The Third CAFA “Jin Shangyi Creative Awards for Young Teachers” Exhibition of Winners was unveiled on November 18, 2021 at the CAFA Art Museum. The exhibition showcases thematic and realistic creations of four award-winning teachers: Ma Jiawei, Associate Professor from the Department of Oil Painting, Wang Zigeng, Associate Professor of the School of Architecture, Shi Yunyuan, a teacher from the School of Design, and He Jun, Professor of the School of Design, covering oil painting, installation, design, architecture, etc.. There are a total of 42 pieces (sets) of works, displaying the strength of young teachers from the Central Academy of Fine Arts while also presenting an interdisciplinary exchange.

“Jin Shangyi Creative Awards for Young Teachers” was donated and initiated by Prof. Jin Shangyi, former President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and it was jointly funded and supported by the China Arts Foundation. It aims to encourage young teachers to actively participate in the creation on major national themes, create masterpieces, and promote young teachers to achieve improvement in professional ability and this will further help the construction of first-class teaching faculty in CAFA. The Awards were held in 2019 and 2020 for the first and second selection and the award-winning exhibition activities, which have achieved greater repercussions among teachers and students and established a clear orientation for the future. From this year, the number of awards has increased from two to four each year and the selection range has been expanded from participating in national themed creations to include young teachers participating in thematic and realistic themed creations and the exhibition venue will be adjusted for CAFA Art Museum, to display the purpose of the awards in a better way, so that more young teachers can benefit from it and develop their own ideas.

View of the Opening Ceremony

Exhibition View

Gao Hong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Fan Di’an, President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Xu Yang, Deputy President and Foundation Director, Su Xinping, Deputy President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Yin Shuangxi, Curator of the Exhibition, award-winning teachers Ma Jiawei, Wang Zigeng, Shi Yunyuan, He Jun, heads of departments and functional departments, and representatives of teachers and students attended the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was presided over by Sun Wei, Vice Director of CAFA Education Development Foundation.

Gao Hong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, delivered a speech.

Gao Hong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, paid high respect to the young teachers who participated in the evaluation. He hoped that young teachers of this generation will be ambitious, down-to-earth, and they can calm down to create works, thus they will support the Central Academy of Fine Arts to become the most prestigious art institution in China and an internationally acclaimed school of art, as young teachers will play an important role in leading the cause for art and art education and grow into the future masters of art.

Fan Di’an, President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, delivered a speech.

Fan Di’an, President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, mentioned in his speech that “Jin Shangyi Creative Awards for Young Teachers” has been fully upgraded in awards and exhibition settings, which means it has a new starting point and new development. He affirmed the establishment of aim for the awards, the awarding process and the exhibition platform. He believed that this year’s awards show the interdisciplinary exchanges among young teachers and it is a qualified display, reflecting the principle of “fusion” in the context of the new development in liberal arts. He hoped that everyone can reach a consensus and stick to the awards so as to help the young teachers to represent the epoch with art, serve society, and also contribute to increasing the overall academic development in CAFA. Finally, he proposed that young artists can use exhibitions to think about art and cultural issues that need to be resolved in the epochal developments and make intellectual contributions to the large collective of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, so that everyone can work together and communicate to form an increase in intelligence and wisdom.

Yin Shuangxi, Professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Curator of the Exhibition, delivered a speech.

Yin Shuangxi, Professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Curator of the Exhibition, talked about the strength of young teachers in the Central Academy of Fine Arts from the changes in the award evaluation mechanism in his speech. He mentioned that the selection range of the 2021 “Jin Shangyi Creative Awards for Young Teachers” completely covered the creative disciplines of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Over forty young teachers who participated in the evaluation showed their diversified creation, breaking the past stereotype of young teachers who were immature and needed to be further cultivated. Judging from the works exhibited and submitted, young teachers have been at the forefront of the academic disciplines and have assumed a major responsibility for the development of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Yin Shuangxi detailed that he personally experienced the history of the Central Academy of Fine Arts for the 80th and 90th anniversary of the founding of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He deeply realized the flourishing development of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the continuous growth of the young faculty in the revolutionary tradition and he hoped that young teachers can truly realize that the responsibility of history has fallen on them.

Honored guests issued certificates to the award-winning artists.

Subsequently, Gao Hong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Xu Yang, Deputy President and Chairman of the Foundation, Yin Shuangxi, Curator of the Exhibition, and Zhang Zikang, Director of CAFA Art Museum, issued certificates to the award-winning artists.

Ma Jiawei, Associate Professor of Department of Oil Painting and award-winning artist, delivered a speech.

Ma Jiawei, Associate Professor of the Department of Oil Painting and the award-winning artist said in her speech that she has also shouldered a historical mission while receiving the award. She would continue to carry forward the fine traditions of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and on the one hand, she will conduct an in-depth study on the road to exploration in the field of art, making breakthroughs and innovations, and producing works in a down-to-earth manner. On the other hand, she will integrate her own creative teaching with the epochal development, cultivate art creative talents in the new era, and live up to CAFA’s affirmation and encouragement.

Wang Zigeng, Associate Professor of the School of Architecture and award-winning artist, delivered a speech.

Wang Zigeng, Associate Professor of the School of Architecture and award-winning artist, talked about the connection between architecture and art education in his speech. He believed that architecture and fine arts were two discipline systems that were parallel and inherited from each other. This was also a display on the unique architecture education system of the Central Academy of Fine Arts based on fine arts education. He said that he chose installations, paintings, interior design, architectural design, urban planning and other different types of works to participate in this exhibition. He wanted to illustrate the extension of the discipline of architecture and also hoped to develop an effective communication with other artists.

Shi Yunyuan, a teacher of the School of Design and award-winning artist, gave a speech.

In her speech, Shi Yunyuan, a teacher of the School of Design and award-winning artist, said that in a sense, today was her new start as a young teacher. She said that in the process of future academic research and artistic creation, she will always keep in mind her mission and responsibilities, and strive to create more and better works. She hoped that she can become a new driving force for the Central Academy of Fine Arts and contribute to the new century of CAFA as well as the future of art education.

He Jun, Professor of the School of Design and award-winning artist, delivered a speech. 

He Jun, Professor of the School of Design and award-winning artist expressed that as a middle-aged teacher of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, he may not be as vigorous as young artists, nor as profound as senior professors. But one thing remained unchanged, that is, the persistence in art and the passion for creation. He will maintain a state of being on the road forever, continue to work hard, live up to the needs of the country, to the epoch, and to CAFA.

Sun Wei, Vice Director of CAFA Education Development Foundation, chaired the opening ceremony.Exhibition View

In an interview conducted by CAFA ART INFO, Prof. Yin Shuangxi talked about the characteristics of this exhibition. He believed that despite the thematic creation, these paintings presented a modeling language with inherent qualities. Design and architectural works were becoming more specialized creations and they showed the characteristics of interdisciplinary absorption. This was a good foundation for the Central Academy of Fine Arts to cultivate talented artists who mastered comprehensive skills.

The exhibition will remain on view till December 26, 2021.

Text by Yang Zhonghui and translated by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

Photo by Li Di/CAFA ART INFO