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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2004
Contact: Patricia Fraga, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442
A Sprouting Bud Today, a Flourishing Flower Tomorrow
Chinese Children’s Art Finds Its Way to Austin, Texas
The Yarborough Branch of the Austin Public Library, 2200 Hancock Dr. is a library with a long history of supporting Chinese art in Austin. Now on display through November 20 are over 100 magnificent paintings from children ages four to fifteen, from the nationally recognized Xuancheng Children’s Art Center (School). Xuancheng is a beautiful ancient city located in Anhui province in China. It is the first place to produce Xuan paper, which has been used for traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting for more than a thousand years. It has been named “the Hometown of the Four Treasures of Traditional Art (writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and Xuan paper).” Thousands of children in the Xuancheng city can be titled “little calligraphers and painters.” The Center trains children in traditional Chinese art (calligraphy and painting), western art (sketch and watercolor), kids’ drawing, music and dancing.
The art found its way to Austin by way of Mr. Younong Zhu, the founder and teacher of the Art Center in Xuancheng. Mr. Zhu and his wife have come to Austin to visit their daughter, Julie, who is attending the University of Texas. Their plan is to have cross-cultural interchange between their children’s Art Center and the American communities that are interested in Chinese culture. “It is a wonderful chance for both the library and the art center to organize an exhibition of Chinese children’s artworks in the library, and we hope that someday the Chinese children will also have a chance to enjoy the artworks of American children,” says Julie Zhu, daughter of Mr. Zhu.
Art Opening and Reception
Meet the Founder of the Xuancheng Children’s Art Center, Mr. Younong Zhu, on Wednesday, November 3 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at a library sponsored reception.
The art can be viewed during the library’s service hours; Monday-Wednesday 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Thursdays closed; Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday closed.
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