On March 28, the winner of the “2016 John Moores Painting Prize (China)” together with the other four finalists for the prize will be announced. On the same day, the “2016 John Moores Painting Prize (China) Exhibition” will also be officially kicked off.

This year marks the fourth edition of the John Moores Painting Prize (China), and 2,850 entries from 34 provinces, municipalities and regions of China including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were received. Entries from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the three major megacities in China, were amongst the top three in terms of quantity, accounting for 43% of the total. Same as previous editions, the jury consisted of three members from the UK and two from China. Similar to the competition in UK, the nearly 3,000 entries demonstrated a high level of diversity and creativity; and in the meantime, the unique profundity of Chinese arts and culture could also be perceived. Many emerging Chinese artists attempted to “renovate” the traditional, which was in effect a kind of “re-creation”; and thanks to that, to the jury members from UK, the participation of the event brought them some brand new experience. During the first round of selection, jury members from the two countries made some completely different selections. It was after numerous discussions that the jury members reached consensusand 152 pieces were shortlisted during the preliminary selection, among which 81 made their way into the final round.

John Moors Painting Prize honors the principles of open submission and anonymous selection. Works are selected by an independent jury purely based on the quality they demonstrate. The competition helps enhance the visibility of the painters hereby selected on a broader and more international stage. Anonymous selection and open submission lay the foundation for the long-term success of the prize as it distinguishes itself from many others by not taking artists’ past achievements and exhibition career into consideration. Since its establishment, the Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum has always been committed to the promotion of Chinese contemporary art and playing an active role in presenting the status quo and latest trends of the Chinese contemporary art scene. The collaboration with John Moores Painting Prize (China), which has attracted wide attention and active participation from the art scene, marks a new attempt the museum has made to facilitate and further the development of Chinese painting in the contemporary context.

The 2016 John Moores Painting Prize (China) Exhibition, hosted by Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum in partnership with John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust and College of Fine Arts Shanghai University, will open on March 28. In addition to the exhibition of the 81 shortlisted including the prize-winning pieces. Five prize-winning pieces from 2014 John Moores Painting Prize in the UK will also be exhibited.

The exhibition is held in collaboration with the Cultural and Education Section of the British Consulate-General and Liverpool John Moores University.

About the exhibition

Date: March 28, 2016 – May 15, 2016

Opening: March 28, 2016, Monday

Venue: Minsheng Art Museum

Organizers: Art College of Shanghai University, John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust, Minsheng Art Museum

Co-organizers: Cultural and Education Section of British Embassy, Liverpool John Moores University

Courtesy of the artists and Minsheng Art Museum, for further information please visit www.minshengart.com.