At 9:00 am on June 12, 2015, the opening ceremony of “Art Education for Social Innovation” An International Academic Conference, which was jointly held by the Committee of Art Education at China Artists Association and China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) was held at the Auditorium of CAFA Art Museum, Wang Xiaolin, Secretary-General of the Committee of Art Education at China Artists Association, Assistant to the President of CAFA and Director of the Department of Educational Administration, CAFA presided over the opening ceremony of the international academic conference. Gao Hong, Director of the Committee of Art Education at the China Artists Association, Party Secretary of CAFA, Wu Changjiang, Party Secretary of China Artists Association, Liu Guiqin, Deputy Director of Higher Education Department, the Ministry of Educationgavea speech.

“Art Education for Social Innovation” international academic conference aims to explore and be attentive to the foresight issues in the field of art education, actively advocating the educational idea of “social innovation”, fulfilling the responsibility of art education in social development, actively building a platform for thinking and the communication of art educational pioneers and practitioners who are facing social innovation and diversified development. Yu Ding, Deputy Director of the Committee of Art Education at China Artists Association, Dean of the Institute of Arts Administration and Education, CAFA hosted the subsequent international academic conference on “Art Education for Social Innovation.”

The first speaker of the conference was Judith M. Burton, Professor of Art and Art Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, who gave a speech themed on “The 4 Proposals for Innovative Practice and Social Revolution”, to put forward the thoughts and suggestions on innovative practice and social change through the experience of the art educator. Then Ms. Wang Xiaolin started from the working experience of CAFA, taking the“‘Big Educational Administration’ and the Cultivation of High-End Art Talents” as the theme, to talk about the history of modern Chinese higher education of fine arts, not only reviewed through the history of CAFA, but also from the 4 aspects including academic structure, teaching mode, teaching experience and future development to expound CAFA’s “big educational administration” and the cultivation achievements of high-end art talent and the future plans. Klaus Siebenhaar, Dean of Freie Universit?t Berlin (IKM), Germany gave a lecture entitled “‘Future Demands a Source’: Art and Art Education in the Cultural Continuity and the Context of Cultural Innovation”, using the review of art educational history to inspire us today. Qian Chuxi, Executive Director of Education Research Center at the Art School, East China Normal University, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor, gave a speech entitled “The Problems and Countermeasures when using the School’s Art Education to Cultivate Teenagers’ Creativity”, mainly from the case analysis to put forward the problems and countermeasures in the cultivation of teenagers’ creativity. Kong Xinmiao, Professor of the College of Art at Shandong Normal University, Doctoral Supervisor, gave a speech themed “What is a‘Priority’–The Thought of Art Education and Cultural Consciousness”, to put forward the concept of “priority” of “l(fā)earning from the West” andcultural consciousness in the visual culture.

Patricia Rodewald, Coordinator of the Museum Educational Project, American Association of Museums gave a speech entitled “Innovative Participation: New Practice of Museum Education”, Juliette Fristch, Director of the Education Department of Peabody Essex Museum gave a lecture entitled “Current and Future Trends of Art Education”, to share the innovative practice of public education and interactive activities in the museum and art museum. The final speaker was Yang Yingshi, Deputy Director of the Public Education Department at the National Art Museum of China, Doctor of Art Education and Arts Management, Columbia University gave a speech entitled “Exploration and Thinking of Educational Personnel Training by Art Museums”, combining the related work in the Public Education Department at the National Art Museum of China, to put forward that it was in urgent need of carrying out the theoretical research and personnel training ofthe art museum education.

At the end of the conference, Dean Yu Ding gave a final summary. The 8 speakers through the rich cases and working experiences discussed a variety of possibilities of art education for social innovation, with a different role from different areas, thus putting forward targeted and inspiring views and suggestions from a variety of perspectives, in terms of exhibition, specific subject teaching, higher education of fine arts, basic art education of children, public education of the art museum and museum and the related personnel training.

The Committee of Art Education at China Artists Association is committed to promoting the development of Chinese art education, and the conference is also a major part of the 2015 annual meeting of the Committee of Art Education.

Text by Zhang Chi, Photo by Yang Yanyuan, Xu Fan/CAFA ART INFO

Translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO