Tiger-themed folk art exhibition gains popularity

A tiger-themed online exhibition focusing on Chinese folk arts has gained popularity across the country since its launch in late January.

The exhibition, titled "Hundreds of Tigers Celebrating the New Year Together: A Folk Art Innovation Exhibition" and "The 'Two New' of Literature and Art: An Exhibition of Artworks by Young and Middle-Aged Folk Artists," kicked off online on Jan. 29.

A total of 634 works by artists, designers, teachers, and students from art colleges and universities throughout the country feature in the exhibition, including folk artworks, tiger-themed art designs, and derivative cultural and creative products, spanning 1,034 images of tigers in total.

The exhibition comprises two sections, focusing on folk art innovation and folk artists' efforts, respectively. The second session of the exhibition displays more than 100 exquisite works of the new folk art generation, including paper cuttings, embroideries, woodcarvings, shadow puppets, famille rose porcelains, stone artworks, Thangkas, enamel, lacquerware, inkstones, among others.

In its first section, the four sections were designated "Tigers howling with the rise of winds -Origin of the tiger culture," "Spirited dragon and dynamic tiger - Colorful tigers of folk art," "Act with the courage and strength of the tiger - Changeable auspicious tigers," and "Add wings to the tiger - Innovative gifts for the Year of the Tiger."

Part one reveals the strong relationship between the Chinese nation and the tiger by tracing the origin of tiger culture, systematically combing the development and inheritance of Chinese tiger culture, the protection of totem sacrifice from evil spirits, the supreme symbol of military forces and authority, the zodiac symbols and good implications of their daily decoration, and clearly and completely demonstrates the developments of Chinese tiger culture.

In the second portion of the show, a variety of tiger shapes in folk art from all over China are displayed, including paper cuttings with different styles and exquisite workmanship, engraved wood New Year paintings full of festive flavor, as well as cloth tigers and tiger-head hats and shoes with diverse shapes and charming simplicity and colorfully painted sculpture of tigers. All of them demonstrate the unique charm of Chinese folk art.

Many artists, designers, teachers, and students from art colleges and universities were invited to create artworks cooperatively in the third portion of the show, interpreting folk art through the innovative expression of contemporary visual language and share their ideas of the contemporary value of the renewal of the folk art in creative ways.

The fourth part showcases the excellent practical achievements of Tsinghua University's efforts to help the inheritance and innovation of New Year paintings. A series of new images of New Year paintings, zodiac tiger IP, and cultural derivatives are integrated with fashion and uses the daily life of people during Spring Festival as an application scenario. This activity intends to meet and enrich people's growing demand for a better life with a new visual language, creating a beautiful carrier for New Year paintings to better integrate into modern life.

The exhibition is co-sponsored by the Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University (AADTHU) and the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association (CFLAA), and jointly organized by the Department of Visual Communication Design of AADTHU, the Youth Committee of Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association, and the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Art Design and Research Institute of CFLAA.

Scan the QR code to enter the online exhibition.