Europe-China Artist Association kicks off students’ arts exhibition

Marjolene Estrada, who was given an award at the event

A total of 120 artworks created by students from Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China will be showcased at the Europe-China Artist Association’s month-long exhibition, which began yesterday at the University of Saint Joseph (USJ).

The event featured the 4th Shanghai-Macau Students’ Outstanding Artworks Annual Awards 2017, the 1st International Youth Art Exchange Exhibition (Shanghai-Macau) 2017, as well as the 1st Shanghai-Macau Creative Exhibition of Special Children 2017. The event theme is “Create a Dream.”

Some 1,200 people participated in the exhibition, while only 500 works were selected.

In Macau, 46 students were recognized, 25 works were selected as annual works, and 12 were recognized as excellent works.

This year, the event added an exhibition of artworks created by students with disabilities.

According to the organizer, the goal is to allow students to become more confident and communicate and express themselves through art.

Blair Zhang, chair of the association’s Student Union Committee said, “We added [a special section] to our whole exhibition to show that this exhibition is about universal love and equity.”

“We should treat them equally because we all share the same understanding of beauty,” she added.

The event also aims to establish a high-class exhibition culture, while inspiring young people with disabilities to “let art play its curing effect.”

Meanwhile, a second year Communication and Media student from USJ stated that photography enthusiasts and students find it encouraging to have similar exhibitions that showcase their works.

Speaking to the Times, Marjolene Estrada, who was given an award at the event, shared, “It was amazing because it’s about the composition and has nothing to do with location. […] It’s you as an artist who has to develop that and make it aesthetically nice,” she said.

Estrada’s selected photograph was taken at a local supermarket.

Commenting on the awards, the student noted that the event encourages local photographers to continue their passion.

“The event acknowledges that photography is not just [a] hobby [and] it pushes us to create more, and that our efforts and passion for these things are being acknowledged.”

Further, USJ hoped that the university can train local artists and develop local talent.

It pledged to invest more resources, and open other related courses depending on Macau’s -or larger market’s- demand, in order to coordinate with the city’s and companies’ needs for innovation.