'Paradise' for foreign artists at Sanbao enclave

BEIJING, Oct. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from China Daily:

In 1998, renowned ceramic artist Li Jianshen returned home after completing his master's degree in the United States and helped transform Sanbao in Jingdezhen of East China's Jiangxi province from a small rural town into an international ceramic art village.

"When we came here in 1998, this was a wilderness area," said Li Wenying, another pioneer of the art village. In the 1990s, many foreign artists were interested in coming to Jingdezhen to study ceramic art, but they didn't know where to go and were uncertain about how to proceed. That's when Li Jianshen bought several farmhouses in Sanbao and converted them into studios for the foreign artists to create ceramic art.

Since then, Li Wenying, the younger sister of Li Jianshen, has helped receive thousands of artists from as far away as Canada, the US and the United Kingdom. "I am proud to introduce Jingdezhen's porcelain culture to the world by receiving overseas artists. We also offer them a space for artistic creation," she said.

For over two decades, the international ceramic art village has welcomed more than 40,000 foreign artists and has expanded to more than 60,000 square meters, becoming a new landmark of Jingdezhen and a paradise for the foreigners to create their art.

Making full use of the city's ceramic cultural and historical resources, natural resources and human resources, the Sanbao art enclave has combined internationalization with China's cultural traditions. The houses, courtyards, earthen walls and ceramic tiles, bamboo forests, creeks and green mountains all merge amidst natural contours, presenting a contemporary East Asian aesthetic.

The art village was the first institution of its kind in China to accept foreigners for artist-in-residence programs. In addition, it collects their ceramic works and organizes ceramics training for college students.

In 2012, the international ceramic art village was officially named Jingdezhen Sanbao International Ceramic Art Village Museum, and it is now one of the most distinctive private museums in the city. Due to its influence, there have been more studios settled in Sanbao village in recent years.

"Sanbao is considered a 'paradise of ceramics' by many people. We have witnessed its transformation over the past 20 years and will continue to protect it," Li said.

SOURCE China Daily