Dare to Dream with Kiki Cheng

Sheraton Hong Kong Presents: "Dare to Dream" Youth Portrait Exhibition just finished exhibiting at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and today begins its Sheraton Hotel exhibition run! Working alongside professional artists, 14 young people from The Hub Hong Kong Children and Youth Centre express their dreams through illustration, movement and photography! First up in our blog series we have Kiki Cheng, who helped to guide the young people to create beautiful illustrations.

Please introduce yourself!
I am Kiki Cheng, a Hong Kong based illustrator and designer. I typically infuse my works with simple stylish design elements, unique materials and neutral tones to create a more unique look. I like to daydream, and to observe people and things - these are my sources of inspiration. 

What can visitors expect at the exhibition? 
At the exhibition, the 13 participants' "Dare to Dream" portraits will allow visitors to feel the youngsters’ bold and honest pursuance of their dreams. Every doodle illustrates and represents their unlimited imagination. Combined with their lively portraits, visitors will feel how brave they are to aspire, which in turn asks us all to “Dare to Dream”!

When working with the young people...
This workshop gave me many unforgettable experiences. Most memorable was the sincerity and friendliness of the young people when they were working with us artists and the Sheraton volunteers. Thinking back to when the volunteers and I first met the group of participants, we had hoped to quickly create an atmosphere where they felt safe to share and express their own dreams. It turned out that this group of young people were super proactive and exceeded our expectations...it even ended up with them taking care of us! During breaks, they would even lead us hand in hand to the washrooms. It's no wonder that they "Dare to Dream"!

Any particularly memorable works?
I thought Justin Siu’s work was most memorable. He wants to become the world's best engineer. This is because he knows that Hong Kong's housing problem is seriously dire, one that creates much upset amongst the population. He hopes to one day build apartment blocks that are 100 floors tall, with apartments 1,000 square feet big, with a cost of only $500. I have already reserved one with him so that I can retire in it!

How do you go about guiding both adults (Sheraton volunteers) and children (The Hub participants)?
Surprisingly, for this workshop, the challenge wasn't in the comprehension of the theme or in drawing inspiration from the theme, but was actually in the illustration process. In order for the illustrations to be combined with the photo portraits, we focused a lot on pictograms/symbols, which strays from the usual illustrative concepts of composition and proportions. Symbols are more simple, easy to understand and lively. A group of symbols can be weaved together to tell a rich story.

However this type of symbol illustration was unfamiliar for both the children and the volunteers. When we first started, everyone's doodles were often too complicated or not clear. As such, I prepared a lot of teaching materials about pictograms and symbols, so that I could explain clearly to them, and so that they could grasp a better understanding to then create their own symbols that carried their own style. In addition, I used mindmapping and Q&As about dreams, to get them to think in more depth about their dreams in hope to bring them more inspiration.

What role do you think art should play in children's lives?
Art should be indispensable to a child's life. Art is how the imagination is expressed. Through art, young people can reveal their thoughts, learn to communicate with others and share. Through art, young people can cultivate curiosity - and isn’t curiosity the source of all knowledge? I've taught drawing for over four years, hoping to influence life through life, so that parents and children can understand how art can have a positive impact on themselves and those around them.

What is your dream?
From small to large my dream is to become an illustrator, painting can bring joy to others and resonance. Art is an important part of my life. I know she is a friend of the bridge, but also my express and understand their own Mirror. Now I was a beginning of the spear Lo illustrator, we will strive to create the future can bring you more joy of good works, in the way of this dream go further.