Ｅｉｇｈｔｉｅｔｈ Ａｎｎｉｖｅｒｓａｒｙ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ Ａｃａｄｅｍｙ ｏｆ Ａｒｔ

April 9， 2008 celebrated the 80th anniversary of China Academy of Art. A press conference was held on April 4. Xu Jiang， president of the academy， said at the conference that the academy has associated its growth with the destiny of the country and nation for 80 years and that the academy has been in the forefront of the art trend of the country. Xu Jiang pointed out， “For the past 80 years， the academy has taken responsibility and carried out a mission for promoting our national arts， actively participated in dialogues with the art of the world in a spirit of reason， and made major contributions to the innovation and development of modern China’s visual culture and art.”

Eighty years ago， Mr. Cai Yuanpei said in Hangzhou， “An academy of fine arts on the West Lake will contribute to the creation of beauty and it will educate people to replace superstition with a sense of beauty so that art can add a finishing touch to life.” This remark ushered in the National Academy of Fine Arts， China’s first higher education institution dedicated to fine arts in a comprehensive way.

The eighty-year history sees the academy adopt two clearly defined academic guidelines. The first guideline， championed by Lin Fengmian， the first president of the academy， emphasizes comprehensive absorption and assimilation. The second guideline， promoted by Pan Tianshou， highlights innovation based on tradition. The two presidents dedicated to academic pursuits and the two guidelines have combined perfectly to help cultivate talents， explore new art frontiers and promote sound and solid development of art and culture. The two guidelines are now duly recognized as the most important education tradition and characteristics of the academy.

Over 80 years， the academy has been a cradle and home to a galaxy of brilliant artists， educators， and masters. Many of the 20th-century China’s artists of national and international renown are from this academy. They are shining stars in the sky of China’s modern arts.

Over the past 80 years， the academy has relocated and changed its name several times. During World War II， it moved through half the country. Despite difficulties and hardships， the academy has developed. In its first few years， it had only four departments， a preliminary department and a research department. Today， it has ten colleges where three-year students， four-year undergraduates and postgraduates study， and three teaching departments administer specialized core courses， obligatory courses， and experimental courses. The academy offers six major specialties: art history， traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy， oil painting and print， sculpture， new media， and comprehensive arts. Other majors include design， cinematography， radio and television， architecture， and art studies.

The China Academy of Art is fruitful in its research and creation. For the last two years， the academy conducted 12 state research projects， more than any other academy of fine arts did in the country. The academy also took 32 provincial and ministerial projects and 50 plus projects at the level of local government bureaus. The academy has had 15 artworks qualified for a state project for artworks on key historical subjects， another number one honor in the country. Artworks by the teachers and students of the academy have been selected for heavyweight international art exhibitions such as the Venice Biennial， the Sao Paulo Biennial， the Shanghai Biennial and the Beijing International Biennial. These artworks have won international recognition.

The academy has greatly improved its hardware recently. The Nanshan Road Campus， rebuilt in 2003， is aptly compared to a modern illustration of traditional Chinese ink-wash painting. The Xiangshan Campus， operational in 2007， is a cradle and an incubator of modern artists. Its unique architectural style and milieu are a new hallmark of Hangzhou， a city of history and cultural heritage.

April 2008 has witnessed big celebrations and exhibitions taking place around the campuses of the academy. On April 8， an exhibition at the art gallery on the Nanshan Road Campus opened its door to the general public， displaying influential academic dissertations and books， which highlight the academic accomplishments over the past 30 years. On the same day， an international seminar was held on the Xiangshan Campus on the subject of modern art education. Heavyweight names in the field of international art education were found on the guest list at the seminar. On April 9， a celebration conference was held at the newly completed Hall 8， attended by thousands of people including provincial leaders， ministerial leaders， guests of national organizations， Hangzhou leaders， and guests from home and abroad.□