Arts festival to inspire new creative talents in Southwest China

Sichuan’s finest artists and creative talent have gathered for the second Sichuan Arts Festival which saw its curtain lifted on Tuesday. The landmark event is expected to light a creative fire to kindle more original works of literature and other artistic offerings emanating from the Southwest China province.

Running through July to October, the festival will host an array of cultural activities in Sichuan cities, including Leshan, Neijiang and the provincial capital Chengdu.

During the arts festival, a total of 31 plays will be staged, falling into the categories of traditional Chinese opera, modern drama, children plays, dance drama and music drama.

Some of the plays are rooted in the soil of Sichuan, and tell about the lively stories that happened in the province.

When the Dust Settles is a dance drama produced by the Sichuan Province Song and Dance Theatre, and was performed at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Sichuan Arts Festival on Tuesday. The drama is inspired by the novel of the same name by A Lai, a notable Sichuan-based author.

Luoxia Hong, a Sichuan opera created by the Chengdu Sichuan Opera Research Institute, tells the life story of Luoxia Hong, a prestigious astronomer from Sichuan during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220).

More than 300 pieces of artwork will be exhibited at the festival, including traditional Chinese paintings, oil paintings, prints, sculptures and calligraphy.

The festival has also invited calligraphers and painters to create more than 100 themed artworks. The section is sponsored by Sichuan provincial government.

A raft of competitions is also being held for hundreds of literary artworks ranging from novels, poems, essays and scripts.

Professional contests on the playbill include shadow puppetry and dance hosted by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

In addition, the 2019 Sichuan Arts Festival will hold a series of activities on campuses and in communities, aiming to popularize greater knowledge of art and allow more people to share the fruits of cultural and artistic development, according to local government.

“Taking full advantage of the diverse art activities, the second Sichuan Arts Festival is set to help strengthen the cultural confidence of Sichuan people and establish a cultural brand exclusive to Sichuan,” said Dou Weiping, a senior official at the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

Ticket prices for the festival range from 40 yuan ($5.82) to 100 yuan.

The low ticket prices will allow more people to take part in the cultural feast and help cultivate the public’s enthusiasm for arts, according to local officials.