Two years ago, CAFA initiated an exploratory practice “Young Talent Residency Project”, to explore a new model for training the high-end art talent, to further improve the mechanism of the academy of education, the project has been successfully held twice, and many excellent graduates have joined the residency program, creating and studying with great concentration using the support of CAFA’s platform, and receiving excellent achievements. On February 26, 2016, the “Joint Exhibition of the First and Second Sessions of CAFA Young Talent Residency Project” opened at CAFA Yanjiao Campus Art Museum. This time it is still curated by Ph.D of CAFA Gao Yuan.

There are a variety of talent training styles for CAFA, including both the studios inside the academy and multicomponent methods outside the academy, why is the “residency project” launched? Deputy Dean of the CAFA School of Graduate Studies Chen Qi introduced that, through the linear observation of the 3-year teaching of graduates, they found that many students really entered the free period of creation when they were involved in the graduation creation in their last year at campus. If the free force was continued through the help of the mechanism in the academy, it was often the easiest way to make achievements, and based on the rule and status quo, the best graduates were selected from various disciplines to join the residency camp, to further improve their creations in one year with the help of the school to some extent. “Young Talent Residency Project” brings together different professionals of CAFA, and different professional backgrounds that encourage innovative thoughts, learning from each other, broadening the vision of art, and then create more outstanding works.

After two years, the project received good results, seen from the recent works from graduates, it has developed great progress compared to the graduation creation, some reach a high professional level, and some are recognized by society, invited to exhibit by many art institutions, they come to prominence in the professional field. Chen Qi also said that the results given to illustrate the exploration that the model was effective, and he hoped to insist on continuation, to form a fixed mechanism in terms of high-end talent training, to make a high-end academic brand which infiltrates the entire personnel training mode.

The exhibition is themed on “fellows”, on the one hand, it strengthens the theme of the 2nd “Young Talent Residency Project”, and on the other hand, it strengthens the dominance of the common hidden spiritual qualities. These young graduates are cultivated by CAFA, representing the highest level of higher art education in China, they resist that the temptation of the commercialism and symbolized art dominated by the market, as well as the confusion after graduation, they manage to find their own direction one after another, through its highly specialized and elitist training that sets a benchmark for real academic art. Along with exhibitions, activities, this group gradually grows up, sharing the honor, dreams and the academic pursuit of work together. We hope they can effectively resist the current depressed situation of the market, and even open up a new market and academic focus. It is the reason why “fellows” is the chief theme of the series of exhibitions of CAFA Young Talent Residency Project.

The exhibition is held in the Yanjiao campus of CAFA as the first event in the new term, so that Director of CAFA Yanjiao Management Office Wu Jianpei highly values it, Yanjiao campus of CAFA mainly undertakes the teaching tasks of the High School Affiliated to CAFA, Wu Jianpei said that the students from the High School Affiliated to CAFA should also see the creation of the college students, which greatly helped the teaching and study of the school, especially as the exhibition project brought together and combined many exhibition of project from various subjects in art.

The exhibition continues to March 6. “The like-minded people are called fellows”, the fellows of the residency project also adhere to the character of “youth talent” in the process of creation.

About the exhibition

Title: Fellow - Joint Exhibition of the First and Second Sessions of CAFA Young Talent Residency Project

Curator: Gao Yuan

Academic Chair: Chen Qi

Organizer: School of Graduate, CAFA

Co-organizer: CAFA Yanjiao Campus Art Museum

Exhibition Guidance: Yang Xiaoxue, Ma Jiawei

Participating Artists: Dang Xiaoyu, Dai Xueqing, Fan Mo, He Zhijian, Geng Xue, Liu Guannan, Liu Chang, Qin Chuan, Shen Bo, Song Xiaowei, Ma Jiawei, Ma Zhiyong, Ji Xin, Wei Zixin, Wang Xu, Wang Qifan, Wang Hongzhou, Wu Changpu, Xiao Shanshan, Yu Yang, Ye Qiusen, Yang Sinan, Zhou Dong

Duration: February 26 - March 6, 2016

Venue: CAFA Yanjiao Campus Art Museum

Text and photo by Zhang Wenzhi, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO