All winning entries and 30 pieces by Italian students will be showcased online through the “Road of Friendship” mini-program. Due to the pandemic, participating students and parents who could not attend in person can also watch the entire awards ceremony via video livestream.
After the awards ceremony, the China-Italy Art Education Seminar commenced. The seminar invited several experts from both countries, including Li Qing, Director of Changning District Children’s Palace and Head of the Shanghai Extracurricular Art Education Research Group, James M. Bradburne, Director of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, and Giuseppe La Bruna, President of the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. They discussed experiences in art education from three perspectives: Shanghai’s extracurricular art education, youth art education, and Italian art education.
Earlier this year, the Shanghai Science and Technology Art Education Center and the Shanghai Great World Heritage Center leveraged their respective strengths to host the 2020 “Belt and Road” China-Italy Youth Painting Exchange Series. The series included activities such as the collection and evaluation of painting works, exhibitions and exchanges between China and Italy, art master workshops, public classes by art professors, and art education seminars. The organizers successfully overcame the challenges posed by the pandemic and completed all activities, including the exhibition in Italy.
Among them, the “Road of Friendship” Excellence in Painting Exhibition Italy Station was held as scheduled at the Palazzo dei Congressi presso Limonaia in Florence. A total of 30 award-winning paintings, selected by experts from both China and Italy, were displayed in Italy. The Florence government also organized a painting competition for primary and secondary school students with the theme “Fighting the Pandemic.” They selected 30 excellent works to be showcased alongside the Chinese students’ paintings for exchange and exhibition.
To allow more students to integrate into and participate in the “Belt and Road” China-Italy Youth Painting Exchange activities and experience Italian art education, the organizers specially invited several Italian artists and Italian art design professors to connect online and interact offline with schools in Shanghai. They led students to experience the charm of artistic creation. The workshops, starting from art creation, combined current hot topics such as the pandemic, environmental protection, art and life, and art and technology. By using the most ordinary materials around them, students were guided to unleash their creativity, develop design thinking, enhance aesthetic taste, pay attention to social issues, and appreciate the charm of interdisciplinary learning. Hundreds of students from Shinan Middle School, Xiangshan Middle School, Tsinghua Middle School, Shanghai Normal University Affiliated Foreign Language School, Wuyou Middle School, Dajing Middle School, and Jiufeng Middle School actively participated. By the end of the year, the workshops will also enter more primary and secondary schools and youth activity centers, benefiting more students.
Creativity knows no hierarchy, and there is no good or bad in art. If children can think outside the box and enhance traditional materials by infusing them with artistic value, then the workshop has achieved its purpose,” commented Barbara Vaccaro, a specially appointed lecturer and art professor from the Italian National Federation of Culture.
Additionally, as one of the significant achievements of the “Belt and Road” China-Italy Youth Painting Exchange Event, the “Shanghai Extracurricular Art Teachers Overseas Base,” a collaboration between the Shanghai Science and Technology Art Education Center and the China-Italy Innovation Center, was officially established. A signing ceremony was held during the awards ceremony. The base is located in the Creative Space (OFFICINA CREATIVA), a multifunctional space in the heart of Oltrarno, Florence, dedicated to creativity, training, and the international promotion of traditional art.
The “Shanghai Extracurricular Art Teachers Overseas Base” will leverage Italy’s geographic location and its unique status in art and culture to extend its influence throughout Europe, fostering deeper cooperation between China and Italy in art education.
（Source from：上观新闻）