China and 16 countries from Central and Eastern Europe have come together in Ningbo, southern China's Zhejiang province, in an effort to increase the art and culture ties between the two sides.

The city of Ningbo embraced the 2nd CEE Countries Contemporary Artwork Exhibition at the Ningbo Museum of Art from June 8 to 12 in what is expected to strengthen China's art ties with CEE countries. The artwork exhibition was held on the sidelines of the first China-CEEC Investment and Trade Expo being held in Ningbo on the same dates.

The qipao show at the opening ceremony of the 2nd CEE Countries Contemporary Artwork Exhibition held in Ningbo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Sponsored by the Ningbo municipal government, the artwork exhibition brought together 74 oil paintings by 19 artists from 16 CEE countries as well as three painters from Italy and France. Some artists reflected the history of the CEE countries in their artworks featuring political events.

Visitors view the artworks from CEE countries during the 2nd CEE Countries Contemporary Artwork Exhibition at the Ningbo Museum of Art. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The artwork exhibition provides a common platform on which Chinese and Eastern European artists can have art exchanges and help peoples of both sides understand each other better.

"China and Macedonia have enjoyed friendly relations in recent years. I look forward to see more exchanges between China and Macedonia, not only in the field of art, but also in economy and culture," said Aleksandar Ristevski, curator of the Museum of Macedonia, who was present at the opening ceremony of the 2nd CEE Countries Contemporary Artwork Exhibition.

The exhibition, which dominantly features oil paintings, also displays beautiful sceneries and local customs in the CEE countries in an attempt to help visitors get to know the countries in the region.

The CEE Countries Art Museum Curator Forum was also held alongside the exhibition in Ningbo, which was attended by museum curators and scholars from both China and the CEE countries. They introduced art collections in their museums and also shared their opinions on art collection management and museums' education programs for the public.

CEE Countries Art Museum Curator Forum kicks off in Ningbo on June 8. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

"We are making maximum efforts to promote our museum via different kinds of media in an effort to make our collections be known to and appreciated by younger generations," said Martina Munivrana, curator of the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art in Croatia.

The art exhibition and museum curator forum were both held under the Belgrade Guidelines for Cooperation between China and the CEE countries, which was signed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and CEE leaders in Belgrade, Serbia, in December 2014.

It envisages, among other things, people-to-people exchanges and increased cooperation between China and the CEEC in education, culture and tourism.

These activities are expected to provide a strong impetus to revive China's economic, trade, culture and tourism cooperation with the CEE countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt. At the same time, it will also promote increased art exchanges between Ningbo and CEE countries, helping Ningbo’s local art spread across CEE.

These art exchange activities held in Ningbo could be considered as response to the Belt and Road Initiative, referring to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives, which was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, said Han Licheng, curator of the Ningbo Art Museum, adding that Ningbo Art Museum would sign cooperation agreements with nine museums from the CEE countries on June 9.

More art exhibitions from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are expected to come to China, following the art exchange activities held in Ningbo, Zhejiang.

Edited by Mevlut Katik