Huo Chengju

A TOTAL of 100 oil paintings by young students from the Xiaoyan Children’s Art School (XCAS) in Shenzhen were added to the permanent collection of the Shenzhen Art Museum (SAM) last week.

The 100 student painters received certificates of acknowledgement from Song Yuming, curator of SAM, at a ceremony on the XCAI campus in Futian District on Tuesday.

All paintings collected by SAM were selected from the 500 works which were on display at an exhibition at SAM during the Children’s Day week last June.

“This is the first time SAM has collected children’s paintings as well as the first exhibition of a large collection of children’s paintings that has been conducted by a public art museum in the country,” Song said at the ceremony.

According to Wu Xiaoyan, president of the private training school XCAS, the 100 student artists whose paintings were collected by SAM, are aged between 4 and 16.

Among them, 10 students, Zhang Zhuo’er, Sun Yuqian, Huang Xutong, Li Wanxin, Zhang Jingru, Mai Yixin, Li Zhuoyuan, Luo Yixiao, Huang Jiaqi, Wang Jiayang, staged a joint exhibition in the National Art Museum of China in Beijing in July 2007 displaying 73 of their paintings.

“All these student painters have their own magic which has enabled them to turn a piece of blank canvas into a work of art based on their own instincts and their peculiar techniques,” Wu said.

“Among 100 paintings collected by SAM, many have achieved a stunning level of artistic value,” she said.

According to Dong Jianguo, an art instructor of XCAS, children’s fine art in Shenzhen has been developing very quickly in recent years with many young students attending various training schools or centers in the city.

“But, so far, no systematic work has been done in Shenzhen to introduce these young painters and their works,” Dong said. “SAM’s collection will have a significant impact on the healthy growth of these young artists.”

A painting by Xu Kunshan, 13. Huo Chengju