STORY: Art exhibition reflects foreign artists' life experience in China
DATELINE: June 12, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:17
LOCATION: CHONGQING, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the art exhibition
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ARMEN GEVORGYAN, Armenian artist
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): STEPHEN ELLISON, British artist
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MAFI ESPIRITO SANTO, Dutch artist
5. various of the art exhibition

STORYLINE:

An art exhibition titled "Foreign Artists in Chengdu and Chongqing" is being held in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The exhibition showcases artworks by artists from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Armenia.

The five artists have been living in Chongqing and Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province for many years.

They bring 61 artworks, which were created based on their life experience in China.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ARMEN GEVORGYAN, Armenian artist
"Of course, I know Sanxingdui (Ruins) very well. What does it mean 'very well?' I have been there many times, maybe five or six times. And I was really impressed by these old artifacts. And they were really great. They impressed me very much. And this tree was, for me, really, a favorite one. and I tried to imagine how this tree was imagined by those people who created that. So I painted that tree in a way like it's connecting the earth and heaven together and giving the people a message from the heaven through the birds, how to leave, how to work better."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): STEPHEN ELLISON, British artist
"When one begins a painting, or contemplates the beginning of a painting, I think you yourself need to be in the right space to feel as though you want to dedicate some time, to something like that. We also need some ideas as well. and I think in the last couple of years in Chongqing, it's given me both of those things. And Chongqing has got a lot of things which I'm interested in painting, whether it's Nanshan (Mountain) looking into the city, or the clouds on the river... whatever it might be."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MAFI ESPIRITO SANTO, Dutch artist
"I usually use a map for my work, because that's a connection that I have with where I'm going to live and the people I'm meeting. So I try to find the cultural heritage of each city, and I try to bring it into my paintings, and I try to see how society lives and how I can connect."

The nine-day exhibition will run until June 18.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Chongqing, China.
(XHTV)