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William Paterson University Opens New Center for Chinese Art and Culture

William Paterson University’s new Center for Chinese Art will give students and members of the community the opportunity to broaden their understanding of Chinese art and culture through ongoing programs and events. A grand opening ceremony for the Center is planned for Monday, March 8 at 4 p.m. on the campus in Wayne.

Margaret Lam and David Yen of Montville, who serve as honorary directors, have donated $150,000 in gifts and pledges to the University to establish the Center on campus over the next two years. The gift will support the University’s Chinese art curriculum, provide students with opportunities to learn Chinese art techniques, and cultivate a deeper understanding between the United States and its Chinese residents.

Funding is supporting several new initiatives including courses in Chinese art, classes in traditional techniques such as ink painting and calligraphy, Chinese art exhibits, visiting artists exchanges, a new Web site dedicated to the Center, and the ongoing Summer Art in China program. These initiatives will be part of a six-year project, to be developed in three phases.

“The Center for Chinese Art will introduce Chinese culture and art to students and members of the community,” says William Paterson professor of art Zhiyuan Cong, who is director of the Center. “Through symposiums, performances of Chinese music, art exhibits and other events, we will provide an understanding of the essence and characteristics of Chinese art.”

The opening ceremony will be held in Ben Shahn Center for the Arts in Room B100. University President Arnold Speert will present plaques of appreciation to Lam and Yen.

As part of the celebration of the opening on March 8, visiting artists from China and Cong will present a workshop from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for students. The program will illustrate Chinese artistic creation and printmaking techniques, modern and traditional printmaking mediums, and how to combine eastern and western art forms. The artists will paint images on printmaking plates, and students will make the images into etching prints.

A symposium, “Tradition and Trend: The Position of Chinese Painting in the New Century,” will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Ben Shahn Art Gallery. Cong will moderate a panel of distinguished Chinese artists who will discuss contemporary art in China. The artists who are participating in the workshop and symposium include:

Chen Lusheng, a research professor at the National Art Museum of China, vice chairman of the Beijing Artists Association, and an art critic, scholar, and painter

Fang Chuxiong, a professor, and associate dean of School of Chinese Painting at Guangdong Art Institute, who is a renowned artist of flower-and-bird painting

Li Yang, professor and associate dean of the School of Chinese Painting at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, is an artist of Chinese ink and wash figure painting

Lin Shuran, director of Lingnan Painting Art Museum at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou, is an artist of Chinese color painting who also curates art exhibitions

Wang Huansheng, professor and director of the Art Gallery of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, and an artist who does Chinese ink and wash painting, and a scholar who also curates exhibitions

For additional information or to RSVP, contact Karenann Sinocchi at 973-720-3731 or via email at ccart@wpunj.edu.

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