The pronunciation of “voyage of art” sounds identical to “friendship”in Chinese, which echoes the theme of the 16th Edition of China Cultural Centre in Malta and MEYR Art Exhibition “Exploring Zhejiang on a Maltese Luzzu.” It also symbolizes a journey where the little artists from China and Malta, sailing on their imagined boats, cross mountains and seas, to meet amid the poetic landscapes of Jiangnan.

The Art Competition, jointly organized by the China Cultural Centre in Malta and the Directorate for Early Years, Languages and Humanities (DELH) of the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation of Malta (MEYR), has been held for fifteen consecutive years. The competition invites Maltese students to explore and express their visions of China through diverse art forms, and has grown into a flagship platform for cultural, educational, and youth exchanges between the two countries. This year, 29 outstanding works selected from the 16th competition will be exhibited in Zhejiang for the very first time.

To foster dialogue between young artists in both countries, Zhejiang Art Museum invited four schools in Hangzhou to create works on the themes “Exploring Malta on a Zhejiang Boat” and “A tour of Zhejiang .”  Forty selected pieces will be displayed alongside the Maltese works, together weaving a vivid cross-cultural story: Maltese Luzzu boats sailing into the misty waterways of Jiangnan, and Chinese Wupeng boats and painted barges gliding across the sunlit Mediterranean. Together, they paint a vivid picture of the poetry and distant dreams in their hearts.

As Dr. Charmaine Zammit, Education Officer for Art & Design at DELH, MEYR, noted in her foreword: “Although participants worked within the same thematic framework, their artistic responses reveal an impressive diversity of thought and expression. Students dealt with guiding questions such as: Where is Zhejiang? What does its environment look like? How do its people live? What makes it unique? How can its features be harmonized with or contrasted against the bold colours and distinctive shapes of the Maltese luzzu? Their responses to these questions took shape in works ranging from figurative to abstract, from surreal to symbolic, and from playful to deeply contemplative.”This exhibition builds a cultural bridge between China and Malta, encouraging young artists to deeply understand the cultural heritages of the two countries by critical thinking,  while discovering their own artistic voices.

At the opening ceremony, a delegation of Maltese students and teachers will join local students from Hangzhou for exchange and communication. We warmly welcome art lovers of all ages to Zhejiang Art Museum—step aboard the “Voyage of Art” and embark on a journey of friendship across seas and cultures.