Connecting Hong Kong local students with mainland Chinese students through experiential learning of expressive arts groups

Abstract

The lack of an interactive close relationship between Hong Kong local students and Mainland Chinese students (HKLS-MCS) is complicated, involving cultural and language differences, social bias, and intensified by the social movement in 2019. This presentation reports how an intervention programme, employing a creative art approach, enhanced campus inclusion, and reconciliation of the pair. The multi-modality expressive arts groups started with music, a universal language that helped build up resonance and harmony in

improvised music ensemble before movement, visual arts, and poetry writing. The HKLS- MCS from different universities demonstrated a strong ability to collaborate and co-create

beautiful artworks together in our expressive arts groups. They supported each other in art- making and listened to each other in art appreciation. Implications for future development are discussed.