Dr. CHEUNG Ping Kuen (張秉權)
Director, Hong Kong Art School
Cheung Ping Kuen is a respected arts educator and a senior arts practitioner in Hong Kong. With over 40 years of relevant experience, Cheung has proven his genuine passion, unique insight and solid commitment towards Hong Kong’s arts field.
Cheung obtained his B.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Before joining Hong Kong Art School in 2015, he was the Head of Liberal Arts Studies at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he also served as the Acting Chair of the School of Chinese Opera in the academic year 2013-14. Prior to taking these positions, Cheung had also served as Programme Director of Independent Learning Centre (Chinese Section) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Cheung has long been dedicating his support to the development of the local arts scene, and he has been taking up various advisory roles in the industry. He was appointed as a member of Hong Kong Arts Development Council from 1996 to 2007; while serving as the Chairman of the Drama Committee throughout the twelve-year appointment period, he was also the Chairman of Arts Support Committee from 2005 to 2007. Cheung is currently the Chairman of Art Form Panel on Theatre, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and he was a Member of Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee, Home Affairs Bureau from 2004 to 2014.
Being active in promoting performing arts in Hong Kong, Cheung is the founding Chairman of Hong Kong Drama/Theatre and Education Forum. He is also one of the founders of Amity Drama Club, an established drama society in Hong Kong. He was involved in the productions by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Shatin Theatre Company, Exploration Theatre and Theatre Horizonte.
Cheung is also devoted to liberal arts, literary study and arts critique. He is currently the Chairman of the International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). He is the author of On Huang Tingjian’s Circle of Friends and his Poems, published by the Chinese University Press in 1978, as well as the editor of a number of books and journals on theatre arts and related reviews, including Hong Kong Drama Review (vols. 1-4), A Narrative History of Hong Kong Drama from the Thirties to Sixties, Restless Youth: Hong Kong Plays from the 1970s, and After the Fireworks: Hong Kong Drama Scripts 1998. He also co-authored The APPLE Method: an Illustration of Drama-in-Education Workshop, Reading Drama: Appreciation of 20 Drama Excerpts and Reading Dramatic: Appreciation of 20 Literary Pieces with a Pair of Drama Glasses, all published by the Education Bureau with an aim to enhance the role of drama education in the formal curriculum.
As recognition of his long-term contribution to arts development in Hong Kong, Cheung was awarded a Medal of Honour by the Government of Hong Kong SAR in 2002.