Design Trust Graphic Archive Research Fellows Announced I “Behind the Books” research exhibition led by Design Trust Grant Recipient Mary Chan opened at HKDI

Design Trust is pleased to announce that Jessica Fu and Gabriella Lai have been co-awarded the inaugural Design Trust Graphic Archive Research Fellowship in partnership with HKDI, who will work closely with the Graphic Archive at HKDI to examine the origins, emergence, and development of the graphic design profession in Hong Kong and the region between the 1940s to the 1980s. Congratulations to the two new fellows who were selected through a competitive vetting process with local and international jury members.

Jessica Fu is a researcher and lecturer. She explores the concept of formlessness in material, collective memory, and social phenomena. Jessica has exhibited, researched, and participated in various artist-in-residences internationally. The recent projects include “Resetting School Section No. 12” at a historical one-room school with the Toronto History Museum in Toronto (2024); “Data Collecting (Universe)” at the heritage site of Oi! Street Art Space in Hong Kong (2022); the media wall installation “Travelling” at the Centre for Contemporary Creation of Andalucia (C3A), Spain (2021); and the site-specific sound installation “Whispering” for the local shrine at the Nakanojo Biennale, Japan (2017). Jessica received her Master of Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and currently pursuing a Ph.D. student of Media and Design Innovation at the Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada.

Gabriella Lai is a graphic designer based in Hong Kong. Her expanded practice involves research and curation. Previously working with a design studio in Cape Town and an artist collective in Rotterdam, she is currently working with a curatorial institution on crafting cultural experiences. Besides design commissions, Gabriella explores food through conceptual thinking and cultural sensitivity. In 2020, she learned to make bamboo steamers from a local master and was an ambassador of Food Design Nation. She is also a contributor to Food Design Voices 2022. Gabriella holds a B.A. in Communication Design from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Design Trust Graphic Archive Research Fellowship, in partnership with HKDI, supports one fellow per year for a 6-month fellowship period to conduct research on the history and development of graphic design, publishing and advertising from 1945 to 1985 in Hong Kong to to unfold the transition of ‘commercial art’ as a trade to ‘graphic design’ as a profession. The fellow works closely with the Graphic Archive of HKDI, a reference library that preserves, records, and makes available graphic design artefacts of historical significance for teaching and research purposes while tracing the evolution of Hong Kong’s graphic design profession from the 1930s to the present day. The fellow will also be supported by a group of world-renowned experts to advance the research to a wider regional and international audience.

Research exhibition “Behind the Books” led by Mary Chan at HKDI, courtesy to Mary Chan & HKDI

Research exhibition “Behind the Books” led by Mary Chan at HKDI

We are also pleased to share that research exhibition “Behind the Books” led by Design Trust Grant Recipient Mary Chan opened to the public from November 9th, 2024, to Sunday December 8th, 2024, at Experience Centre of Hong Kong Design Institute. The project shares and reflects knowledge with current and future design culture practitioners on the value of books, and book making process as the physical cultural carrier of art and design culture, material conservation, HK urban culture, and digital technology over the last 20 years of Mary Chan’s works.

Built upon an extensive archive of publication materials by Mary Chan, the exhibition unfolds the complex and intriguing process of creating visual culture books from ideas to editorial planning, design, production and dissemination, while situating the design and visual culture publishing industry in a larger timeframe of the evolving cultural landscape of Hong Kong and the region. Highlight case studies include “redwhiteblue – here / there / everywhere” from Design Trust Futures Studio mentor Stanley Wong, and “My 32m² Apartment” from Design Trust Futures Studio mentor Gary Chang, whose works have been inspiring our community through various programmes.