On September 23, 2014, to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China, organized by the Department of Art of the Ministry of Culture, and National Art Museum of China, “Painting the Chinese Dream – An Exhibition Celebrating the 65th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China” was grandly inaugurated at National Art Museum of China (NAMOC). It is an important large-scale cultural activity for all ethnic groups in China to celebrate National Day, using painting to praise the Chinese dream, and the gift by national art circles sincerely congratulating the 65th anniversary of the founding of the great motherland.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture Dong Wei. Minister of the Ministry of Culture Cai Wu, Huang Kunming, vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, Zuo Zhongyi, a party member, vice chairman and secretariat secretary of China Federation of Literary and art Circles, Jin Shangyi, honorary President of China Artists Association, Liu Dawei, Chairman of the China Artists Association, Wang Mingming, deputy director of the Advisory Office of the state council, Dean of Beijing Fine Art Academy, Fan Di’an, Director of the National Art Museum of China, President of CAFA, and other leaders and honored guests gathered. In addition, some well-known artists, theorists such as Saone Chang, Yang Lizhou, as well as directors of the related institutes of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, Ministry of Culture, China Federation of Literature and Art Circles, Chinese Institute of Literature and History, China Artists Association, representatives of the institutes directly under the Ministry of Culture such as China National Academy of Arts, the Imperial Palace Institute, National Art Museum of China, China National Academy of Painting, the relevant directors of CAFA, Academy of Art & Design, Tsinghua University, and more than a dozen media representatives from the capital were invited to attend the opening ceremony.

Fan Di’an, Director of National Art Museum of China, President of CAFA, deputy Directors of National Art Museum of China Xie Xiaofan and An Yuanyuan, Liu Dongyan, Director of the Literature and Art of the Art Department in the Ministry of Culture, Zhang Qing, Director of the Department of Research and Planning of National Art Museum of China, He Lin, Director of the Department of Collection of National Art Museum of China were present at the press conference before the opening ceremony. At the press conference Zhang Qing introduced the curatorial team, process of the curatorial work, ten working nodes and the academic characteristics of the exhibition. Starting from the collections of work, Xie Xiaofan introduced the main feature of the exhibition which unfolded with the context of the collections of National Art Museum of China, using images to prove the history, and it was different from the previous historical themed exhibitions held by the National Art Museum of China, because of its ambition to explore how to make the exhibiting method of “Chinese dream” reveal more characteristics of the times. Fan Di’an who was appointed as the President of CAFA the day before the opening, delivered a three-dimensional report from “Relationship between Chinese dream and Chinese art”, “Chapter structure of the exhibition”, “Innovation of the form of exhibition (initially placed the original works in the public space of the art museum)”, as well as the arrangement of the public educational activities of the exhibition.

Fan Di’an, Director of National Art Museum of China said: “The exhibition uses ‘Searching?Dream of National Rejuvenation”, “Building?Dream of Rich and Strong Country”, “Pursuit?Dream of Happy People” to create a narrative structure of the exhibition, giving priority to the high-quality collections of the museum, with work types covering Chinese painting, oil painting, print, sculpture, comic book, New Year painting and new media art, showcasing the epic scroll of art to praise and sing about the Communist Party of China who leads the Chinese people’s struggle for national independence, becoming a rich and strong country, moving toward the road of an happy life, at the same time, highlighting the time development and artistic characteristics of Chinese art in the 20th Century.”

It is a large-scale comprehensive exhibition of art works reflecting the theme of “Chinese dream”, featuring more than 300 classic works by well-known Chinese artists from the 20th Century, so that the audiences through visual reading and aesthetic appreciation understand the rich connotation of the “Chinese dream”.

Cai Wu, Minister of Culture said: “I sincerely hope that through these excellent works of fine art, it not only showcases the outstanding achievement of the development of Chinese fine art creation, guiding and promoting the prosperity and healthy development of the study of contemporary art creation, promoting the creative passion of the mass art workers; at the same time, it inspires people to love the motherland, love the communist party, love the socialist movement, motivate people more consciously and actively carry forward the national spirit and the spirit of the times, adhering to cultural awareness and cultural self-confidence, inheriting and carrying forward the excellent traditional culture, actively cultivating and practicing the socialist core values, to better condense the strong power to realize the Chinese dream, efforts to make a new contribution to the Chinese dream of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

About the exhibition

Duration: September 24 – October 7, 2014

Opening Reception: 14:30 on September 23, 2014

Organizer: the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China

Venue: Hall 1-9, National Art Museum of China

Photo by Yang Yanyuan/CAFA ART INFO

Text by Zhu Li, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO.