Magic Crayon
Institution James Concourse, St. James Settlement in Sham Shui Po
Year 2024
Location Hong Kong
Diagnosis SDUs and the Loss of Play
In Hong Kong, over 220,000 people endure life in subdivided units (SDUs)—cramped, poorly ventilated flats lacking sanitation and privacy (Census and Statistics Department, 2022). For children, these conditions are particularly devastating. Chronic spatial deprivation stifles play, study, and rest, fueling stress, anxiety, and developmental delays (Ng et al., 2021). Although transitional housing projects have been introduced to ease the burden, demand continues to far exceed supply. Research by the Society for Community Organization (SoCO) reveals that children in SDUs often report feeling trapped, with few recreational opportunities and constant exposure to noise and instability——factors that corrode emotional and cognitive well-being.
Cultural Treatment Imagination Makes Space
To counter this crisis, Magic Crayon transforms cramped realities into boundless worlds. In one workshop, families visited their local wet market and collaboratively illustrated their favorite fish. These drawings were then scanned and instantly animated into a digitally projected ocean, transforming static images into interactive, immersive environments.
Ordinary objects, moments and neighborhoods become sites for cultural nourishment. Inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon—in which a single drawn line becomes a gateway to infinite possibility—the workshop invites transitional families into a shared realm of imagination, where children and caregivers draw their way into story, shaping new worlds together and reclaiming joy and narrative space.
By repurposing underutilized community spaces as sites for collaborative storytelling, Magic Crayon empowers families to reclaim agency. It asserts art not as a luxury, but as a psychological necessity—restoring physical, digital, and emotional space for children to thrive. As children see their drawings come alive, their voices are validated, and play is reclaimed as essential to mental well-being—an ocean where every child belongs.
Reference:
Census and Statistics Department (2022). Thematic Household Survey Report No. 76: Housing Conditions of Subdivided Units.
Ng, I. Y. H., et al. (2021). Living in subdivided units and its impact on children’s health and development in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Journal of Paediatrics.
Society for Community Organization (SoCO). (2020). Report on the Living Conditions of Children in Subdivided Flats.
Johnson, C. (1955). Harold and the purple crayon. Harper.