://www.hkmu.edu.hk/fmo/campus-information/directions-to-campus/)
Event website: https://www.facebook.com/HKMU.CA.Gradshow/
Registration: https://bit.ly/3XMGBVQ