Fri/Sat/Sun August 4~6, 201706 i culture

Dancers perform a poetic “paper umbrella” dance. Photos by Sun Yuchen

Night of arts shines with Chinese elements

ASERIES of artistic perfor-mances, themed “Harmony Between Man and Nature,” tipped China’s hat to the del-

egates from around the globe in Hall 4 of the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibi-tion Center on July 23.

With the main frame of the natural law — four seasons in a year — guid-ing the content of the performances, the evening echoed the International Botanical Congress (IBC) and high-lighted how life and nature are depen-dent on each another.

In addition, a virtual space was cre-ated, using sound, light and electronics, combined with background projections to interact with the performances. Some of China’s renowned performance groups, such as the National Acrobatic Troupe, Yunnan Yang Liping Dance Group and Guangdong Song and Dance Ensemble, delivered a carnival of arts for the audience.

In a display of the profundity and charm of Chinese culture, the perfor-mances portrayed traditional stories about the peaceful coexistence between man and nature based on the aesthetic principles of Chinese ink painting. The evening blended a variety of mediums into its playlist, such as acrobatics, a fashion show, traditional Chinese opera, singing and dancing.

The International Botanical Congress was held from July 23 to 29 at Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Futian District and it was the fi rst time that the congress had been hosted by a city in a developing country.

Founded in 1900, the IBC is the highest-level and most infl uential international conference on botany. The 19th Congress has been co-orga-nized by the Botanical Society of China and the Shenzhen Municipal Govern-ment. About 6,000 people from almost 100 countries and regions, including

China, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and France attended the Congress.

(Lei Kaibin)

A WINE party for the opening of the second Asia New Media Film Festival themed “New Media, New Style and an Amazing Night” was held July 8 in Futian District. The party was also broadcasted online to demonstrate the openness and inclusiveness of the new media fi lm and television industries.

Futian’s vice chief He Jie, elites from the fi lm and television industries and cast members from the nominated fi lms attended the event and enjoyed a grand gathering.

Jointly hosted by the Macao Film Society and Shanghai Film Art Academy, and sponsored by the Zhixingzhishang (Shenzhen) Media Company, the Asia New Media Film Festival was held from July 8 to 11 in Shenzhen and Macao.

A video telling touching stories of new media fi lmmakers was played during the opening reception. Yu Tian, a graduate of Toronto University and a contestant of the TV program “Sing! China,” pre-sented the pop song “My Wildness” to the audience. Wen Yuqi, a graduate from the Communication University of China who once appeared in the stage play “In the Name of the People,” performed a hot dance for the opening reception.

The fi lm festival also featured a series of themed activities including “New Media Films and Television · Venture Capital,” a parallel meeting titled “International Entertainment and Immersion Images” and a VR fi lm exhibition “Sandbox VR International Film Exhibition.” These events focused on the ecology of new media fi lm and television and provided an effi cient and convenient platform for communication, trade and cooperation among young creators in Asia, profes-sional investors and senior experts in the industries.

A total of 28 Gold Seagull Awards including best fi lm, best director and best actor and actress were presented at the award ceremony July 11.

The nominated fi lms covered vari-ous genres including suspense, fantasy, romance and comedy. The creativity and diversity of the fi lms demonstrated the dimension and vitality of the new media fi lm and television industries. (A Ding)

THE 19th International Botani-cal Congress Botanical Art Exhibition, the fi rst-ever large-scale botanical art exhibition

organized by the organizing committee of the Congress, was held from July 24 to 29 on the fi rst fl oor of Greater China International Exchange Square.

The exhibition, themed “Science and Art, Past and Future,” aims to create an international platform for dialogue on artwork pertaining to plants and raise awareness about such artwork through-out the society.

A total of 262 works from 13 coun-tries and regions were on display in the

gallery. The exhibition showcased not only representative works by botanical artists renowned in the international community, such as Mieko Ishikawa and John Pastoriza Pinol, but also those of Chinese painters, including Feng Chengru, Feng Jinyong and Chen Rongdao, demonstrating the history of Chinese botanical art.

On top of that, a memorial album for the exhibition: “Walking the Path to the Eternal Fragrance — Catalog of the 19th IBC Botanical Art Exhibition,” was also released. The bilingual album assembled 192 works from the exhibition.

The exhibition was made possible by

Botanical art exhibition unveiled

A dancer from the Yunnan Yang Liping Dance Group performs a peacock dance.

Visitors appreciate the exhibited artworks. Courtesy of the organizing committee of the 19th IBC

Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the International Association of Botanic Gardens.

Many citizens could be seen admir-ing the artwork at the exhibition, with foreign visitors accounting for over one third. (Chen Xiaochun)

New media fi lm festival kicks off