AAA launched its Learning Labs in March 2009. This pilot education programme aims to provide a supportive environment to equip young people, aged 15-18, with the confidence to think and talk about contemporary art, while simultaneously considering its relationship to the world in which we live. With the support of a team of university volunteers from arts-related disciplines, AAA's education staff presents monthly Labs, facilitated by a different art professional each month. Following, please find a list of past Learning Labs.

2010
January - Visit to Lam Tungpang's Studio
Hong Kong artist Lam Tungpang opened his Fotan studio to AAA Learning Lab participants. He talked about his artistic development and experiences in London, Hong Kong, and Beijing. He also demonstrated some painting techniques and shared the collection of treasures that inspire his work.

February - HAD (Heritage x Art x Design) Walk
AAA seeks to help students explore and to connect with the surrounding neighborhood. Learning Lab students participated in the HAD (Heritage x Art x Design) Walk organised by Hulu Culture. A visit to the exhibition at the Former Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters and a cultural tour of traditional shops in the historic district was followed by a sharing session among peers. The experience provided an opportunity for students to learn about the rapid development of the Sheung Wan and Central Districts and how the blending of the old and new has shaped street culture and urban life.

March - Visual Analysis
Designed with the new Hong Kong visual art curriculum in mind, AAA invited art historian Stephanie Cheung to conduct a Learning Lab by introducing visual analysis strategies for contemporary art. She addressed the topics 'From Image to Response', 'Feeling/Reading an Image: Visual Analysis' and 'Limitations of Visual Analysis' through interactive presentations and workshop exercises.

April - Conceptual Art
Art is a means of communication; it is a medium through which to connect oneself to everyday life. Hong Kong artist Pak Sheung Cheun led a workshop to facilitate and activate students¡¦ observations of their own surroundings. He asked students to construct the backgrounds of various shoppers based on the contents of their supermarket receipts. Students were also asked to eavesdrop on the street and share their observations. Through these exercises, Pak hoped to inspire students to open up their senses, to observe and be more aware of their everyday surroundings, which is a major means of inspiration for his own artwork. Through Pak's sharing of his artistic process, students were given the opportunity to open their own eyes to the world of conceptual art.

May - Art & Language
One of the biggest challenges facing visual art students when they attempt art criticism is their limited vocabularies. In order to help students overcome language barriers and fears when writing critically, AAA invited Tang Siu-wa, the editor of the Hong Kong literature magazine Fleurs des Lettres, to conduct an interactive workshop with a group of students. The aim of the workshop was to connect visual images with the students' existing vocabularies.

Summer Labs
A series of intensive workshops was organised to empower young people in their appreciation of art, and turn them into catalysts for peers in their schools and throughout Hong Kong. By the end of the Summer Labs, a group of young AAA enthusiasts had emerged - an important network that will help to further link younger generations with the organisation. These dynamic, young individuals will build the identity of their group with the support of professional designers from milkxhake, an energetic, Hong Kong-based design collective. They will also be involved in planning AAA's online and physical programmes for the younger generation.

The Summer Labs Schedule:
'Art & Media' with journalist Yuen Han-Yan
'Studio Visit: Surrealistic Home' with artist Kacey Wong
'Hong Kong Art & Culture Orientation' with AAA university volunteers
'From Video Camera to Video Art' with Videotage
'Constructing AAA: Young People Group's Identity' with milkxhake

November - School Series: Illustration Art
The first series of student-designed Learning Labs was launched in the city¡¦s schools in November 2010. A core group of students formed by young AAA enthusiasts selected four schools in which to conduct labs from the pool of schools that they attend. At the end of each lab, new students can opt to join the core group to continue the outreach to other students. Arts & Technology Education Centre was our first stop.

'Art and Environment' was the theme of the series. Illustrator Justin Wong shared his artistic and career development with the students during the workshop. He inspired the students to use the concept of graffiti - the combination of text and images with a particular context - to create new meanings and interpretations of their environments.

Special thanks to Lab facilitators and University Volunteers in 2010:
Alex Yu, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Fine Arts
Irene Chan, Hazel Cheung, Zero So and Ening Yim, City University of Hong Kong, School of Creative Media
Damon Lee, Charmaine Leung, So Wai Lam, Kenji Lau, and Trevor Yeung, Hong Kong Baptist University, The Academy of Visual Arts
Lee Wai Shing, Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education
Wing Chan, Brian Cheng, Jasmine Yip and Nadia Wong, The University of Hong Kong, Fine Arts
Crystal Chan and Li Sum Yi, University Graduates


2009
March - Art in the Community
Hong Kong artist Jaffa Lam shared her artistic development and stories about her residency experiences in Bangladesh. She also discussed the art of Southeast and South Asia with students, using related materials from AAA's collection.

April - The Changing Roles of the Museum
In conjunction with AAA's community project, 'Build Your Dream Museum Collection Everyday!', art historian and researcher Stephanie Cheung conducted a workshop to illustrate the historical development of the museum, encouraging students to think about the changing role of museums and their collections through interactive exercises and discussion.

May - From Tradition to Contemporary: China, Japan and Korea
Nana Seo is a Korean curator who has studied in Japan, worked in Shanghai, and is currently based in Hong Kong. By making use of her extensive cultural exposure, she led students though the histories of contemporary art in China, Japan, and Korea, considering the relationship between traditional and contemporary art, and thinking about how the contemporary artist translates traditional language into contemporary ideas.

June - Conducting Research in Contemporary Art
Lydia Ngai, AAA Head Librarian, conducted a workshop to demonstrate how to undertake formalised research on contemporary art and culture by using AAA's collection and online research tools.

July - Comics
Hong Kong illustrator Li Chihoi asked students to consider the meaning, role, and possibilities of comics by discussing the history of comic art in Hong Kong, Chinese sequential art and the development of comic art in Europe. She also examined the relationship between contemporary art and the comic.

September - What is Contemporary Art?
Janet Chan, Coordinator for AAA's Research+ department, conducted a workshop to develop students' understanding of contemporary art. The workshop addressed the issues of 'ARTefacts or ART', 'Stereotypes, Spectacles, the Gaze...', and 'Contemporary Art in the Dilemma of Global/Local'.

October - Art and Community
Hong Kong artist Law Man Lok conducted a workshop at Wooferten in Shanghai Street, Hong Kong on the topic of 'Art & Community: Field Trip vs. Globalisation'. He shared his views on the topic, and encouraged students to increase their awareness about the environment by exploring and photographing the Yau Mei Tai neighborhood, followed by a discussion.

November - New Media Arts
The meaning of new media art is continually changing. After attending the Microwave International New Media Arts Festival, students participated in a workshop conducted by new media artist Keith Lam, who asked 'What is new media art?' by showing a broad range of new media works. Students also made their own new media artworks.

Special thanks to Lab facilitators and University Volunteers in 2009:
Alex Yu, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Fine Arts
Hazel Cheung and Ening Yim, City University of Hong Kong, School of Creative Media
Kenji Lau, Damon Lee, Charmaine Leung, So Wai Lam and Trevor Yeung, Hong Kong Baptist University, The Academy of Visual Arts
Lily Cheng, The Hong Kong Institute of Education
Lee Wai Shing, Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education
Crystal Chan, Brian Cheng, Joey Li, Li Sum Yi and Nadia Wong, The University of Hong Kong, Fine Arts
Carol Ng, University of Toronto