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Erika Na

Hong Kong couple Ivy Ip, 45, and Kenneth Kwan, 52, had been married just four years in 2021 when they received life-changing news: Ip was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer.
She quickly underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a 10-hour surgery – her first ever – to remove her uterus, ovaries, gallbladder, spleen and more.
To the couple’s dismay, the cancer returned in a few months.
Friends of Ip, a jewellery designer, knew how much she appreciated art. They recommended that she join free art therapy sessions at the Hong Kong Cancer Fund (HKCF) to cope emotionally.

The first group course she joined, in 2022, was called “Inner Beauty” and designed for gynaecological and breast cancer patients.
An art therapist checked in on participants at the start of each session, then gave them a prompt and the freedom to move around the room, grab materials they felt drawn to, and create. At the end, each participant shared their artwork with the group.
“It was a space where we could express ourselves, understand our emotions better, and regain confidence and control over our lives,” Ip says.
She continues to take part in HKCF’s diverse art-therapy courses, including one in which she created her own puppet for puppetry theatre.
Her husband, a printing company manager, joined her in a couples’ art therapy class in which they made a wool-felt scarf together. The piece reminds them both of the warmth and comfort they provide each other.

The two agree that these art therapy sessions have been an emotional salve during their four-year cancer journey.
“Art therapy has given me a powerful way to express my emotions,” says Ip, who has created more than 15 artworks that reflect the kaleidoscope of new experiences, thoughts and feelings that she has had to process over the past few years.
“My art has been a source of comfort, helping me face treatments with optimism.”
These works will be on show at the exhibition “Life is Beautiful” that Ip is hosting from April 14-21 at Breathing Room in Wan Chai. She hopes viewers can connect with her story and find the inspiration to gather resilience for their own life challenges.

Several works portray herself, like the wooden puppet titled Little Me, a mini version of Ip wearing an elegant dress and red shoes, seated with crossed legs – while rocking a shaved head.
“It’s a good reminder for me to stay graceful even when challenges arise,” Ip says.
Other works were inspired by joyful memories. One such piece is a painting sparked by a trip to Okinawa in Japan with her husband in October 2024.
“Just before the trip, I learned my tumours had worsened, requiring a medication change. I asked my doctor for a short break to travel before resuming treatment. Gazing at the glass-clear ocean, my soul felt cleansed,” Ip says.

Creating art not only fostered Ip’s self-awareness but also deepened the bond between her and her husband.
Kwan agrees – the artworks helped to better his understanding of her. Creating something together was equally valuable.
“The couples’ art therapy sessions offered an opportunity to express ourselves and connect with others,” he says.
“While creating art in a safe and non-judgmental environment … we could lean on each other and deepen our relationship. It was incredibly healing during such a challenging time.
“The wool felt scarf … represents the support we have for each other. It was touching to create something tangible together.”

HKCF art therapist Abbie So says that although each patient’s cancer journey looks and feels different, art can help everyone.
“Newly diagnosed people are really shocked and feel very lost, not knowing what to do. Even during art therapy sessions, they may need more space to take things easy, sometimes just take a rest, and create what helps them feel more grounded,” she says.
Group sessions also foster lasting peer support among patients, she adds.
Tommy Liang, a registered social worker and trauma therapist with HKCF for over a decade, says that he realised the “magic of art therapy” when he witnessed what it could do for his patients who struggled to open up verbally.

Liang referred a cancer patient with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to an art therapist who was able to help her talk about her trauma. Slowly the patient became empowered and energised, he says.
“Art is very safe. It creates a safe environment. Talking to a therapist may feel quite threatening. When you bring art before a patient, they can become like a child and slowly open up,” he says.
When his clients attend art therapy sessions, Liang talks to their family members, who endure cancer in their own way.
“If the cancer experience is a journey, then I consider myself a fellow traveller. One of my roles as a fellow traveller is having dialogues with the patient as well as the caregiver. Often, the caregivers are overwhelmed too,” he says.
“In the case of Ivy and Kenneth, it was particularly difficult for Kenneth. They married later in life. Kenneth told me that he thought he would never get married at his age, but then met Ivy – the princess of his life. Her cancer diagnosis was very challenging for him.”

During Ip’s art therapy sessions, the two men would often have long conversations that delved into issues such as the meaning of life, illness, love and freedom, Liang says.
Even today, as Ip is undergoing another round of chemotherapy, the couple remains positive. Ip’s coming exhibition is a remembrance and celebration of their journey – of both the beautiful and challenging moments.
“Art helped me shift my focus away from pain and deepen my self-awareness,” she says.
“The exhibition shows different stages of my cancer journey, and I hope it inspires others facing cancer to stay positive … I want it to encourage others to rebuild their self-esteem and keep going.”
“Life is Beautiful” April 14-21, 1pm-8pm, except April 17, 1pm-6pm, Breathing Room, 30/F, Bayfield Building, 99 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai.
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Ivy Ip (left) and husband Kenneth Kwan, together with Hong Kong Cancer Fund art therapist Tang Hoi-lam, display a wool-felt scarf they made together at a couples’ art therapy session. Photo: Courtesy of Ivy Ip

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Tommy Liang (left), a registered social worker and trauma therapist with HKCF, and Abbie So, an art therapist at HKCF, hold a patient’s artwork at an HKCF support centre in Kwai Hing. Photo: Sun Yeung

Ip and Kwan in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Ivy Ip

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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Ivy Ip says art therapy classes at the Hong Kong Cancer Fund have been a source of inspiration. Now she’s exhibiting her work in Wan Chai


Ivy Ip says art therapy classes at the Hong Kong Cancer Fund have been a source of inspiration. Now she’s exhibiting her work in Wan Chai.
