"KeenAble Creation" Debut NFTs Launch Live Press Conference at a 2-Level Gallery in METAVERSE
Ko Nam, Ms. Liu Tung Mui, together with Creative Director Ms. Maxim Tang, guest tutor Ms. Esther Chow and 12 workshop artists.
These NFTs will be sold in two major NFT trading platforms: BOAX and Artify. The income from the sale of NFTs will help support the development and sustain the creativity of KeenAble Creation’s special needs artists. All the net sale proceeds (after deducting related and administrative expenses of KeenAble Creation) will be given to the participating artists.
During the live press conference, KeenAble Creation NFTs Curators: Ms. Angel Hon & Mr. Thomas Lam, KeenAble Creation Founder, Ms. Wanda Tong and two Workshop Artistes: Mr. Matthew Yu and Ms. Poon Tsz Chai transformed into avatars and lead the guests to tour around the 2-level gallery to introduce the KeenAble Creation NFTs Collection.
Ko Nam Bio: Ko Nam has a unique style blending Chinese ink brush painting with impressionism. His landscapes are characterized by myriad colourful dots, fine yet distinct strokes while the women depicted by him are carefree, passionate and happy. His works which are highly rated have been shown in many international exhibitions in China, other parts of Asia, Europe and United States, such as International VSA Arts Festival in Washington D.C., Henderson ArtReach Project, Painting and International Festival of Inclusive Arts. There are also many international art collectors of his works. Born in Chengdu China, Ko lost his hearing when he was three. Despite his inability to hear and speak, he expresses his view of the world through his ink and colour paintings which he learned from a number of renowned Chinese artists such as Cen Xue Gong, Luo Ci Bing and Mou Kang Hua. Ko Nam moved to Hong Kong in 1994 and had his solo exhibition in Hong Kong in 1995, 2000, 2008 and 2016. He came first in the Hong Kong Abilympics in 2007 and represented Hong Kong in the International Abilympics in Japan. In 2009, he received an Outstanding Award at the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Competition for the disabled in China. In Sept 2011, he won the gold medal of the painting category in the 8th International Abilympics in Seoul with a work entitled "Flowers and Passion". His newfound passion is ceramic paintings where he created several series of paintings on ceramic articles on site in Jingdezhen, the famous ceramic capital in China.
Liu Tung Mui Bio: Affected by her elder sister during childhood, LIU Tung-mui loves to draw randomly with pencil. Shelikes to tell story with her pictures despite her limitation of hand movements. LIU once felt dejected about being lonely and helpless sitting on a wheelchair, and was almost mentally broken down. A box of color pencil and encouragement from her family helped her see the wonderful and colorful world outside the window of her cramped room in her mind. She no longer feels lonely now because every time after she exhausts all her effort on her painting, she feels incomparably happy and contented. Over the past two years, Tung-mui has been practicing calligraphy and sketching hardly, which has led to a better control of her hand muscles and thus finer brushstrokes in her paintings. Although each piece of paintings demands her more effort and time, she opens up a new page for her art creation. She believes these various art forms have enriched her overall creativity. LIU pointed out that doing calligraphy helps improve her line precision, dancing enhances her non-verbal communication skills, whereas learning pottery sharpens her observation and improves her spatial skills in painting.
Lee Wai Ba Bio: Lee Wai Ba was born in Hong Kong in 1971. At the age of one, he was diagnosed with congenital spinal muscular atrophy and had been wheelchair bound since then. Due to the debilitating disease, he had lost all selfcare ability and required the constant care of his family. By 1990, his condition had deteriorated so much that his family could no longer provide him with the requisite care. He was then placed in one of the hostels for the severely disabled operated by Hong Kong Spastics Association and worked in one of their sheltered workshop. Wai Ba was initially tasked with painting ceramics at the workshop. Subsequently, upon encouragement of his instructor who found that he had artistic talent, Wai Ba started drawing cat themed paintings. At the outset, he did an extensive research on cats, observing their different shapes and forms and worked hard on his drawing skills, which gradually evolved into the cartoon cats in an illustration called "Happy to Be There". As regards color selection, Wai Ba liked using vibrant contrasts so that his audience could feel the joy and fun of his works.
However, the deterioration of his hand muscles had become so severe that by 2004, he was no longer able to paint with his hands. His passion for painting was nevertheless not at all dented by such impediment. Since then, he started drawing with his mouth. It was extremely difficult at first, but with his irrepressible perseverance, he eventually overcame the challenges and was adept at drawing with his mouth.In 2009, he was awarded first prize in the open category of the "Love Your Family" Painting Competition organized by Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited which boosted his self confidence. Since then, in order to live a more fulfilling life, he used his cat characters to depict topical issues or different aspects of life in Hong Kong on an 80-foot-long scroll titled “Every Day a Wonderful Day” after watching the daily morning news. This daily ritual persisted until 2021 when he was too ill to draw. Wai Ba passed away in 2021 after a brief illness. Although we can no longer see his new works on the scroll, his irrepressible perseverance and spirit of never giving up remain in our hearts forever.
Maxim Tang Bio: Maxim, KeenAble Creative Director is a local artist born and bred in Hong Kong. She is also the Honorary Chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Illustrators for Children’s Books. She has attended and graduated from counselling courses organized by Innerspace Counseling Service Limited NLP; ICC Limited Enneagram Advantage Program; Basic Enneagram Trainer Course and story-telling & art therapy intense psychology pair therapy courses organized by Hong Kong Institute for Counselling Professionals. A professional graphic designer and illustrator, Maxim is very active in promoting and developing local art. She has been consultant and instructor of children’s art courses run by The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Hong Kong Art Centre and Hong Kong Public Libraries. Maxim’s works have won a lot of awards, including the 7th TBDA (Television Broadcast Design Award) in the USA; the 5th Children’s Literature Story Awards Excellence Medal (Overseas) in Taiwan (2003) for her work titled “好同學小米”; (the 16th Hong Kong Publication Excellence Award (2004)). She was also the first person to receive the Hong Kong Drama Award for Best Poster Design for her work titled “墮落烏” in 2001 and won the same award again in 2004 for her work titled “兩條老柴玩遊戲”. Maxim has worked with many writers, publishers, arts organisations. Her illustrations have been published in over 200 children’s books with different themes.
Esther Chow Bio: Esther Chow is a native of Hong Kong. She received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a focus on painting and drawing. She also creates in other media including print making, digital and traditional photography, murals and mosaics. Esther works primarily from observation and she draws inspiration from the forms and colours of the natural world. Esther has exhibited in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Chicago, Prague and Mongolia, and her work is in private and corporate collections on both sides of the Pacific. Esther’s affinity for nature and her cross-cultural experiences inform much of her work. Whether building puppets with recycled materials, constructing a “pop-up” visual history of Hong Kong or sculpting paint to create floral still life, Esther enjoys sharing her ongoing investigation of colour and mark-making, materials and tools with her students as they discover and develop confidence in their creative abilities. Through her work and collaborative projects, Esther hopes to inspire students to treasure their uniqueness, drink in nature’s wonders, and savour the fullness of life.
Matthew Yu Bio: Matthew joined our Tin Shui Wai workshop in June 2014 before his graduation from Yeung Yat Lam Memorial School in 2015. He is very determined and multi-talented excels at painting, artwork design, ice-skating and percussion music. He represented Hong Kong in the 2013 Paralympics ice-skating competition and was awarded two gold medals and one silver medal. With great potential to become a professional artist, Matthew is particularly good at drawing comic and caricature and has been invited by local and multinational corporations to draw live caricature at their corporate events. The use of color and technique in his comics likens that of a professional cartoonist. His talent of turning real faces into lively caricature has won wide acclaim.
Poon Tsz Chai Bio: Graduated from Yeung Yat Lam Memorial School in 2013, Tsz Chai is very cheerful and is talented in both music and art. She plays the piano very well and can play in public with great ease. Her artwork which is often comicky is very colorful and reflects her creativity, childlike heart and unblemished outlook on life. Her paintings have also won many accolades. She won the first prize in the Hong Kong “My Mona Lisa” Drawing Competition jointly organized by Sino Land and Centre for Community Cultural Development in 2008. In the same year, she represented Hong Kong in the international “My Mona Lisa” Drawing Competition when she came second. In her entry painting, she transformed Mona Lisa into a plumb female figure with a comic face and a plastered finger with Bank of China building and Lantau Buddha in the background. Tsz Chai is ahead of her times and has fathomless potential! Her works have been selected by our clients on their products such as place mats, stationery, gift cards and post cards.
Founded in 2009, KeenAble Creation is a charitable organization which is committed to nurturing special needs artists and promoting their art. It provides training to budding special needs artists and empower them to be active creators. KeenAble Creation also provides a variety of services connecting its artists with the commercial sector and the general public.
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