In order to promote the balanced development of quality education of the elementary schools which share high quality educational resources, breaking the gap between high education and basic education, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education launched the “Beijing Colleges and Universities, Social Forces Participating in the Physical Education and Aesthetic EducationDevelopment Project for Primary Schools” in 2014. CAFA is one of the colleges and universities of art to support the project, mainly supporting the characteristic fine art education of the 4 elementary schools in Wangjing Chaoyang District, Beijing, including Huajiadi Experiment Elementary School, Nan Hu Dong Yuan Elementary School, Nan Hu Zhong Yuan Elementary School, and the Elementary School Affiliated with Beijing Youth Politics College.

At 3pm on June 23, 2015, “Vision of Children’s Drawing”?– Achievement Exhibition displaying the Characteristic Fine Art Education of the Elementary School Supported by CAFA was unveiled at CAFA Art Museum, and it held a seminar at the same time. Gao Hong, Party Secretary of CAFA, Yu Ding, Dean of the Institute of Arts Administration and Education, CAFA, Wang Dingdong, Member of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, Jiang Jiwei, Deputy Director of Chaoyang District Commission of Education, as well as the presidents, teachers and students from the 4 elementary schools attended the events, Wang Xiaolin, Assistant to the President of CAFA and Director of the Department of Educational Administration hosted the events.

Colleges and universities participate in the aesthetic educational development project for elementary schools is an innovation for CAFA’s education in art and also an innovation of aesthetic education for elementary schools. It not only shortens the distance between university and primary school, perfectly joining higher education and basic education, it also explores a new feasible mode for the cultivation of innovative ability and quality education, which is worthy of promotion across the country. Wang Dingdong, a Member of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education praised the measures helping universities, primary schools and the students develop the enthusiasm and creativity, which was worthy of continuing to be deepened and sublimated. Jiang Jiwei said, “It really reflects the advantage of being in a favored position”, and he rethought the educational mode of art of the project, art was not only a painting skill, but also enhanced the aesthetic capability. Gao Hong, Party Secretary of CAFA summarized the event and said that, the “Vision of Children’s Drawing” events opened 3 worlds at least: opening the children’s world, greatly improving children’s imagination and creativity; opening the world of aesthetic education, improving the cultivation of aesthetic culture, innovative consciousness; thus opening the cooperation between universities and elementary schools, mutually supporting and promoting each other.

Since attended the “Beijing Colleges and Universities, Social Forces Participating in the Physical Education and Aesthetic Education Development Project for Primary Schools” one year ago, CAFA has transferred all powers of the academy, taking advantage of the specialties and the support of resources, carrying out the training of art teachers, through the guidance and support in a specific professional direction, art creation, display and exhibition, aesthetic psychology, and other aspects, to further enhance art teachers’ teaching level of art. Deeply investigating the actual learning and understanding ability of the primary school students, comprehensively designing the curriculum from different perspectives, themes and types, to create a multivariate characteristic curriculum with academy characteristics, an international vision and innovative ideas. Through student communities, educational workshops and other forms, it combines the CAFA cultural characteristic events and aesthetic education in the primary school to explore various feasibility mechanisms from methodology.

“Vision of Children’s Drawing” is as an achievement exhibition for “Beijing Colleges and Universities, Social Forces Participating in the Physical Education and Aesthetic Education Development Project for Primary Schools” supported by CAFA, featuring more than 180 works by the students from four primary schools, covering a variety of forms such as ink and wash, watercolor, oil painting, oil pastel, print, sand painting andmixed media, to showcase students’excellent performances in art creation. At the same time, it uses videos, images, documents, simulation of courses, etc., to summarize the situations of CAFA attending and supporting the project, as well as the related achievements, from the training of teaching staff, the experiment of teaching reform, development of a community eventand the cultivation of student’s literacy.

The exhibition will continue to June 30.

Text by Zhang Wenzhi, Photo by Xu Fan/CAFA ART INFO

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