Chi Him Chik

About

Bridging ACTs is a project combining research in psychological counselling methodologies done by Dr. Adrian Tong (Assistant Professor in Counselling & Psychology Programme at the Hong Kong Shue Yan University) and immersive arts realisation by Chi Him Chik.

It serves the purpose as a psycho-educational workshop by integrating core concepts of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into immersive media including sound, light/projection, space, and interaction. It explores the psychological impacts of immersive media arts and its beneficial outcomes, and focuses on helping visitors (especially, but not limited to, individuals with immigration background struggling from navigating their cultural expectations while living in Germany) to develop greater cultural competence and acceptance of cultural differences in order to achieve a more cohesive identity and enhanced well-being.

There has been evidences from recent researches showing that immersive art interventions can reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms. However, there is a research gap regarding how ACT can be integrated into immersive art interventions. Bridging ACTs aims to address this gap and to explore new possibilities that bridge between art, entertainment, and psychological well-being.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

... is a form of psychotherapy and a branch of clinical behaviour analysis. It is an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies along with commitment and behaviour-change strategies to increase psychological flexibility. The goal of ACT is not to eliminate difficult feelings but to be present with what life brings and to "move toward valued behaviour".

ACT commonly employs six core principles to help clients develop psychological flexibility. While in this project, 4 stations of immersive audio-visual installation will be set up to explain and demonstrate 3 of the ACT core concepts - Acceptance, Cognitive Defusion, and Values. A process called Creative Hopelessness will also be employed in one of the stations to help the participant to recognise and accept the limitations of traditional strategies to control or avoid emotional pain.

Inspirations

Although applying psychotherapeutic methodologies into Immersive arts might yet to be a popular practice, the idea of this collaboration is modelled by other art-science cross-disciplinary arts practice (e.g. Ryoji Ikeda's interaction with CERN during his residency in 2014).

While rooted from the traditional art exhibition practice, Bridging ACTs is heavily inspired by the nowadays popular immersive arts presentation culture, including works by teamLab, Ouchhh, and Lighthouse of Digital Arts (Berlin).

Intention

During the process of creation, the core values of art exhibition is questioned - Why would anyone go to an exhibition?

This question has been echoing in my head since the beginning of my study at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen (HfK). Trained and working since years as a musician and performer, I have always observed the intension behind people when they go to any cultural events. People tend to enjoy more and are willing to explore further and revisit when the exhibited content is connected to them. During my visit to three of teamLab's exhibitions in Japan - teamLab Botanical Garden (Osaka), teamLab Borderless (Tokyo), and teamLab Plants (Tokyo) - in summer 2024, I was very impressed and touched by the fact that even though the exhibitions have strong entertaining elements (to which many have declared and tried to convince me this is not art), the care of details and intension behind the make of these impressive and massive works were strikingly strong and artistic.

Although creating connections through art works is a very big and sometimes abstract topic, the concept of drawing connection, in any sense, has always been a core value in my works. And in Bridging ACTs, I try to imitate my experience during my visit to teamLab's exhibitions by creating impressive, perhaps sometimes entertaining, works that actively draw connections with the visitors, while I also intend to give something to them to take away after the visit.

Bridging ACTs is not only an act of bridging between disciplines,

It is, more importantly, an act to bridge between art, culture, and people.

Format

Bridging ACTs is architecturally designed for the Halle 1 of Speicher XIa at HfK Bremen, using the technical possibilities the institution and space offer to create an immersive and perhaps unfamiliar space to its visitors, including the ability to flexibly building rooms and passages, and the massive professional equipment the institution owns. Projectors, screens, and speakers are hanged on the ceiling, wooden walls are placed, and pillars with projection screens are set up to yield for dramatic yet immersive art works to take place.

The presentation of the project is exhibited in 3 formats:

1) An Open Exhibition - An immersive exhibition for the general public to visit

2) A Qualitative Research Session - A qualitative research conducted by Dr. Adrian Tong involving 10 participants is organised during the exhibition period to collect data and feedback of the works, which serves as a pilot study for future scientific research in Hong Kong about immersive arts and its psychological impacts

3) A Audiovisual Concert Venue - Two audiovisual concerts are organised during the exhibition focusing on the use of the 12*4m screen installed in the space

This project takes place at Speicher XIa (Halle 1) at HfK Bremen between the 12th and 15th of June 2025.