DIRECTOR ADVOCATES GREATER PUBLIC ART EDUCATION
Boosting museum access will pay huge dividends for society, Lin Qi reports.
For several years, Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum of China, has been spending Lunar New Year, the first day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, with visitors to his museum, which is one of the country’s top cultural venues.
This year was no different. After waiting in long queues, visitors entering the museum’s compound in downtown Beijing were greeted by Wu, who is a sculptor and calligrapher in his own right, and several other artists. Writing the Chinese character fu (meaning good luck and happiness) on a square piece of red paper, they presented them as gifts — a traditional way at Chinese New Year to deliver blessings.
More than 500 of the calligraphy pieces were given away that day, a festive event that has been held for nine years at the museum, with the exception of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wu says it is an important gesture by the national art museum to repay museumgoers for their loyalty and support for the museum, and appreciation of its collection. It is also, he says, a demonstration of the Chinese cultural spirit.
As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Wu values the importance of integrating calligraphy into the regular operations of art museums.
In one of his proposals submitted to the current session of the CPPCC National Committee, he has reiterated the need for a bigger role for calligraphy in public art education.
Wu describes calligraphy as an art form that is easy for ordinary people to learn and practice regularly, adding that these days “one can begin using a pen but with a fine brush tip, which is affordable and convenient to carry, and then progress to holding the formal Chinese brush”.
“See, appreciate and practice, that will help one better understand the cultural accumulations and artistry of every Chinese character, and make people feel even more proud of their country and culture,” he says.
His efforts are gaining positive feedback from visitors to the national art museum. For example, several well-curated calligraphy exhibitions held at the museum last year got good reviews from both professionals and the public, including one of the late renowned artist Liu Haisu and another of Chen Hailiang, a leading calligrapher who specializes in caoshu (cursive script).
Wu says it is because people are awed by the aesthetic ideals of different periods of time which brought evolutions to Chinese calligraphy.
“The history of calligraphy illustrates the formation of Chinese characters; it is an eruption of emotions, philosophical thinking and poetry. It represents one aspect of the continuity of Chinese civilization, its openness and creativity,” he says.
He believes that calligraphy and other forms of art, as an integral part of public education, would and should cultivate the minds of people of varying ages and backgrounds in an all-encompassing way, an influence that would last throughout their lives.
“It (art education) should not just be serving specific groups of people at specific moments of social life, and content should not be limited to specific kinds,” he says. “It is our duty to cross the ‘fences’ of art and museums, and to work out a framework for all people.”
He says more families have recognized the value art education has in helping their children develop a sense of beauty which he says brings them lifelong benefits, and helps them cultivate sensible minds.
Over time, the museum has been a second school for youngsters. Its diverse program includes a zodiac animal theme exhibition of children’s art, which has been held for three consecutive years since the Year of the Tiger in 2022.
When the national art museum celebrated its 60th anniversary in May, among all the rooms exhibiting its immense collection was a room for younger visitors. It displayed hundreds of pieces of art made by children from across the country that were inspired by the museum’s collection, at six separate shows between May and September. Meanwhile, its public education department trained dozens of child volunteers to give guided tours at the anniversary exhibitions.
Wu also stressed in his proposal that museums should reach out to more people with the aid of digital technology and new media.
In recent years, the national art museum has mounted several exhibitions to rotate its collection, and toured them outside Beijing and sometimes abroad. They were huge public attractions.
It has been creating a digital version of itself, one without physical barriers, in which good exhibitions never end, and its resources are more accessible. The museum’s official website and WeChat account regularly post introductions to works of art and craft in its collection, from paintings, sculptures and prints to folk handicrafts, such as nianhua, Chinese New Year paintings, and decorative embroidery made by different ethnic groups.
In December, the museum launched an online audio program called Beautiful Voices, Colorful Art, in which noted actors and actresses narrate the story of one piece from its collection in each episode, explaining how it was made and who made it.
The second season of the audio series, which begins this month, will feature five performers, including Wang Gang, the actor, host and star of several hit TV dramas and variety shows, who is known as a collector of classic Chinese art.