From moving forward as we age, we all need happiness and enlightenment from beauty in our life. On April 25, 2021, the third “CAFA & LUCION National Open Call for Calligraphy and Artworks by Children” jointly sponsored by the Central Academy of Fine Arts (abbr. CAFA) and Shandong Lucion Public Welfare Foundation that belongs to the LUCION Group was officially launched in Beijing, and it calls for entries from children from the age of 4 to 13 in China. This competition upholds the original intention of providing professional, universal, and non-profit aesthetic education resources for the public, and it further encourages children to actively explore and think in multiple dimensions while learning independently, so that children can express their own views and thoughts on the present and the future in their works through their free expressions.

The Third “CAFA & LUCION National Competition for Calligraphy and Artworks by Children” includes a total of twelve awards. The awards are divided into three categories, namely groups of art, calligraphy, and potentiality. 580 finalists (540 individuals, 40 institutions or teachers) will be selected for the preliminary evaluation stage of the competition. In the final evaluation stage, 180 nominations will be selected, and each themed award will have 15 nomination award winners (the number of award winners is evenly distributed by groups of age: 5 winners from 4 to 7 years old, 5 winners from 8 to 10 years old, and 5 winners from 11 to 13 years old), and finally 12 themed award winners will be selected from the nominated award winners. The 12 themed award winners will receive the award certificates issued by the third "CAFA & LUCION National Competition for Calligraphy and Artworks by Children”, and they can participate in the “CAFA & LUCION Children’s Research Program” for free, so that they will be invited to jointly conduct a five-day study in CAFA in mid-to-late August.

On the scene of the first “CAFA & LUCION National Excellent Artworks by Children”, Fan Di’an, President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, commented on the children’s works.

Award presenters of the first competition (from left to right): Mr. Jiang Dong, assistant to the General Manager of Shandong Lucion Group and vice chairman of Lucion Charity Foundation, Mr. Fan Di’an, President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Mr. Gao Hong, Party Secretary of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Mr. Wang Shaojun, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee (at the time) of Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Mr. Pan Chenghui, Assistant to the President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, presented awards to the winning children.

Backed by the academic strength of CAFA, the Third “CAFA & LUCION National Competition for Calligraphy and Artworks by Children” adheres to the innovative model of “selection, guidance, interaction, accompanying growth”, which guides institutions, families and individuals to establish a positive concept of art education to promote the healthy development of art education for children across the country.

As a completely non-profit and charitable competition, the Third “CAFA & LUCION National Competition for Calligraphy and Artworks by Children” charge no registration fees. From April 25th through to August 2nd, 2021, children or their parents who would like to participate in the competition can register and submit their entries according to the registration procedure guidelines by following the official WeChat account from the School of Continuing Education, CAFA. The experts and professors from CAFA will complete the selection process of all the winners in August through a two-level evaluation system of preliminary evaluation and final evaluation. All the winning works will be exhibited at CAFA on August 20th, 2021 and their works will be included in the publication of 2021 CAFA & LUCION National Collection of Calligraphy and Artworks by Children.

Winners of the first competition entered the Song Art Museum to visit the exhibition Abstraction(s).The Group Photo of Jury Members at the Review Site of the second “CAFA & LUCION National Competition for Artworks by Children”

About the Themes: Optional Choices

The Third “CAFA & LUCION National Competition for Calligraphy and Artworks by Children” breaks through the limits of themed propositions, as the three themes recommended by the organizing committee can be extended as optional choices.

Theme I: “Birthday”

Everything has a birth date. The sprout of new shoots previews the arrival of spring; the birth of a child announces the continuation of life; the birth of an epoch explains the changes of civilization; the birth of the Communist Party of China ushered in a new China. Birth symbolizes hope and the future. Please observe life and things around you and tell stories about birthday with art!

Theme II: “Back to 2021”

Einstein once said, “I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.” Along with the rapid development of science and technology, we might meet the future ahead of time. What will the world look like in a year that a century from now? Introducing the infinite possibilities of imagination, assuming you were a person living a century from now, what kind of artwork will you use to lead us to know about the future, and engage in archaeological research of the future?

Theme III: “Unforgettable Poems”

Poetry is the condensing art of language and writing, and it is also the sustenance of feelings and spirit. It is a collection of rich imagination and classic poetry about the common heritage of human beings. In your growing process, have you any imagination to create poetry and travel to distant fields? Please choose one of your most memorable poems and portray your own world of poetry.

As a participatory educational activity, the Competition adheres to the “Art Tutor Program”, that is, it integrates the reviews by “experts” and guidance by “renowned tutors” while spreading healthy aesthetic values and gradually forms an innovative model for art education for children. The organizing committee upholds the responsibility shouldered by CAFA with a long history over a century, and it integrates the epochal characteristics of art education.

The Group Photo of Children Winners on the Campus of CAFA

Exhibition view of the second “CAFA & LUCION National Excellent Artworks by Children”, Photo at Shandong Art Education Center, Central Academy of Fine Arts

Highlight I: Developing a long-term accompanying growth plan

The Competition invites renowned teachers and professors from CAFA and social aesthetic education experts to provide children with a “compass” for their growth. It gives full play to the guiding role of the Competition to benchmark art education for Chinese children, while formulating a long-term “accompanying growth plan”, paying attention to the growth characteristics of children at different stages, providing positive guidance for children’s self-recognition and individual development, and further helps children to successfully complete the transition of the key stage of artistic growth.

Highlight II: Children’s creativity can be professionally taken care of

CAFA is willing to be a protector for the development of children’s art education. The Competition is just a form, and awards are not the goal. In essence, the Competition is to cultivate children’s comprehensive ability and promote the overall development of their physical and mental health. Experts, doctoral supervisors, professors, and associate professors of CAFA jointly formed a professional jury to ensure that children’s creativity receives the most professional care.

Highlight III: Free to learn the most hard-core online courses

The organizing committee of the Competition integrated the online teaching experience of teachers with video innovative teaching plans, and carefully created ten free lessons for children. The online courses are presented in a cartoon-like form. Not only can children visit the magical landscapes of the world “online”, teachers will also tell the stories behind them. Interesting appearances, hard-core knowledge, and exciting online courses at CAFA can be watched and offer guidance while playing will tell the children where these wonderful “art works come from”. Children participating in the courses will also create their wonderful works with the guidance of teachers. It is unnecessary for parents to worry about not having a work to participate in the Competition!

Exhibition view of the second “CAFA & LUCION National Excellent Artworks by Children”, Photo at Shandong Art Education Center, Central Academy of Fine Arts

Highlight IV: Contributing wisdom to the future

The finalist works of the Competition will be permanently collected by the School of Continuing Education, CAFA. Each competition will publish the “CAFA Annual National Survey on the Achievement of Children’s Art Education”. The School of Continuing Education at CAFA will conduct a “Survey on Visual Art Thinking on Training and Children’s Development Directions” in view of the current situation of Chinese children’s aesthetic education, and provide scientific research data for the establishment of a think tank for Chinese children’s art education. Participating children can contribute their wisdom to the future by participating in the Competition.

Highlight V: Aesthetic education infiltrates the countryside

The finalist works of the Competition will be displayed in rural schools using mobile art galleries, this allows students to experience the paintings of their peers from their own perspective, so as to encourage children to observe the outside world, think about things around them, and experience the realistic essence of life, and let the beauty truly flow through the form of art.

Highlight VI: New calligraphy unit

On the basis of the successful events from the previous two competitions, to further promote the integration of multiple art forms, the Third “CAFA & LUCION National Competition for Calligraphy and Artworks by Children” has added a calligraphy unit, aiming to encourage more children to enjoy the beauty of Chinese ink and perceive the charm of traditional culture.

Aesthetic education is an epochal project. “CAFA & LUCION National Competition for Calligraphy and Artworks by Children” is expected to take ten years to develop. Through the innovative model that researches aesthetic education with social resources, it will convey positive aesthetic education concepts in society and release the social responsibilities of CAFA, thus it will be the eyewitness and companion of the younger generation during their growth in China in the 21st century.

Text and Photo Courtesy of the Organizer, translated by Sue/CAFA ART INFO