The opening ceremony for the Painting Exhibition featuring ink andwash paintings by two Chinese artists and the Chinese Culture Weekwas recently held in Confucius Institute Zagreb (CI Zagreb), whichis jointly run by SUIBE and the University of Zagreb in Croatia.
The exhibition was part of the events marking the third anniversaryof the founding of CI Zagreb. More than 200 people from differentcircles, including Ms. Deng Ying, the Chinese Ambassador toCroatia, attended the opening ceremony. Mr. Yan Lidong, Director ofCI Zagreb on the Chinese side, Professor Miljenko Šimpraga,Vice-rector of the University of Zagreb, Professor Mitja Saje, aSlovenian sinologist, Mr. Kang Rong, a Chinese painter, Mr. WangXiusheng, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy, made remarksrespectively at the ceremony presided by Mr. Krešimir Jurak,Director of CI Zagreb on the Croatian side.
The exhibition provided the local public with a glimpse into theChinese ink and wash paintings, and attracted a large number ofvisitors.
On the afternoon of 9 May, the two Chinese painters, Mr. Kang Rongand Mr. Zhang Wei, gave a four-hour demonstration on Chinese inkand wash paintings and Chinese calligraphy to students and teachersat CI Zagreb.
On the morning of 12 May, the Croatian State Television, in itsmorning live broadcast program “Hello Croatia”, interviewed the twoChinese painters at CI Zagreb, introducing their artistic career toa wider audience in the country.
At the invitation of the Croatia-China Cultural Foundation, thelargest institution set up by Croatian-Chinese in the country, thetwo Chinese painters, accompanied by Mr. Yan Lidong, visited theFoundation and met with its Chairman Mr. Ye Suixiong. The two sidesagreed to make continued efforts to strengthen educational andcultural ties between the countries, on the basis of CI Zagreb.
During the Chinese Culture Week, CI Zagreb will host a series ofevents promoting Chinese language and culture, includingdemonstration courses in Chinese language and culture at localprimary and secondary schools, cultural lectures in differentcommunities, Chinese Taijiquan (shadow boxing) performance, andChinese cuisines.