Porsche China presents winning pieces of Sichuan Art Contest at Shanghai Art FairWith high-profile sponsorship, Porsche deepens commitment to social responsibility in China
Shanghai. Porsche China today begins exhibiting the artworks of its 2010 ‘Empowering the Future’ Art Contest at Sh Contemporary 2011, the prestigious international contemporary art fair held from September 8-10 at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre. As the fair’s largest corporate sponsor, Porsche will showcase the full range of its high-performance sports cars throughout the fair. The latest demonstration of the marque’s steadfast devotion to promoting and delivering educational support to China’s youth, Porsche China’s support at Sh Contemporary confirms its ever-widening commitment to China.
Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair returns to the city for the fifth time this year as one of the leading art fairs in Asia. Its mission is to contribute to the development of Asian contemporary art by, primarily, fostering the growth of emerging artists and galleries. In choosing sponsors, as well, Shanghai Contemporary particularly favours brands committed to nurturing talent - as demonstrated through their educational, artistic and other charitable initiatives.
In its first-ever showing at Shanghai Contemporary, Porsche China’s prominently featured booth in the Dome Hall of the Exhibition Centre attests to the marque’s alignment with the fair’s core values. All the works on display, selected out of 192 submissions, were created by young artists competing in Porsche’s inaugural ‘Empowering the Future’ Art Contest, jointly held with the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (SFAI) from September to November last year. Designed to provide educational support and opportunities for young artists in China, the contest is one part of a broader ‘Empowering the Future’ initiative first launched by Porsche China after a massive earthquake struck Sichuan Province’s Wenchuan County in 2008. The initiative and the Art Contest both aim to improve the welfare and educational prospects of China’s youth, particularly in earthquake-affected areas.
Each of the works Porsche brought for display conveys messages of positivity, optimism and self-empowerment. Among them are pieces by the contest’s three top winners. First-place winner Yansha Zi’an’s painting, ‘Reflection of Life---Flowers at Blossom’, tells a story of how all children have a dream to live on, regardless of background and disadvantage. Zhu Qing, who came in second, painted, ‘My Beautiful Homeland’, which reflects the joy of seeing rebuilt homes and lands. In ‘Child Faces’, third-place winner Li Fangxxue depicted several smiling faces that represent a positive attitude towards life.
“This competition has provided a great opportunity to increase recognition for Porsche’s ‘Empowering the Future’ initiative via our students’ artistic expression”, said Mr. Luo Zhongli, Head of the Sichuan Fine Art Institute. “Through the joint efforts of Porsche and the SFAI, we hope that more and more students will gain the valuable skills that are needed for successful education and future careers. We also hope that this partnership will help increase public awareness of contributing more to philanthropic initiatives in China”.
The broader ‘Empowering the Future’ initiative complements the funds and awareness raised by the Art Contest with charitable donations and a special aid programme. After sending an initial donation of 500,000 Euros to UNICEF as relief aid for post-earthquake reconstruction work in 2008, Porsche China started ‘Empowering the Future’ with its Mobile Educational Training and Resource Unit (METRU) programme, which is executed in collaboration with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education. Through it, Porsche China is contributing more than RMB 10 million and four Cayenne to aid victims of the Wenchuan and Gansu earthquakes. The METRU programme has benefitted 391 schools across four counties in Sichuan and Gansu provinces, trained more than 7,000 teachers and improved the quality of education for more than 100,000 students.
Mr. Helmut Broeker, Chief Executive Officer of Porsche China said, “We are very proud of the young artists whose works are on display today because their achievements also realise our own goals of advancing education and encouraging creativity. As Porsche celebrates its own 10 Year anniversary in Mainland China this year, we feel especially gratified to have had so many opportunities to promote education and the arts here — especially now, on the prestigious platform of Shanghai Contemporary”.
“Porsche’s ‘Empowering the Future’ gallery embodies just the type of philanthropic arts programme that we always hope to promote at Sh Contemporary”, said Shanghai Contemporary Fair Director Mr. Massimo Torrigiani. “Not only is Porsche raising public awareness of an important cause, they are simultaneously celebrating the gifts of some of China’s best up-and-coming artists. This year, the theme for our fair is ‘All that is new in Shanghai’. We are very glad we can count China’s young artists among the great talents new to Shanghai”.
This October, Porsche and the SFAI will continue empowering the future of China’s youth by raising the awareness and funds that will help improve education in China’s earthquakeaffected regions with their second annual Art Contest in Chongqing.
Shanghai Contemporary 2011 Address: Shanghai Exhibition Centre, No. 1000 Yan An Middle Road, Shanghai
Public Opening Hours: 11:00 to 18:00 September 8-9, Thursday-Friday
11:00 to 17:00 September 10, Saturday
9/8/2011
