China Academy of Art (CAA) held its 2023 Graduation Ceremony at the Xiangshan Campus on June 14. 2,710 graduates of 2023 will be embarking on a new chapter of their life after graduating from CAA.
Chairman of the Committee of Academy Affairs Jin Yibin, President Gao Shiming, Director of the Academic Board Xu Jiang, members of the CAA leadership Sun Xudong, Liu Zheng, Fang Peixin, Fu Qiaoling, Cao Xiaoyang, Han Xu, and Xu Guoqiang, members of the Academic Board, Academic Degree Committee, directors of schools and departments, as well as the entire Class of 2023 and their families attended the ceremony that took place at the Shanbei Field at Xiangshan Campus. Vice Chairman of the Committee of Academy Affairs Sun Xudong hosted the ceremony.
The event officially commenced with the singing of the national anthem after the screening of two short videos on the themes of the 2023 Graduation Exhibition and Ceremony.
Chairman of the Committee of Academy Affairs Jin Yibin delivered a passionate speech that began with what CAA's first president Lin Fengmian had identified as the three key missions of art − to provide solace, to express life, and to improve life.
It is midsummer. Auld Lang Syne starts playing. My heartfelt words are contained in this message:
Our intellectual youths, with their hearts full of beauty, and their humble ambitions,
Shall travel the world and right wrongs, bring art to life, and rise above the rest.
President Gao Shiming gave a speech entitled The Freedom to Critique and the Drive to Create.He began the speech by thanking the CAA teaching and student body for the remarkable results that CAA has achieved over the three years of the pandemic. Their concerted efforts have enabled the Academy to continue to flourish as various events and activities went on at full speed. He went on to say that he was proud of the graduates and impressed by their incredible graduation works exhibited at the 2023 Graduation Exhibition. He emphasized that art should be expressed through various dialogues − with the classics, with our everyday life, with ourselves, and with the future.
President Gao pointed out that the free expression of art is a creative everyday practice and a spiritual act of production that transcends all. It is the ability to empathize with the rest of society and engage in societal progress, to identify one's place in time and transcend the current times, and to grow amidst self-liberation. The message that the president conveyed mirrors what CAA's founding president, Cai Yuanpei, said a century ago, "The value of art is in its universality and its ability to transcend all."
President Gao told the graduates that as artists, they shall get firsthand knowledge from the masters, relive the earliest moments of creation and nourish their art with primordial creative energies. As members of CAA, they shall follow the footsteps of the great, stand shoulder to shoulder with the masters and walk alongside them. They shall put what into practice they have learned at CAA, to have and uphold the artist's heart and the craftsman's spirit, to help transform art education into a study of compassion and value, and to strive to become their better selves.
The teaching and student body responded to the call to fight for art in the name of CAA as they tossed their embroidered tassels behind them. The tassels represented the graduates themselves, who were tenderly cared for and allowed to grow freely while they were students. Now that they have graduated, they shall continue CAA's hard labor to reap further fruits.
The Director of the Academic Board and the Head of the Alumni Association Xu Jiang presented letters of appointment to the liaisons of the alumni and graduation gifts to the alumni.
Prof. Jiang Jun called upon CAA graduates to embrace change and the unknown. Their graduation did not mark the end of their learning but the beginning of lifelong learning. He encouraged the graduates to stay true to their aspirations, use their time wisely, forge ahead bravely, and always finish what they start. He hopes that CAA will remain an important, defining milestone in their lives and that they will transform the values of CAA − Strength, Reverence, Mastery, and Exploration into their values so that they could journey with CAA as it moves ahead in its nearly century-long voyage.
In his speech, Huang Jia shared his thoughts on his personal growth, recalled memories of his campus life fondly, and expressed his gratitude toward the Academy. He hopes that he would continue to better himself, become a creative master, and build his own creative haven.
Farjana Islam expressed her gratitude toward CAA, her instructors, and her classmates. CAA opened the doors to contemporary Eastern and Western classics as well as avant-garde artistic concepts and allowed her to follow her artistic pursuits. At the Academy, she was able to live and breathe art and culture through diverse practices. She expressed her hope to put what she had learned at CAA into practice so that she can make the world a better place.
Chen Yan, currently a senior editor and senior art designer at China Media Group (CCTV), directed the art designs for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics as well as for the 24th CCTV New Year's Gala. He encouraged CAA graduates to unleash their talents and passions as they pursue their individual artistic ambitions. He urged them to speak up and express their true, authentic selves. Art had no boundaries. The journey of self-realization and growth had no end. They should relax, enjoy art, believe in themselves, and never stop creating art that inspires.
Zhou Yan, currently a deputy to the Hunan Provincial People's Congress, was named one of the first youth pioneers for rural revitalization in 2022. She has been stationed in a village in Ningyuan, Hunan and has helped over 9,600 children in the rural areas. She shared her learning journey and her experience in using art and the creative process to help rural people. She encouraged CAA graduates to be on the ground, get their hands dirty, and head to the frontlines of where social development and growth are happening. They should seize upon the challenges of the times, inject art into their everyday lives, and create art that resonates with contemporary times.
President Gao Shiming presented graduation certificates and diplomas to all doctoral, master's degree and bachelor's degree graduates. Chairman Jin Yibin presented certificates to graduates who responded to the government's call to serve the grassroots, support Western China, and enlist in the army.
Members of the CAA leadership presented the awards for provincial and academy-level outstanding graduates, the Great Art Award, the 2023 CAA Graduation Work, and Lin Fengmian Creation Awards, and the 2023 CAA Graduation Work (Design) Mentorship Awards.
The graduation ceremony ended with the school anthem.
The world is your oyster. Stay youthful at heart!
