Remarks by Ambassador Tan Jian at the Sino-Dutch Art Exchange Exhibition 2022
(August 6, 2022, Pulchri Studio, The Hague)
Distinguished artists,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
It is my great pleasure to attend the “Sino-Dutch Art Exchange Exhibition 2022”.
What a wonderful starter, the solo opera and solo contemporary ballet.
I was told that China and the Netherlands each organized 25 works of contemporary art, calligraphy and painting to participate in the exhibition.
The Dutch side was led by the contemporary art master Mr. Bob Bonies, and the Chinese side by Wu Weishan, the director of the National Art Museum of China.
The Pulchri Studio and especially China Cultural Center Den Haag have spent so much efforts over the recent months to collect and transport the artworks from China, and organize this event.
I wish to express my sincere thanks, to all those who have organized the exhibition and contributed their works, the soprano and dancer.
Thank you all for coming.
25+25, altogether 50 works. This number 50 is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level between our two countries in 1972.
This is the logo for the 50th anniversary.
Let me give you a brief introduction.
It features the national colors of China and the Netherlands: red and orange.
The lines, make the number 50, and symbolize water streams.
Water is life, water is power, water is wisdom.
Our two peoples have built major water conservancy projects, the NL is well known for its “polder model”, the sea-blocking dams.
Our relationship is like a river. It started as a stream 400 years ago, when our two peoples established contacts through the maritime silk road.
The stream turned into a river in 1972, when the two sides upgraded our diplomatic relations.
The river was widened greatly in 2014, when our leaders defined Sino-Dutch relations as an open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation, injecting fresh impetus into its growth.
Please note these are unfinished lines, flowing into the future.
I am sharing with you the ideas behind the design of this logo, as I know that for each of the 50 artistic works here, there are thoughts and messages.
Hope you like the logo. I really do.
Let me add that the author is not me. It was commissioned by the NL Embassy in Beijing to a Dutch company. My Embassy has got the right to use it.
So, there is no infringement on the intellectual property rights.
I wonder if this logo can be the 51st piece of work in this exhibition. I will leave it to the Director of the China Cultural Center, Mr. Huang.
Dear friends,
I had a guided tour before the start of this ceremony. I am a layman to art, yet I do like the exhibited works.
I understand an artistic work is valuable because it strikes a chord with people’s hearts and minds.
I believe art can bring people closer -- people from the east and west, people from developing and developed, Chinese and Dutch.
We are living in a world confronted with a lot of challenges, peace, development, climate change, etc.
Let’s appreciate art, enhance understanding, build trust, promote cooperation, for the good of mankind.
Thank you.