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The China Connection - The Trip/The Exhibit

Contributed by: sheri farabaugh on 1/1/2008

A group of twelve artists from Colorado were invited to visit the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China for an American/Chinese Art Exchange and Exhibit in April 2007. Participating artists were Patti Andre, Jan Archuleta, Van Chan, Becky Everitt, Sheri Farabaugh, Maya Heneghan, Jan Rhinehart, Dorothy Pecina, Jean Riordan, Becky Silver, Gale Simonson, and Diane Wood.

The American Art Delegation arrived in Shanghai and was met by their host , Ning Sun, an accomplished artists and professor at the Ningbo Accademy of Art.We were also accompanied by a tour guide, a translator, and two delightful students from the academy, who were eager to practice their English, and to showus their country.

The following day we toured the China Academy of Art, where we were able to watch the students in their classes. It was interesting to see that, while many students were studying contemporary Western art, traditional Chinese art and caligraphy were still a major part of the curriculum. And in fact, many Chinese artist return to their traditional roots after experimenting in Western techniques. Art is and always has been a very important part of Chinese culture.

Our Rocky Mountain Art Exhibit was held that evening at the University. We were greeted warmly at a reception with over 100 students and staff members. The Vice President of the Academy spoke , saying that the exchange between American artists and Chinese artists was viewed as a good way to build relations between our people.

The next day we had the opportunity to sketch with several students and staff at the ancient city of Doumen. Life in Doumen appears to be much the same as it was hundreds of years ago, except for the occasionaly motorcycle winding down the extremely narrow streets. It did not appear to be a tourist destination, in fact our bus driver got lost several times trying to get us there. I can't help but wonder what the residents thought of a group of American artistcoming into paint them going about their daily activities. But one family was gracious to the point of inviting us into their home, giving us places to sit to eat our lunches.

During our ten days in China we toured Shanghai (28 million people!!), Hangzhou which is reputed to be the most beautiful city in China, and Suzhou with its canals and bridges. I found China to be beautiful, patient, friendly, quite polluted, and endlessly fascinating. The food was wonderful, the traffic, unbelievable. I would not hesitate to go again, and will always remember the wonderful opportunity we were given to share our art with other Chinese artists.

The China Connection Exhibit will be held at the Great Frame Up, 430 Main Street, Longmont, Colorado. Ten of the artists from the April exhibit in China will be showing paintings inspired by their visit. The public is invited to a free Opening Reception on January 11th from 6pm to 9pm. The exhibit will run from January 10th to January 31st from 10am to 5pm daily.


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

sheri farabaugh

thornton , CO

sheri farabaugh has posted 1 story and 0 comments since joining on 1/1/2008. sheri farabaugh 's average story rating is 5.
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