East Asian youth art exchange and mutual learning

2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea. On April 12, the exhibition of youth art exchange works in member cities of “capital of East Asian culture” officially met the audience at Wenzhou cultural museum. As a series of theme activities carried out by “he Wendu welcomes the Asian Games”, this exhibition is listed as the “2022 East Asian cultural capital · Wenzhou activity year in China” project of the municipal Party committee and the municipal government, and is jointly organized by Wenzhou culture, radio, television and Tourism Bureau, Tokyo Chinese culture center and Seoul Chinese culture center.

In 2021, Wenzhou was successfully elected as the “cultural capital of East Asia” in 2022 with the first overall score. Since then, Wenzhou’s cultural work has been integrated into the national cultural diplomacy strategy, and the city’s cultural and tourism development is facing unprecedented new opportunities. On the basis of giving full play to its existing advantages, the city’s foreign cultural and tourism exchanges took the opportunity of building “the cultural capital of East Asia”, put the exchanges and cooperation with Japan and South Korea into key consideration, and successfully held the youth art sketch creation competition in member cities of “the cultural capital of East Asia” last year on the basis of improving the influence of the brand project of “building the most beautiful international landscape painting base in China”, Upgrade the regional cultural exchange brand to an activity brand in East Asia, use art as a bridge to unite the cultural strength of China, Japan and South Korea, and enhance the young generation’s collective identity and sense of belonging to Asian culture.

A total of 86 winning works of the youth art sketch creation competition in the “capital of East Asian culture” member cities and works of teachers and students in Wenzhou art colleges were exhibited at the event site. The works include Chinese painting, oil painting, watercolor painting (gouache), printmaking, lacquer painting, comprehensive materials and other categories. The participating authors from China, Japan and South Korea vividly described the social life and natural landscape of their city through artistic sketch and creation, Fully expressed their humanistic care and artistic ideas. Under the background of the post epidemic era, we should promote everyone’s re understanding and thinking of the meaning of the community of human destiny from the perspective of art.

“East Asian cultural capital” is an East Asian regional cultural cooperation brand that China, Japan and South Korea have focused on promoting the innovation and upgrading of practical cooperation in culture and tourism. It is not only an important achievement in the humanities field of the China Japan South Korea leaders’ meeting, but also an international brand with the highest gold content in China’s cultural field. Since its implementation, many cities have created opportunities for rapid development through the linkage of culture and tourism. This exhibition is the first centralized appearance of the youth art works of China, Japan and South Korea in Wenzhou. It aims to deepen the understanding and experience of citizens and youth groups on the culture and art of the three countries by carrying out cultural brand activities with unique urban characteristics, and deeply implant the development concept of “East Asian cultural capital” of “East Asian consciousness, cultural blending and mutual appreciation” in the hearts of the public, Create a brand image of “Wenzhou, the cultural capital of East Asia”, which is full of distinctive regional characteristics and the spirit of the times.

The exhibition will last until May 3.

Li Baoxun (Korea QUANNAN National University):

Thank the organizers and judges for their recognition and giving such a high honor! Cultural exchange has always been the cornerstone and driving force of the development of human civilization and an important part of building the human social system. This exhibition of youth art exchange works in member cities of the “cultural capital of East Asia” jointly organized by Wenzhou culture, radio, television and Tourism Administration, Tokyo China cultural center and Seoul China Cultural Center fully reflects the positive role of cultural exchange and makes cultural exchange rooted in our lives. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea. The holding of this exhibition has witnessed the profound friendship between the two countries. Since the beginning of the epidemic, I have traveled between China and South Korea. I have also sought a way of thinking about artistic forms from the creation itself, and explored the value itself for the cultural differences between the two countries. The holding of this exhibition has also greatly promoted the cultural exchanges in East Asia. While playing a positive role in the personal growth of the youth of the three contemporary countries, it is of great significance to the cultural and historical inheritance of China and South Korea. Taking advantage of the opportunity to study abroad, I will strive to promote cultural exchanges and interaction between China and South Korea and promote the harmonious construction of the two countries in an artistic way.

Jiang Shangyue (Central Academy of Fine Arts):

The work “Rainbow” I created this time is the result of my exploration of the essence of “communication” and visual “misunderstanding” in recent years. Dislocation and parallel communication are not only mutual respect in coexistence, but also an important opportunity for self enlightenment. When we stare at this sense of distance and uncertainty, the essence of communication may slowly emerge. Then I suddenly felt that I saw a rainbow in the gray area of communication.

No matter which color of the rainbow is pure and beautiful, each shining brilliantly and coexisting. It is also a symbol of dream and hope. Here, the language of rainbow is very consistent with its own state of mind and has a strong resonance. Rainbow has become a symbolic language for communication and understanding at this stage, and it has gradually penetrated into its own painting language.

I hope this exhibition will become a driving force for cultural exchanges between China, Japan and South Korea. Congratulations on its development!

Pan Wenfei (Tokyo University of Art):

Under the special background of the COVID-19 sweeping the world, I had the honor to participate in the urban youth creation competition of “the cultural capital of East Asia”. Art creation, a good medicine, helps me overcome loneliness in a foreign country, rethink the relationship between human individual and the world, and re find the track of spiritual growth. It is believed that through the artistic interaction in different cultural contexts, the young people of China, Japan and South Korea can break through the language barrier, deepen mutual understanding and enhance mutual friendship through sincere communication of artistic works. Work together to promote peaceful cooperation and development among the three countries through artistic dialogue. Looking forward to the future, I hope similar cultural exchange activities can continue and become better and better. Finally, I wish the exhibition every success.

Long Han (Berlin Art University / China Academy of Fine Arts):

With the global epidemic as the background of the times, it is extremely difficult to hold a joint exhibition of Chinese and foreign artists’ works. As one of the participating artists of the youth art exchange exhibition in the member cities of the “capital of East Asian culture”, I am very honored to use my works to communicate with Japanese and Korean artists. I also thank the professional judges from China, Japan and South Korea for their affirmation of my works and won the “shortlist Award”. My work “sunset rose series” is a landscape painting that I try to create step by step in the process of flower creation