The 5th World Chinese Art Education Symposium was held at East China Normal University (ECNU) on November 15-18.
The symposium was jointly hosted by International Society for Education through Art (InSEA) of UNESCO, World Chinese Arts Education Association, and ECNU. It was the first time for InSEA to join hands with World Chinese Arts Education Association to hold the event.
The theme of the symposium was "Creative Art Education in the Big Data Era". Art educators and scholars from Europe and North America, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and China attended the event. Through keynote speeches, articles, forums and free discussions, the symposium explored the status quo and development trend of arts education in the big data era.
Prof. Wei Tianyu, Executive Chairman of the symposium and Director of the Arts Department of ECNU, told reporters that the symposium explored two major topics from an international perspective. One was the unprecedented impact and reform that big data had brought to traditional arts education, such as the new communication style, new cognitive mode and new way of communication. The other was the want of Aesthetic personality due to long-time negligence of art education.
Prof. Qian Chuxi, Secretary General of the symposium and professor of ECNU School of Art, said that art education at school achieved remarkable successes since the art course reform at the basic education level a decade ago. Art course has become the compulsory course for primary and secondary schools, and much loved by students. Meanwhile, art education is no longer limited to schools. Private art institutions and art museums are thriving; publishing houses are publishing a lot of art books. Therefore, art education is no longer limited to school elites; it is now available to the general public.
The symposium was attended by scholars from 50 universities on the Chinese mainland, six universities in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, teachers from 18 provinces and cities, headmasters and teachers from over 100 primary and middle schools, representatives of four art museums, five publishing houses, several private art institutions, and teachers. The total number of attendants surpassed 250. The symposium lasted four days.
