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Born in Malaysia, Valerie was brought up in the vibrant city of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, surrounded by a diversity of cultures and multiracial people. During her Diploma of Fine Art studies at the Sunway University of Malaysia, her artwork focus a lot on colours and storytelling as she was inspired by the Nanyang style (an art movement and tradition initially practiced by migrant Chinese painters in Singapore) and the traditional shadow puppets of Malaysia.

 

She left Malaysia to pursue her 3 years Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts at Taiwan, Dayeh University, majoring in Painting, under mentor Huang Shun-Hsing. Departing from her colourful series, she began to experiment with materials such as Chinese Papers, coffee beans, Chinese tea leaves, and Chinese ink to convey her struggles with cultural differences between her identity as a Malaysian and a Chinese residing in Taiwan. Valerie continued her experiment into her final project where she studied how raw materials such as paper, wires, ropes, and stones were able to create a tense relationship between two opposite energies that would soon reach a "limit".

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At the same time, she took up a second course, Certificate in Art Management where she learned art management, administration, and curatorial practice. Inspired to be working behind the scene of exhibitions, curatorial practice, or educator, Valerie decided to take a MA in History of Art at the Birkbeck University of London. She had written topics related to Chinese influence on Western Art such as 'The Blue and White Porcelain in the Late 15th Century European Paintings' and 'What role did Chinese tropes play in the late 18th till early 19th-century British satirical prints?'. She also wrote essays on how museums framed their collection and represented them in space. In her dissertation 'The Beauty in the Banal Objects of Keith Arnatt’s 1980-1995 Photograph', she mainly researched Keith Arnatt's possible influences in his Photography career. 

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Valerie had at least 4 years of experience working as an Art Teacher, conducting classes for students aged 3 to 16. As a self-motivated learner, she worked part-time as an assistant administrator at the College of Art Department at Dayeh University, and also took up a project manager role to lead the team in creating a program to teach the values of aesthetics in rural areas of Taiwan. Valerie also had experience as a Marketing Graphic Designer where she managed and created content for the company's social media. 

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To gain more experience in the field of galleries and museums, Valerie decided to take an internship at the Peltz Gallery London as an Event and Marketing Assistant, being involved with the exhibition's installation and de-installation, created content for social media, and was part of the events and workshops team. Currently, she is working as a Visitor Experience, Art Invigilator, or Gallery Assistant at different locations such as the Design Museum London, Crowell Place, and Parallax Art Fair London. 

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For more details, please find her CV attached at the bottom, and feel free to email her at valerietongtong@gmail.com if you have any further questions.