Streets of your city: This art workshop is the 'Toast' of NoHo

'People graduate without even knowing who Picasso is' -- and one Hong Konger wants to change that with his workshop in NoHo

By Christopher DeWolf 14 December, 2009

Let your inner artiste out at Toast.

As Hong Kong's art scene flourishes, more and more galleries, art spaces and festivals are making an effort to bring art to the masses. Jerry Ho Chun-yu is doing just the opposite: he's bringing ordinary people to art.

Last January, after graduating from a photography program at the Hong Kong Art Centre, the stylish, soft-spoken 29-year-old opened Toast, a small first-floor space dedicated to public painting workshops and art jams.

"People in Hong Kong think that fine arts are very far away from their lives, and they seldom go to museums or galleries," he says. "But art should be central to everything we do, so I wanted to make a space where people could come on weekends to make art, instead of just going shopping."

Toast's art sessions attract between 15 to 20 people per week, many of whom have no background in art. Four-session workshops, tailored to participants' skills levels, are offered for both kids and adults, and Ho supplies canvases, paint and tools for $200 per session. Art jams can take place anytime if they are reserved in advance, and prices range between $250 and $550, depending on the size of canvas used.

Art should be central to everything we do, so I wanted to make a space where people could come on weekends to make art, instead of just going shopping.

— Jerry Ho Chun-yu, owner of Toast

For both the workshops and the art jams, Ho invites artists from a variety of disciplines, including photography, performing arts, sculpture and ceramics, to talk about art theory and help inspire people to think about art not as decoration but as an outlet for ideas and emotions.

"Painting is just a tool to help you express yourself," says Ho. "The idea is more important than the tool. It's like writing a blog with colour and shape instead of words. You don't need too much painting talent. People come here and they don't even know how to paint --- they just really enjoy the process, the environment and the result of their painting."

Ho himself is a late-comer to fine arts. He worked in commercial design for more than ten years before deciding to study photography. Looking back, he says, his upbringing never offered him much of a chance to pursue art for art's sake.

"When I studied in primary and secondary school, art class was just crafts. They didn't teach anything about art history. People graduate without even knowing who Picasso is. I just want to give people an opportunity to think about art in different ways."