Published: 12/05/2025
We are thrilled to share the incredible journey of our talented student, Kong Cheuk Wing, who has returned from an enriching student exchange programme at RMIT University in Australia! 
A photography major at Hong Kong Art School, Cheuk Wing embarked on this life-changing adventure to explore new horizons and deepen her artistic practice. Her time at RMIT University was filled with creativity, learning and unforgettable memories. Below, she recounts her inspiring experience in her own words.
“My gratitude towards the school for the exchange opportunity in Australia is immense. This experience not only introduced me to friends from around the world but also sparked inspiration from foreign teachers. It was truly an eye-opening journey that has significantly enriched my personal growth and learning.
While studying photography in Hong Kong, I chose printmaking in a workshop. Later, I became very interested in the subject and I wanted to learn more about related techniques. In Australia, I was fortunate enough to major in printmaking and explore this skill in depth. Australia’s teaching style is relatively more flexible than in Hong Kong. They are supportive of students’ ideas and in almost every class, you can communicate with the teacher about homework to ensure that everyone is on the same page with rules and progress.
This being my first time studying and living in Australia, it was a whole new experience that naturally piqued my interest in this unfamiliar country. I mentioned before that I majored in photography, so when I was in Australia, I travelled around with my camera and several rolls of black-and-white film almost every day because I wanted to record everything I could on film. There are two assignments in printmaking. I used the film I took as the main element for the first assignment, which contained 300 photos in total. I scanned the film, enlarged it, reversed the photos, and printed them on transparent film. After coating the paper with photosensitive material, the printed film is placed on the coating and exposed to the sun to to alter it…resulting in a colour photo. Finally,
I reordered all the photos by colour to create a new image.
With the most positive reinforcement from teachers and classmates, I recreated the photos into a handmade Dragon Book, which I learned in the “Book as Art Object” workshop during the semester. The print studio was lucky to be able to join a small handmade book exhibition in the school library and we were lucky to be involved.
My final assignment was an extension of the first assignment, which focused on colour matching, then connecting it with the traditional Chinese character “日” in Hong Kong and recording my creative process using 1,148 prints. Since my first day at Hong Kong Art School on 15 September 2021 until the assignment due date on 6 November 2024, there have been 1,148 days to record my love for colours and geometric shapes. Teachers and classmates love this work. I received praise from the head of the printmaking department, and it turned out that during my creation, many first-year students were inspired by me and began to learn the colour gradation records I made for the prints. He said they had never taught students to record like this before, and he said this was the ideal way for students to honestly communicate and learn from each other. Hearing my teacher say this is the greatest compliment. I feel that these six months have not been “wasted” at all.
During these six months, each student has his or her seat. This is my seat. This seat is filled with my work and memories. I have met many good classmates and friends here, and we have kept in touch. Everyone’s reluctance to let me go makes me work harder, and I hope to meet them again!
The last interesting thing is that there was the graduation exhibition and ceremony for the year 3 graduates in December. Of course, I helped prepare for their exhibition and attended their graduation ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, they gave me their blessings for continued progress. One of my lovely friends put her graduation gown and cap on me and wished me a
happy graduation next year. I was deeply moved. Even though we are in different
corners of the earth, our friendship will remain forever.
Finally, I hope I will never forget the words of encouragement I told myself: “No
matter when and where, as long as I exist, I must never underestimate myself. I
must always be a star that may not be the brightest but will keep shining.”
Cheuk Wing’s story is a testament to the transformative power of student exchange programmes. Her journey reminds us to value ourselves and to keep shining, no matter where we are.
We are so proud of her achievements and can’t wait to see where her artistic path leads next!
Credit: @kongcheukwing
