Chief Change Officer
#347 May Yeung: Sculpting Impact from Dim Sum to Disability Inclusion
Mon, 5 May 2025
For the first time, the Chief Change Officer podcast returns to its birthplace—Hong Kong—to spotlight local artist and community builder May Yeung.From doodling on walls at age two to sculpting giant dim sum steamers for public exhibitions, May’s journey is anything but typical. She swapped Goldman Sachs for gallery spaces, battled cancer with faith (and clay), and now leads Art of My Family, a charity that brings art, healing, and heritage to underprivileged youth across Hong Kong. Whether it’s mental wellness programs, intergenerational education, or marine-themed installations made from recycled shells, May turns every life experience into a canvas for good. Bonus: her baby son Archer makes a surprise guest appearance—arguably stealing the show.Key Highlights of Our Interview:Draw First, Write Later: A Childhood in Color“I drew on walls before I could write my name… by twelve, I knew I’d be an artist.”When Music Shapes the ClayFrom piano lessons with Hong Kong’s top musicians to dance-sculpture mashups, May’s art listens before it speaks.The Goldman Pivot: Finding Purpose Through CSR“I helped organize community art after Hurricane Sandy. That’s when the impact bug bit.”From Cancer to Conviction: The ALT of Art“Faith, feeling alive, touching lives—cancer gave me a new mission, not just new scars.”Archer Joins the Show: A Toddler-Sized Shift in Artistic Purpose“Motherhood made me realize: my art must nourish the next generation—his and others’.”Dim Sum, Ping Pong, and Bamboo DreamsFrom Chinese checkers to handmade steamers, May’s art honors Hong Kong’s everyday beauty.‘What If’ and ‘Blossom Love’: Sculpting Global Conversations“What If” made her the first Asian sculptor to exhibit at Rockefeller Chapel; “Blossom Love” built a cultural bridge between Hong Kong and the Netherlands.Why ‘Art of My Family’ Isn’t Just a NameMay’s nonprofit uses art to serve mental health, sustainability, and inclusion—with the three C’s: co-design, co-create, co-learn.Mission: Teaching Artists Who Teach From Life“I’m not just instructing—I’m modeling the mess, joy, and resilience of the creative path.”______________________Connect with us:Host: Vince Chan | Guest: May Yeung --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.EdTech Leadership Awards 2025 Finalist.18 Million+ All-Time Downloads.80+ Countries Reached Daily.Global Top 1.5% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>170,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.<<<
Chapter 1: Who is May Yeung and what is her mission?
Hi, everyone. Welcome to our show, Chief Change Officer. I'm Vince Chen, your ambitious human host. Our show is a modernist humility for change progressives in organizational and human transformation from around the world. I started this show in Hong Kong and I run the show in Hong Kong. I'm originally from Hong Kong, talking to guests from every corner of the world possible.
Yet so far, I haven't interviewed any guests from right here in Hong Kong. Today, that changes. I'm excited to bring a local guest to the studio, May Yeung, founder of the charity Art of My Family, a teaching artist, a cancer survivor, a mother to a really cute boy, and the wife of another Vince, who happens to be a good friend of mine. May has experienced many life changes over the years.
She's determined to use the power of art in her own way to change lives and create an environmentally sustainable, mentally healthy, and socially inclusive society here in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is not just about business, finance and money. May has chosen a different path to do well and to do good. And as a side note, we've got our youngest guest ever, May's 11-month-old son joining us on the show.
So don't go away.
Hi, everyone. My name is Mei. I'm a teaching artist and while I'm a doctor, I'm also the founder of Art of My Family, a charity dedicated to organize community art events with sustainability elements.
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Chapter 2: How did May's childhood influence her artistic journey?
Mei is a teaching artist. What is a teaching artist, you may wonder? And how does she develop her artistic journey? But before we do a deep dive, let us start with May's history. May, give us an overview of your history, your education, your life experiences, just to give us some perspective. Then we will explore different elements of your journey in the later part of our show.
Sure. Growing up, I've always really enjoyed art more than anything else. And much some kids prefer playing sports, art really came naturally to me. So from the time I was around two years old, I would draw on walls before I could even write my name. And art was one of the ways my parents and I bonded. So when I was three, my mother taught me how to sew origami.
And by five years old, my father and I were creating ceramics together. At age 12, my positive experiences with arts from my childhood really gave me the conviction to become an artist, during which I had a fascination with data and pop art. And I eventually went to the University of Chicago to study arts.
This is where I met Professor Jeff Oppenheimer, who gave a lecture on integrating art into daily life and daily life into art. And the contents of this lecture really helped form the framework and direction of my art to this day, and also were one of the major factors in my decision to become a sculptor specializing in pop art and large installations for public spaces.
You went to the University of Chicago to study visual art, along with another interest of yours, political science. I happen to know a lot of people from Hong Kong and China, including myself, who attempt the University of Chicago to study economics, business, mathematics, or physics. Yet, even at your young age, you purposely chose art as your major. Tell us more about the why.
Why at that age you decided to pursue art as your major? Why you wanted to get serious about this field of study rather than just keeping it as a hobby or as an interest?
For me, art is a way of self-expression as well as a way of communication with others. And I think the power of art is that even for words that cannot be expressed, it can be experienced through art. And I think, as I mentioned earlier, Professor Jeff Obertheimer, actually, as well as Professor Laura Lipsinski, both of them play a very important role in my artistic career.
They really encouraged me to jump outside of the box and incorporate some of the daily life materials into my artwork and that's also my philosophy as an artist too.
You've mentioned to me before that music has had a significant influence on your journey as an artist. Can you share more about how music plays a role in your art world?
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Chapter 3: What pivotal moment changed May's career path?
It is actually an artwork, a series of sculpted vases in the form of a musical rest in a garden of sprouting daisies.
and I will actually hand-painted them and the artwork is really aimed to calm the mind and encouraging the viewers to actually withdraw themselves from the bustling city lives to relax, to enlarge, to recharge and to reflect and the reason why I actually chose musical rest is because I believe that the absence of sound
in a musical score actually provides dynamics, builds tension, and actually maintain the rhythm, even change the tempo of the theme. And I really hope that as music is everywhere, and I really want that through art and music, which are both universal language, to actually have to cross beyond borders and cultures.
In your career so far, you've explored various areas of art, like music, sculpture, and painting. But you've also spent a good amount of time in the corporate world, including investment banking and working for a tech company in the CSR or ESG space.
What were your thoughts back then about gaining this so-called standard commercial and business experience while still pursuing your artistic ambitions?
My transition from finance to startup and then to art was a kind of gradual realization of my calling in life and what I really wanted to do through my career. And earlier you mentioned I worked in finance. I was an analyst at Goldman in the US and back then I had the opportunity to work on the CSR initiative and the experience really impacted me.
Specifically, the community team works, which provided relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Sandy. And so I actually, at that time, I helped organizing community art events and it became a really fond memory for me and inspired me to shift my career towards focusing and making a positive social impact.
Coming back to Hong Kong, I then joined the founding team of the Liberal Hong Kong Office as the Social Responsibility Lead. food recovery programs um and uh providing meal free meals for the community and so seeing the potential for corporations to support their communities really solidified my desire to use my abilities to benefit those in need
And all these experience and also with personal help challenge that's actually led me back to my original passion for art as a pop art sculptor and also the founder of the charity Art of My Family. I now really delegate work. dedicate my career to bring creative opportunities to underprivileged youth in Hong Kong, sticking the values of ART art, which is affirmation, resilience, and faithfulness.
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Chapter 4: How did May's battle with cancer affect her perspective?
Just give me one moment. Archer is coming over soon.
I would like to carry him as I'm answering this question. So please help me. Oh, he's sleepy.
Okay. Did you interrupt his afternoon baby sleep? Beauty sleep? Actually, he was awake before the call, but then he fell asleep. Yes, like this. Okay. Hi! Yes, hi! I'm trying to grab a photo of the three of us. Let's see. Okay.
who this person is because look at his eyebrows like checking me out what is this what am I trying to do so that's artisanal and he just smiled so back to our original question about a new chapter in your life about a new life that you're nurturing about motherhood
Speaking of motherhood, my journey actually really inspired a new purpose for my art creations. From my pregnancy to the birth of my son, Archer, that's when I realized that my work could be created with the goal of enriching the next generation, regardless it's maybe work or regardless art pieces.
And I think the art and the joy of creating is an expression of inter-generation care, both for Archer and also for the other youths who needed the most in my community. So one of the pieces actually, Vince, you saw in person at League of Faith was an art piece I created for a Mother Nature Next Generation exhibition.
With me trying to express the excitement and the joy of watching life grow into something wonderful, perhaps something very small. The bamboo steamer used in League of Faith, which is the largest handmade bamboo steamer ever made in Hong Kong. is a piece of cultural heritage that represents all the things I really enjoyed growing up that I wish to pass on to next generations.
Actually, on a side note, why I decided to name him Chagall is because I really hope that he could aspire to be like the artist Mark Chagall, who is basically a very innovative, innovative person who also went through a lot of challenges in life, but she still managed to get to become one of the most celebrated artists in the history of art.
What were some of the things you enjoyed growing up in Hong Kong? Can you share more about activities or experiences that were particularly meaningful to you during that time?
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Chapter 5: What role does motherhood play in May's art?
This seems like the perfect time to talk more about art of my family. May, you've mentioned this charity a few times during our interview. is called Art of My Family, with my M-Y standing for your name, May Yeung. When I look at your website, you set various goals. Making art accessible, promoting social inclusion, fostering cultural exchange, strengthening mental wellness,
and championing environmental protection. These are all very important agendas. Looking back over the past six years, I'm curious, how would you assess your progress? Of course, we've reached a stage in life where we don't just judge our achievements based on report cards. And you've mentioned that you used to be a perfectionist, but now have a different perspective.
But if you have to evaluate your progress over the last six years, how would you rate yourself? And as a follow-up, looking forward, what else do you want to achieve? Are there areas where you feel you haven't done enough or where you believe you can do a better job? So it's a two-part question. First, assessing your past progress.
And second, looking ahead and learning from the past to improve in the future.
Chapter 6: What is the significance of 'Art of My Family'?
Before answering your question, I actually want to give a little bit of a story behind why I set up Art of My Family in the first place. And then I'll talk a little bit more about what I plan to do and as well as how I assess myself. I actually, back then, as I mentioned earlier, I was serving as the CRSL lead at Deliveroo.
And I was launching a food recovery program where we managed to save a substantial amount of food and beverages and also provided thousands of meals for the community. And that's when I realized my potential in supporting the community. And I decided to lean towards my passion for the arts and recognize that many underprivileged children did not have the chance to learn art as I did.
That's why I decided to set up Art of My Family in 2018. In terms of assessment, I would say that there's always world beyond world. And I just feel so blessed to be part of the Art of My Family. Also, the family just continued to grow. One of our key programs is actually our team artist scheme, which is basically striving to nurture the next generation of creative and artistic talents.
And for that program back then, we mainly partnered with the Hong Kong Design Institute. And now we actually expanded our program to, besides HKDI, we expanded to Metropolitan University, City University. and also CC Design. So it's very exciting to see how the family grow and we definitely want to continue to expand that to other universities in Hong Kong.
But I think also one point in terms of what I really want to do, I think one point really worth mentioning is that many children and youth in Hong Kong these days actually go through emotional turmoil. And the World Economic Forum actually projected the emotional problems would be one of the biggest problems by 2030.
And the cost of mental health conditions would actually skyrocket to 6 trillion US dollars globally by then. And so Art of My Family actually has launched programs like Hearts at Home program the past year. We helped to further expand this program to help strengthening the mental wellness of children with disabilities and also those that lack family care, including those in a memorial home.
So our goal was actually to ultimately help those, help them to integrate into society and to walk out of the shadow of the family negligence. Besides Artsy Art Scheme and also Heartset Composer, we actually architected sculptures with unique characteristics in all 18 districts of Hong Kong to show the importance of art in not only beautifying the city, but also supporting the mental well-being.
Speaking of mental wellness or well-being, it's important to acknowledge that whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere in the world, The aftermath of COVID, economic uncertainty, and other global challenges have created a lot of stress. These aren't just isolated events. They are interconnected factors that bring about significant changes. In my view, embracing change can be a growth opportunity.
but also brings mental pressure and negativity, which can impact everyone's wellbeing. I agree with you that wellness is crucial for everyone, from the elderly, who have their own challenges, to children, who are the pillars of our future society. Often the mental issues we face as adults can be traced back to childhood.
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Chapter 7: How does May incorporate sustainability in her work?
Thank you so much for joining us today. If you like what you heard, Don't forget, subscribe to our show, leave us top-rated reviews, check out our website, and follow me on social media. I'm Vince Chen, your ambitious human host. Until next time, take care.