Spotlight
The First Female Graduate from the Academy Lighting Programme
Psyche Chui
17 December 2013
Asian Cultural Council Grantee, MA Middlesex University London
Lighting consultant for Shanghai Expo 2010, panel member of Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative 2014
Psyche Chui had no idea at the time how she would break new ground in a number of ways : first female graduate from the Academy lighting programme (School of Technical Arts), first full-time female professional lighting designer working in Hong Kong theatres; and first graduate to teach full-time at the Academy’s School of Technical Arts. Along the way, Chui receives accolades in Hong Kong and overseas for her lighting designs for performances, exhibitions and commercial projects.
It all started in a rather funny way, as Chui remembered it. When she was 15, she was asked by a teacher to play a part in a stage play, only to find out that all she had to do was to lie on her back throughout - as a dead person. While she was lying down on the stage, the teenager took the opportunity to marvel at the lights overhead and thus began her fascination with stage lighting. On her graduation from secondary school, she pleaded with her family to study lighting at the Academy, becoming a rarity as the first female to be in the profession. There are pros and cons. “I am petite and all the men thought I was not up to the job – I had to prove myself; on the other hand, lighting design was a novelty at that time, and I had all the freedom and opportunities to apply theory to practice,” Chui said. Very soon, she was much sought after by performing groups and corporations for her expertise, leaving her exhausted as she was also teaching part-time at the Academy.
Having decided that she must take a break, Chui went to Indiana University and Yale University on an Asian Cultural Council grant and became full-time teacher at the Academy in 1993 on her return to Hong Kong. In 2003, she received her MA from Middlesex University London.
Chui brings a lot of industry experience to students because in addition to having designed lighting for virtually every major performing company in Hong Kong, she has also been lighting consultant for many projects, noteworthy among these are : Shanghai Expo 2010, two local signature skyscrapers : the 100-floor Sky100 and Two ifc Lobby, among others in Korea, Singapore, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Nanjing, Beijing and Shanghai. She was also guest lecturer/speaker for institutions/conferences in Finland, Singapore, Hangzhou and Sweden.
As a piece of advice to Academy students, Chui encourages them to be observant and curious, not only in ‘performing arts’, but to look out for the synergy between architecture and lighting with its many possibilities. She would also ask students to ponder on the merit and value of traditional art art-forms such as puppetry, and to consider ways to ensure their sustainability through the use of technology.
Chui is Lighting Design and Education Commission member of OISTAT (International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects, and Technicians) and committee member of the HKAPA Alumni Association.
For her expertise, Chui has been invited to serve the panel of the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative responsible for selecting the candidate from the field of theatre for a year of creative collaboration in a one-to-one mentoring relationship, while other panels chose candidates from the fields of dance, film, literature, music, visual arts and architecture. Chui and other panellists will meet at Geneva in November 2013 for selecting of a candidate for the programme starting 2014.
17 December 2013
Asian Cultural Council Grantee, MA Middlesex University London
Lighting consultant for Shanghai Expo 2010, panel member of Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative 2014
Psyche Chui had no idea at the time how she would break new ground in a number of ways : first female graduate from the Academy lighting programme (School of Technical Arts), first full-time female professional lighting designer working in Hong Kong theatres; and first graduate to teach full-time at the Academy’s School of Technical Arts. Along the way, Chui receives accolades in Hong Kong and overseas for her lighting designs for performances, exhibitions and commercial projects.
It all started in a rather funny way, as Chui remembered it. When she was 15, she was asked by a teacher to play a part in a stage play, only to find out that all she had to do was to lie on her back throughout - as a dead person. While she was lying down on the stage, the teenager took the opportunity to marvel at the lights overhead and thus began her fascination with stage lighting. On her graduation from secondary school, she pleaded with her family to study lighting at the Academy, becoming a rarity as the first female to be in the profession. There are pros and cons. “I am petite and all the men thought I was not up to the job – I had to prove myself; on the other hand, lighting design was a novelty at that time, and I had all the freedom and opportunities to apply theory to practice,” Chui said. Very soon, she was much sought after by performing groups and corporations for her expertise, leaving her exhausted as she was also teaching part-time at the Academy.
Having decided that she must take a break, Chui went to Indiana University and Yale University on an Asian Cultural Council grant and became full-time teacher at the Academy in 1993 on her return to Hong Kong. In 2003, she received her MA from Middlesex University London.
Chui brings a lot of industry experience to students because in addition to having designed lighting for virtually every major performing company in Hong Kong, she has also been lighting consultant for many projects, noteworthy among these are : Shanghai Expo 2010, two local signature skyscrapers : the 100-floor Sky100 and Two ifc Lobby, among others in Korea, Singapore, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Nanjing, Beijing and Shanghai. She was also guest lecturer/speaker for institutions/conferences in Finland, Singapore, Hangzhou and Sweden.
As a piece of advice to Academy students, Chui encourages them to be observant and curious, not only in ‘performing arts’, but to look out for the synergy between architecture and lighting with its many possibilities. She would also ask students to ponder on the merit and value of traditional art art-forms such as puppetry, and to consider ways to ensure their sustainability through the use of technology.
Chui is Lighting Design and Education Commission member of OISTAT (International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects, and Technicians) and committee member of the HKAPA Alumni Association.
For her expertise, Chui has been invited to serve the panel of the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative responsible for selecting the candidate from the field of theatre for a year of creative collaboration in a one-to-one mentoring relationship, while other panels chose candidates from the fields of dance, film, literature, music, visual arts and architecture. Chui and other panellists will meet at Geneva in November 2013 for selecting of a candidate for the programme starting 2014.
