To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Open University of China (OUC) and promote the creation of campus culture, on 15 November 2024, “Spring's Bloom and Autumn's Harvest, Years of Abundance”, the 45th-Aanniversary Aesthetic Education Achievements Exhibition of the OUC was launched.
The event brought together Ding Xiangyang，former deputy secretary-general of the State Council and chairman of the Chinese Calligraphy Education Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education (MOE); Hu Yongkuan, an inspector (Level-I) of the Party Committee for MOE-affiliated institutions and chairman of the labour union of the MOE organs; Wang Qiming, secretary of the Party Committee and president of the OUC; and Liu Li, president of the National Calligraphy and Painting Education Association. Li Song, a member of the Party Committee and vice president of the OUC, presided over the opening ceremony.
Hu Yongkuan stated in his speech that the OUC, as a navigator in China's distance and open education, has always stood at the forefront of the times and has made indelible contributions to improvement of the nation's higher education system and the construction of a lifelong learning society. Looking ahead, he expressed hope that the university will continue leveraging its strengths in open education, deepen educational and teaching reforms, enhance international exchanges and cooperation, and consistently improve the quality of education and services. This would contribute to building a more equitable, inclusive, open, and quality lifelong learning system. He also encouraged the OUC's School of Art to further enrich the connotation of aesthetic education, innovate its approaches, and allow the blossoms of arts to flourish across broader horizons, making even greater contributions to popularising aesthetic education and enhancing the public's aesthetic literacy.
Wang Qiming said that this exhibition represents a teaching achievement of the OUC in thoroughly implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on aesthetic education. Since its establishment, the School of Art has fully utilised its institutional and systemic advantages, as well as the fine tradition of “famous lectures by renowned teachers”. It has explored a new model of “Public Aesthetic Education + Digital Empowerment”, focusing on creating courses such as the “Art Master Lectures”, a large-scale national-level public welfare project. The school has consistently improved its “high-quality, progressive, and widely accessible” public aesthetic education curriculum system. At present, nearly 80,000 minutes of premium non-degree learning resources across seven art categories have been built, spanning fine arts, calligraphy, and music. Using digital technologies such as new media platforms for teaching, VR live streaming, and high-definition broadcasts, the school has conducted annual national touring art exhibitions and monthly online themed art exhibitions. It has also established hundreds of active learning communities, focusing on addressing the issue of unbalanced access to art education resources. These efforts have pioneered new pathways for nationwide and public aesthetic education, better contributing to the construction of a society and country of learning for all.
The participating art experts highly commended the aesthetic education efforts of the OUC and offered suggestions for the future development of aesthetic education. Representatives from the open universities of Zhejiang and Fujian each presented reports on their respective achievements in aesthetic education. A student representative from Henan Open University (OU) shared learning experiences and insights.
The attending leaders and guests visited the exhibition.
Some of the Exhibited Works
The attendees also visited the achievements exhibition on-site. Through this exhibition, the OUC has not only showcased the aesthetic education accomplishments of 2024 but also highlighted the work achievements of the School of Art since its establishment two years ago. Using faculty and student calligraphy and painting works as its medium, the exhibition presented the teaching results of the undergraduate calligraphy programme and the "Art Master Lectures." The participants all said that the exhibition featured both masterpieces of top artists and initial attempts of beginners, which reflected the principle that “Teaching and learning benefits both teachers and students alike”. It provided a stage for teachers and students to showcase their work and a space for interactive exchanges.
The OUC will take this exhibition as an opportunity to continue to build a high-quality aesthetic education brand. Guided by the philosophy of “leadership by masters, holistic empowerment, multidimensional integration, and leapfrog development”, it remains committed to the mission of responsibility of "carrying forward Chinese civilisation, preserving cultural arts, enhancing aesthetic literacy, and creating a better life". The university aims to contribute to enhancing the public’s aesthetic and humanistic literacy and stimulating the innovation and creativity of the whole society.
Also present at the event were Liu Chen, vice president of China Adult Education Association; Guo Shifu, a member of the Art Commission of Beijing Fine Art Academy and national first-class artist; Pang Zhonghua, a distinguished professor at the OUC; Liu Shou'an, a professor at the Communication University of China; Du Hao, deputy curator of the Art Gallery of China National Academy of Painting; the OUC leadership members, heads from various OUC departments and relevant enterprises, and representatives of teaching staff; as well as teacher and student representatives from the open universities of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Henan.
By School of Art