Karen Hong has been in ADM for over 5 years. The subjects that she teaches include Foundation 2D Design and Surface Design. She is also ADM’s internship Co-ordinator since she joined ADM.
Karen is trained as a Visual Artist in Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia. She majored in Jewellery Design and minored in Ceramics and Fibre / Textiles. Her interest in surface design and knowledge in these three areas of specialisation allows her to explore techniques in different mediums. She continued furthering her studies in Central St. Martins College of Arts and Design in London, UK specialising in the area of Fashion Textiles.
She has been with the Art and Design education in Singapore for more than 10 years and had taught in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts. Before joining the School of Art, Design and Media, she was an Assistant Director with DesignSingapore Council. She managed the Design Culture Unit and spearheaded the collection of Singapore design statistics, and conducted a study on the Singaporeans Design Awareness Index. She also planned and launched the inaugural DesignSingapore Scholarship.
As for professional practice, she has been working on one-offs textile designs as well as commercial fashion fabrics and fabrics for accessories under the label “TACTILE TEXTILES”. (www.tactiletextiles.com)
Her recent explorations are in the area of thermoplastic fabrics, working with thermoplastics in the form of fabrics and yarns. She is testing out if these thermoplastics can be given a 3D form regardless of construction methods and amalgamation with different surface design techniques which may change the physical and aesthetic properties of the thermoplastics. She is currently developing a series of SMART Textiles that can be used as tactile therapy for elderly care.