Chang Wei, Embrace (2016), oils on canvas160x100cm

Four young artists have their works displayed in an ongoing exhibition at the China Cultural Centre in Valletta as part of the Youth Plus Young Artists Promotion Programme.

Intended to integrate creation, exhibition, publication, forum, residence and roadshow, this global programme seeks to identify emerging artists, through experts and self-recommendation, exhibition, participation and auditions. It aims to record the independent thought and creation of contemporary young artists under the age of 40 who are both influential and representative.

The artists participating in this leg of the exhibition being held in Malta are Chang Wei, Guan Weiwei, Tang Mingwei and Zhang Tingqun.

Fuelled by a fast-growing market-based economy and internet, China is surprising the world with, on one hand, her new global stance of high economic and social tolerance and, on the other hand, her attitude towards innovation characterised by cultural diversification, openness and initiative.

Under this cultural background, young Chinese artists manage to take a step from traditional Chinese cultural symbols to using contemporary art’s vocabulary, engaging in innovative aesthetic practices and, from the perspective of their own culture, expressing and confidently sharing their thinking on these practices and even all civilisation.

Zhang Tingqun, 2011.7, acrylics on canvas 120x150cm

Eleven groups of works from the four artists have been selected from the over 2,000 participating artists of the past two sessions to open a window on to the creation practice of contemporary young Chinese artists and the evolving looks of Chinese arts in contemporary times.

It is the hope of the project that, through the ideological meeting of young people, a new cultural link will be created between China and the outside world, and even, understanding and communication will happen on the most common level.

■ The exhibition is on at the China Cultural Centre in Valletta until February 24. The centre is open from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 12.30pm and again from 2.30pm to 5pm. The exhibition is supported by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Malta, hosted by the China Cultural Centre in Malta and the Centre of International Cultural Exchange and is sponsored by the Beijing Wenchuang International Art Co. Ltd.