1st Chinese-French Art Academies Forum kicks off in Beijing

The first Chinese-French Art Academies Forum themed "Limitless Art, Borderless Education" was held Friday night in Beijing.

The sculpture displayed at the International art fair, FIAC 2018, in Paris, France on October 18, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

Some 130 professors and administrators from Chinese and French art academies and institutes attended the event hosted by the Association of China-France Cultural and Artistic Exchanges, a non-profit organization consisting of artists, scholars and businessmen from both countries.

In the keynote speech at the opening ceremony, Li Beihai, former deputy head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that both countries enjoy a brilliant culture, while the forum provides a solid platform for art professionals to strengthen cultural exchanges.

Claude Brendel, rector of Conservatory of Rouen, said that France is a country home to rich and various art resources, and public art education academies like the Conservatory of Rouen and Conservatory of Greater Avignon are "a vivid symbol of France's 'universal arts education.'"

"Avignon is famous for the Avignon Festival, which is today one of the most important contemporary performing arts events in the world, and our academy is working just inside that kind of strong artistic atmosphere, and we are looking forward to more exchange and cooperation with Chinese art academies at different levels and in an all-round way," said Jerme Chretien, rector of Conservatory of Greater Avignon.

The forum also featured an introduction to Chinese history and traditional arts such as folk dancing. The two French rectors expressed their admiration for the traditional art and highlighted the significance of "learning from each other."

Ninety-one-year-old Guo Shuzhen, professor at China's Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) as well as a renowned Chinese soprano, also attended the forum. She said that CCOM attaches great importance to the appreciation and learning of French musical works and welcomed the two French rectors to teach at CCOM.

"The exchange between both countries' artists and art works will certainly elevate our art to a higher level, a higher aesthetic level, which is the pursuit of all artists," said Guo.