THE EDUCATION ISSUE

| July 3, 2011 | Post In LEAP 8

  • ONCE UPON A CLOUD: OUR 1980s ART SCHOOL LIVES

    It’s no coincidence that the elite produced by the art education system of the 1980s have become a galaxy of stars in today’s art world. The unique thirst for knowledge of that era allowed “universities” to transcend space and time. In the words of art critic Fei Dawei, “Up in the clouds at the academy, we were involuntarily afflicted with schizophrenic tendencies, torn between urges to return to the past and progress toward the future.”

  • STUCK IN THE MIDDLE: INSIDE CHINA’S ART CRAM SCHOOLS

    For China’s art cram schools, things heat up just before the Lunar New Year. Many a hopeful art academy entrant spends China’s highest holidays in the classroom. It’s a cycle, and a system, that has come to seem natural, when in fact, it’s unparalleled anywhere else in the world, the bastard progeny of an examination regime and education system both in need of reform. Yet the schools thrive, offering the convenience and practical results the system calls for. The cram schools don’t think about preparing the students for the four years that follow. They teach them how to get in.

  • BIG BUILDINGS ON CAMPUS

    With the rapid expansion of China’s art institutions in recent years, academies have undertaken ambitious architectural projects to meet an unprecedented rise in student enrollments. New campuses have taken shape in new locations, and trailblazing architects have been employed to engineer spaces for the next generation of China’s art students. In this segment, LEAP unveils the impressive new structures that dot campuses from Beijing to Chongqing, Hangzhou to Tianjin, all captured through the lens of Beijing-based photographer Boris Shiu.

  • THE EDUCATORS

    The question of art education in China is a complicated. While there is no easy solution, acknowledging the obstacles is a prerequisite to confronting the issues. To this end, we interviewed eight artists who teach (or taught) in art academies. Among these are Chen Danqing, whose resignation from Academy of Arts and Design Tsinghua University sparked heated debate, as well as the newly minted art professor Yang Fudong. Some are department chairs, others have built departments, or hold entire schools on their backs. They lead reform within the art education system, ever as they confront its status quo.

  • PHILOSOPHIES OF INDEPENDENCE: THE LI XIANTING FILM SCHOOL

    Li Xianting Film School is carving out provocative new terrain with an emphasis on independent thinking and what it calls “a spirit of independent creative production.” While it may lack the financial resources, or even the ability to grant formal degrees, of a place like the Beijing Film Academy, Li Xianting Film School creates an open environment that encourages students to explore the possibilities of filmmaking as a tool for articulating their individual attitudes towards society.