Pao School’s Primary and Middle Schools recently participated in the prestigious ‘Guarding of the Future Action’ exhibition, organised by FutureLab. The exhibition theme calls for the illumination of the future with technology, in order to collectively construct a sustainable and friendly city.
Established in 2019, FutureLab is a platform that brings together leading art and design institutions worldwide, spotlighting innovative educational practices and addressing challenges within these fields. The expo has evolved into a pivotal arena in which these institutions, scholars, and students can discuss educational concepts and celebrate their achievements.
For the exhibition this year, students from Pao School applied their creative efforts and technological explorations to demonstrate a commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development. Their goal was to inspire reflection and spur action, directed towards a brighter future. The integration of art and technology in the exhibition was specifically devoted to environmental conservation and a more sustainable world.
Led by Ryan Holmes, Pao Primary School Head of Art, students engaged in a comprehensive exploration of sustainable practices, using AI-generated images through prompt engineering. By inputting diverse prompts into the AI system, students crafted designs focusing on sustainability and environmental protection. After the design phase, students chose inspiring concepts that would bring about real-world impact, beginning with painting. Finally, using 3D printing technology, they realized their concepts as prototypes.
Pao Middle School students produced AI-generated art that was inspired by the question: "What if AI art had its own genre or movement?" Their creations reflected on sustainable development, digging deeply into the significance of generative art, pursuing a concept introduced by Wing Wu, Pao Middle School Head of Visual Arts. Year 6 presented a variety of styles of three-dimensional cityscape paintings and 3D building models. Year 7 used recycled glass to create national maps, incorporating backgrounds that highlight local customs and cultures through various materials. Year 8 expressed personal and collective ideologies of sustainable development through a mixture of self-portraits and collaborative creations.
At the award ceremony held at the end of the exhibition, several Pao School students received awards. Best Design Award went to Xiaoxiao Xie. Best Visual Award went to Sissi Bo, Maxine Ji, Nina Li, Jocelyn Liu, and Claire Xin. Best Creativity Award went to Lotty Ren.
This exhibition brought together art and technology to promote environmental protection and sustainable development. Both the Primary and Middle Schools encouraged student and parent attendance, and received positive feedback from the community for the creative and thought-provoking exhibits. This event also marked a significant milestone as the first collaborative exhibition participation by Pao’s Primary and Middle School, highlighting student talent across a wide age-range.
