USk Symposium Hong Kong 2020 – News & Updates

United We Sketch With Hong Kong

Check out this handy guide to the event created by Rob Sketcherman.

In lieu of the 2020 Symposium sketchers around the world are invited to express their support for Hong Kong sketchers this week by posting their drawings done on location.

Expressing global support is easy

1. Sketchers around the world are invited to post their sketches of Hong Kong on Instagram or Facebook if they had visited it and drew there in the past.
2. Urban sketchers are invited to post their drawings sharing a moment of learning or breakthrough. Think about something you’ve learned through sketching that’s changed the way you draw, share your story. Remember and share when a challenge was resolved, a particular technique or observation related to drawing.
3. Tag along with the hashtags #SketchWithHongKong #USkSketchWithHongKong

Join us for USk Live Talks this Sunday, April 12 at 4pm GMT for a special editon of the show.Rob Sketcherman (Hong Kong), Vanessa Leung (Hong Kong) and Jim Richards (USA) chat about Hong Kong, the symposium, and everything that has been happening in the city and how local sketchers responded to the challenges.

More info: http://urbansketchers.org/p/usk-talks.html

We stand united as a global sketching community with USk Hong Kong, come rain or shine or unexpected political weather, to keep our passion alive and get together for the love of urban sketching. At the moment with technology and the best interests of everyone at heart we explore the possibilities of including as many as we can wherever we are. We hope to see you and your sketches online as we do every year during the USk International Urban Sketchers Symposium.

To make the participating sketches stand out you can apply the logo/hashtag before posting them on social media. A watermark png is generously provided by Rob Sketcherman. It can be applied to the sketch to serve as a digital stamp to make participants’ work easier to identify.

RIGHT CLICK TO DOWNLOAD 

THE PNG EVENT LOGO/WATERMARK BELOW

The following example shows how you could add it to your sketch. 

Here’s how:

Download LogoLicious that works on both iOS & Android. It’s free to download, $1.99 for an ad-free experience.

Walk through the intro slides for the basics. Follow the prompts and after granting the app access to your camera/camera roll, you will be asked to

1. Take/import a snapshot
2. Crop the image to your liking
3.  A green ‘Load Logo’ allows you to import GIFs, JPGs or PNG files.
4. Tap to select and import the image, then size & position it.
5.  Share to camera roll. Done.

Here’s a visual walkthrough: 

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As announced on social media in mid-November, it is with deep regret that the Urban Sketchers Executive Board and Urban Sketchers Hong Kong announces that the 2020 Symposium will not be held in Hong Kong and is cancelled for 2020. 

Please read on for a message from the Hong Kong Symposium team and Urban Sketchers Hong Kong.

In light of the most recent developments in the city, the Hong Kong Symposium Team expresses its concern for the safety (and fun) of each and every participant. Since this is no longer assured, Hong Kong is regretfully withdrawing as the host city for next year’s International Urban Sketchers Symposium. 

The Hong Kong Team is enthusiastic that when their beloved city is back to being stable and able, it will be a much better time to showcase her at her finest. 

We thank everyone in Urban Sketchers Hong Kong for the passion, responsibility, hard work and enthusiasm that they have put forward. We wish for better times for Hong Kong. Our thoughts are with you. 

We understand the importance of the International Urban Sketchers Symposium to our community, so cancelling the event was not an easy decision to make.  Our symposiums require 12 to 18 months of planning to be successful. This planning time is necessary to coordinate educational, operational, logistic and sponsorship aspects to ensure the event is both enjoyable for participants and sustainable for the organization. 

To accomplish this effort this year  is too large a burden to put on any local chapter and the symposium team. We recognize the enthusiasm and thank those that offered suggestions and ideas. USk members are amazing! 

There will still be ways to connect in 2020! To celebrate our global community, Urban Sketchers has set a goal to support the USk  mission on the six continents with Urban Sketchers chapters. Stay informed through our website, social media channels, and Drawing Attention in 2020 for more information about upcoming opportunities. We appreciate your interest and support as we make arrangements for these new opportunities.

For any inquiries regarding future events, please contact events@urbansketchers.org

Thank You & Official Hashtag #USKHK2020

This last month after #uskAmsterdam2019, many were reliving Amsterdam’s sketching high, carrying on with their next destinations, settling back at home, or writing proposals for next year’s big adventure!

With a shorter time frame for the Symposium in Hong Kong, hats off to everyone who wrote and submitted for next year’s programming! Thank you very much for your interest and participation to be part of the faculty. We received a lot of proposals and excited about what’s in store.

Our Education Committee is doing its best, evaluating each of them. It is always a hard task with the amount of brilliant proposals that we get each year. Stay tuned for the registration and programming information which will be announced in November 2019.

The hashtag to follow is #USkHK2020.

Subscribe to our social media channels to have the latest Symposium updates.

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Happy sketching!

Hong Kong to Host Urban Sketchers International Symposium 2020  8-11 APRIL 2020

We are happy to announce that the 2020 Urban Sketchers International Symposium will be held in Hong Kong. With other cities that submitted compelling proposals, it was a tough decision to make.

Hong Kong’s proposal brings together a juxtaposition of old and new. “Asia’s World City”, for all its reputation as a fast-paced bustling den of of business, has also remaining pockets where traditions run deep and life looks very much the same as it was decades ago.

Get ready to walk into shiny newness and grit from a bygone era. There’s an abundance of sketchable corners  buzzing with adventure, culture, great food, fast connectivity and friendly sketchbook throwdowns! The active community of Hong Kong sketchers believe that it’s time to share the secrets and wonders of their city with the rest of the urban sketching world. 

The Pearl of the Orient awaits everyone for a wild, unforgettable drawing adventure in 2020. 

It’s happening on 8-11 April 2020. Standby for more details. 

Call for Programming

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The 11th Urban Sketchers Symposium is on April 8-11, 2020. We are seeking proposals for Workshops, Demonstrations, Lectures and Skit Sketch by Sunday, 18th August, 2019 (11:59 pm GMT). Selected proposals will be notified by end of October 2019.

WORKSHOPS
Workshops are presented as a more formal educational experience with a smaller group (a maximum of 15 participants), allowing for personal interaction with students. Instructors are expected to do a short demonstration, have one-on-one interaction with participants, and check on them during their exercises.

• Duration and Frequency: All workshops will be 3 hours and taught up to three times over the course of the Symposium
• Capacity: Focused instruction for up to 15 participants in each session.
• Demo : Instructor will conduct a 40 minutes demonstration (incl 10min Q&A) with up to 25 participants, preferably in line with their workshop, during the symposium (venue can be their workshop location)
• Compensation: If your proposal is selected, you receive a free registration for the Symposium, travel and accommodation. Instructors will receive an honorarium of $100 (or equivalent in local currency), for conducting all workshop sessions, including Demo, as stated above.  
• If you are proposing a Workshop, you must download this form, complete your copy and include your sample sketches inside the proposal document (not as separate attachments).

We are aiming to increase the number of new and local instructors. If you have not previously taught at the Symposium, and you have teaching experience, we want to hear from you! For the previous years, we have already gotten a good mix of new and of local instructors, and aim to continue.

We are also seeking sketchers to share urban sketcher stories, sketching technique, sketching materials and present a DEMO, LECTURE or SKIT SKETCH presentation related to sketching. 

DEMO (for non-Workshop Instructors)

Demo allows you to conduct a live demonstration of your own work, your sketching methods or your tools. Your consent will be asked when you submit proposals regarding the filming of lecture sessions and that they may be shared online on USk platforms.

• Duration and Frequency: 40 mins Demo presentation, 10 mins Q&A session and will only be conducted once.
• Capacity: up to 25 participants in each session.
• Compensation: If your proposal is selected, you will be entitled early registration, and will receive an honorarium of $100 (or equivalent in local currency).

• If you are proposing a Demo, you must download this form, complete your copy and include your sample sketches inside the proposal document (not as separate attachments).

LECTURE
Lectures allows you to share your own work, research, urban sketching stories, the work of other sketchers, sketching history, or another topic of interest or concern to fellow sketchers. A projector will be provided. Your consent will be asked when you submit proposals regarding the filming of lecture sessions and that they may be shared online on USk platforms.

• Duration and Frequency: 40 mins Lecture presentation, 10mins Q&A session and will only be conducted once.
• Capacity: All interested participants are welcome.
• Compensation: If your proposal is selected, you will be entitled early registration, and will receive an honorarium of $100 (or equivalent in local currency).
• If you are proposing a Lecture, you must download this form, complete your copy and include your sample sketches inside the proposal document (not as separate attachments).

SKIT SKETCH
We are also seeking sketchers to share urban sketcher stories, sketching technique, sketching materials and present a talk related to sketching.
Skit Sketch is a ‘lightning talk’ presentation which allows you to share your own work, urban sketching stories, the work of other sketchers, sketching history, or another topic of interest or concern to fellow sketchers. A projector will be provided. Your consent will be asked when you submit proposals regarding the filming of lecture sessions and that they may be shared online on USk platforms.

• Duration and Frequency: a presentation with 20 auto-advance slides at 20 seconds each (6 minutes and 40 seconds in total) and will only be conducted once. (similar to the format of Pecha Kucha or Ignite)
• Capacity: All interested participants are welcome.
• Compensation: If your proposal is selected, you will be entitled early registration, and will receive an honorarium of $100 (or equivalent in local currency).
• If you are proposing a Skit Sketch presentation, you must download this form and include 20 images intended for the slide presentation, inside the proposal document (not as separate attachments).

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SOME DETAILS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE DRAFTING YOUR PROPOSAL:

You can propose a Workshop or Demo for a specific spot or a general location. We recommend you to get to know the possible locations before you create your proposal, in order to match your idea with the city’s environment.

• Views of boats on a waterway.
• A quaint neighborhood with close-set buildings and many bars and eateries.
• A lush green park with some views of urban buildings from various vantage points.
• A pond with fish and turtles.
• Ancient trees with twisting trunks.
• A busy older neighborhood with lots of hustle and bustle.
• Street markets with vendors selling fresh produce.
• A small place of worship set against a large boulder.
• A charming outdoor eating area.
• A large aviary with a walkway through the trees.
• A park with cityscape views.
• An old cathedral.
• A street-level tram stop
• An elevated walkway with green and city views.
• A pedestrian alley with sculpture, trees and colorful views.

Map of suggested locations

• All participants will be advised to gather with their Instructors at the Meeting place, before setting out to Workshop locations.
• Workshop locations are subject to change and the organizers reserve the right to make the best arrangements and combinations of Workshops/Demos and locations.
• Learn more about how to prepare a successful workshop proposal.
• The official language of the Symposium is English.

WHERE TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS 

All proposals must be emailed to symposium@urbansketchers.org

DEADLINE
All proposals are due by Sunday, 18th August, 2019 (11:59 pm GMT).

LINKS TO ALL CALL FOR PROGRAMMING FORMS
If you are proposing a Workshop, you must download this form, complete your copy and include your sample sketches inside the proposal document (not as separate attachments).

If you are proposing a Demo, you must download this form, complete your copy and include your sample sketches inside the proposal document (not as separate attachments).

If you are proposing a Lecture, you must download this form, complete your copy and include your sample sketches inside the proposal document (not as separate attachments).

If you are proposing a Skit Sketch presentation, you must download this form and include 20 images intended for the slide presentation, inside the proposal document (not as separate attachments).