Museum in SW China's Chongqing brings art closer to public

The exterior of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (SFAI) Art Museum, in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Photo courtesy of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Art Museum)

As night fell, a fashion show was staged at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Art Museum, in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. It has become the school's tradition to stage a fashion show for nearby residents in every graduation season.

Last year, the art museum held 56 art popularization activities, which were participated in by more than 2 million people online and offline.

An online class on fine arts offered by He Guiyan, curator of the art museum and a professor at the School of Arts and Humanities at SFAI, was attended by more than 100,000 people.

"I didn't know that Chongqing has such a rich history of art." "The place Zhang Daqian (one of the best-known Chinese artists of the 20th century) created his works in was located near my home." Viewers actively interacted during He's online class.

Thanks to the art museum, which is open to the public, teachers from the school have more opportunities to communicate with citizens in person.

Days ago, an exhibition of Chinese and Italian contemporary art was held at the art museum. As a part of the activity, open classes on fine arts were given to spectators by SFAI experts, as well as renowned exhibition planners from Beijing and Italy.

Since it was first held in 2021, the "Art Museum Night," sponsored by SFAI and held by its art museum, has become an important activity during the graduation season of SFAI.

The school's graduation light shows and fashion shows were previously held at the courtyard of the art museum.

To draw the public closer to art, this year's light show and fashion show of the "Art Museum Night" are held at Xijie, a pedestrian street in the city. The art museum has extended its opening hours so that people who work during daytime can go to the exhibitions in their off-duty hours.

"I feel that art is not something far away from us," said a local citizen surnamed Zhou.

The "Art Museum Night" activity has always been popular. Last year, the art museum organized 61 guided tours for the public during the "Art Museum Night" activity.

One of the exhibitions, which He thinks is the most unforgettable one, showcased the development history of Chinese paintings. The art museum arranged the exhibits from various perspectives and applied digital technologies to create immersive experiences for spectators.

During the exhibition of Chinese and Italian contemporary art, the art museum launched a series of experience activities, including one where children were taught to use fabrics no longer in use to decorate their clothes.

The art museum is no longer just a building waiting for visitors. It is entering the daily lives of citizens.

"We've found that more and more citizens are willing to spend their time at art museums, and their consumption in art has increased," said He. "We hope that art museums can become a platform for the sharing of art and that visiting art museums can become a lifestyle," He added.