A nominee for The 2020 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, Hee Jeong Jang is an accomplished painter who has participated in more than 100 solo and group exhibitions throughout her career. She currently works and teaches art in Seoul. We asked for her advice on teaching online, staying motivated and positives outcomes over of the last year.

Since being nominated for The Prize in 2020, can you share any new projects you’ve been working on in the past year?

Due to COVID-19, participation in many art fairs that were scheduled were cancelled. Even so, I was lucky enough to do two solo exhibitions. Among them, one on still life paintings of flowers and books and another only on books. I find that more ideas are created during solo exhibitions, so a solo exhibition is a necessary process for an artist.

You are an art teacher as well as a painter, what challenges as a teacher have you faced in the past year?

I wasn’t able to give a college lecture last year, but I have been teaching once a week as an amateur art class teacher at my church for 10 years. The average age group is sixty to seventy, and even though they are older and retired, when we gather for class, they work very enthusiastically, with a competitive spirit like they are in school. Sadly, the church closed due to COVID-19 and banned all gathered activities – this caused a lot of depression and feelings of loss for both the students and teachers.

How did you overcome the challenge?

I created an online chat for the class and uploaded photos of our student’s work— it immediately started a conversation, and we were once again connected to each other.

What are the positives to come out of teaching art online?

Online, all the students are watching, so we are more careful when pointing out shortcomings. And in online classes, those who are lazy have nothing to do, so they become more shy than usual, and those with enthusiasm become more confident than usual, so they put up more work. And over time, we can look back on student’s work again, read feedback and see an evolution of their art, so online classes have been good in that respect.

Has this transformed your perspectives?

As a teacher to the elderly, for those who have a sudden illness, or a disability that makes it difficult for them to move or attend class face-to-face, online classes have brought a new opportunity to learn again.

How have you kept your students motivated from afar?

I believe it is a teacher’s sincere comments that can motivate a student to continue. Even though some pieces are unfinished, we can still talk about it and continue to praise it, so they work harder in the next class. In addition, the spirit of competition among students in class also plays a big role. When COVID-19 hit the world, I wondered how difficult it would have been if there was no internet or mobile phones. I took this as an opportunity to appreciate the convenience of technology.

What is your one must-know or must-do advice for teachers and students now?

Even in an online class, I find that interaction with people is the most important. In particular, since online communication can be repeatedly seen or heard this can lead to misunderstandings, and so the use of words, actions and language should be taken more carefully than usual.

Keep up to date with Hee Jeong Jang via Instagram, @hee_jeong_jang.

Find out more about The Sovereign Asian Art Prize here.