The College of Fine Arts at Huaqiao University was originally the Art Department founded after the university was reestablished. The College invited the China Academy of Art (formerly named Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts) to create a special class of Chinese painting jointly in 1983. The Art Department was set up in 1984, and its first director was Mr Li Shuoqing. It started to enroll students of fine arts and art design and the pathway of Chinese paintings in 1991. The College of Fine Arts was founded in 2006, based in “Shanchun-Qiluan” Arts Teaching Building. It was funded by Mr Zhuang Shanchun, a famous, patriotic and able man and a key member of Huaqiao University’s Board of Directors, and his wife Ms Zheng Qiluan. Mr Xu Li, a secretary of the branch party of the China Artists Association, was appointed as the honorary dean in 2020.
The College has 1,189 students, including 134 postgraduates. Among them, there are 428 international students, accounting for 36% of the total number of overseas students in the university. It is higher than that of other colleges. The College consists of the Department of Fine Arts, Design Department and Centre of Aesthetics and Overseas Student Education. There are three undergraduate programs: product design (national first-class professional construction base), visual communication design (provincial first-class professional construction base) and fine arts (provincial first-class professional construction base). The professional postgraduate programs in arts began to enroll students at home and abroad in 2014, covering two specializations: fine arts and art design.
There are 77 faculty members, including 66 full-time teachers; the proportions of teachers with senior professional titles and doctoral degrees are respectively 32% and 21%. Most of them graduated from famous art colleges at home and abroad, well-known double first-class normal universities and comprehensive universities in China. Among them, some are leading figures of the National “Ten-thousand Talents Plan”, talents who enjoy special allowance of the State Council, members of the Art Council of the Chinese Artists Association, China Artists Association and China Calligraphers Association. The College employs Mr Ou Haonian and Mr Pan Yunhe as honorary professors. There are 11 school-level guest professors and part-time professors (e.g. Mr Fan Di’an, Mr Wang Laiwen, Mr Shen Yaoyi, Mr Chen Lide, Mr Fang Lijun, Mr Li Chen). There are also 41 university-level guest professors, part-time professors, arts tutors and practical teachers.
The College has established the undergraduate diploma in art design (animation) and fine arts (oil painting) in collaboration with the Amateur Continuing Study Centre, Macao. The school has accelerated its internationalization, strengthened joint doctoral training with southeast Asian universities and cooperated with European and American universities in running schools in recent years. In addition, it has invited distinguished experts from home and abroad to guide the discipline construction, such as Mr Liao Xiuping, the father of modern printmaking in Taiwan region, and Mr Wang Tong (a Swedish Chinese artist). Many renowned experts at home and abroad were invited to give lectures, like the president of the International Red Dot Award Judging Committee Mr Ron Nabarro, Mr Rao Zongyi, the master of Chinese culture, and Mr Ou Haonian, a master of Lingnan School of Painting. International symposiums like The 12th International Symposium of Asian Design Culture Society were held by it as well.
The college has been approved to construct one national first-class undergraduate specialty, two Fujian Provincial first-class undergraduate specialties, one national first-class undergraduate course, two provincial excellent online courses, 6 provincial first-class undergraduate courses and a large number of university-level teaching achievements. It has undertaken more than 40 projects in various fields. They include one art talent training project of the China National Arts Fund, one Young Art Creation Talent Project, one general art project of The National Social Science Fund of China and nearly 20 provincial and ministerial projects. It has published more than 10 books, textbooks and works, and more than 160 academic papers in various journals. Works of more than 30 teachers have been selected by large exhibitions or competitions at home and abroad, including National Art Exhibition, National Easel Comic Exhibition, Germany IF Design Competition, Beijing Design Week and so on. Also, works of more than 50 teachers have been displayed and awarded prizes in provincial exhibitions sponsored by Fujian Federation of Literary and Art, Fujian Artists Association and other associations.
Advanced teaching facilities, covering nearly 100 computer workstations, 15 multimedia classrooms, two multi-functional exhibition halls (1200 square meters) and high-end inkjet printers and scanners are available in the college. Art Design Experimental Center, equipped with advanced devices such as professional machinery making, 3D laser engraving, model making and rapid prototyping, was rated as Provincial Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center in 2009. To create an art creative space at Huaqiao University to encompass all the majors at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, the college actively unites functional departments of this university in building an interdisciplinary, comprehensive and innovative sharing platform. It features openness, experimental practice, aesthetic education, Chinese education, communication between international students, display and the dissemination of overseas Chinese culture. The College has built practical bases and postgraduate workstations with more than 80 units, providing a solid guarantee for students’ practice, study and employment.
The College now has one provincial talent think tank, two art councils of Fujian Artists Association with the college as the core and six university and college-level scientific research institutions. Academic exchange brands include: the Third World Overseas Chinese Art Exhibition-Special Works Exhibition in Fujian Area, the Fourth and Fifth National Easel Comic Exhibition (Quanzhou), “Maritime Silk Love” Huaqiao University, National Taiwan Normal University and Cross-Strait Overseas Chinese Art Calligraphy and Photography Exhibition, “Practice Economy, Oppose Waste” the First Fujian Comic Exhibition, 2017 “Belt and Road” (Quanzhou) Senior Workshop on Innovation and Development of Arts and Crafts, 2018 “Maritime Silk” (Quanzhou) Senior Workshop on Innovation and Development of Arts and Crafts, 2019 “Activation · Enabling · Rebirth” (Quanzhou Yongchun) Senior Workshop on Arts and Crafts, Wang Laiwen Intensive Class on Line Drawing Art, Workshop on Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, Overseas Lacquer Art Training Class of Huaqiao University and various cultural activities for students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
The College integrates the culture of overseas Chinese and southern Fujian, strengthens practical teaching and improves students’ innovative and practical ability by combining its specialties’ characteristics, relying on a comprehensive university, depending on various scientific research institutions and off-campus practical bases, and focusing on arts festivals, art forums, workshops, creative markets and other activities. Students have achieved excellent results in many competitions, and their works were selected to compete with that of others in the National Arts Exhibition and all kinds of national painting exhibitions. The awards include the Full Award of Germany IF Design Award, Germany Red Dot Design Award, the First Prize in China Universities Industrial Design Competition, the Second Prize in the National Advertising and Art Design Competition for College Students, and the Second Prize in “Excellent Achievements of College Students’ Social Practice” (organized by the Ministry of Education), etc.
The College attaches great importance to alumni work. Many branches of the alumni association were successively established since 2014, including college of fine arts branch of Quanzhou Alumni Association of Huaqiao University, Postgraduate Alumni Association of College of Fine Arts, college of fine arts branch of Hunan Alumni Association and college of fine arts branch of Xiamen Alumni Association. Global Alumni Association of College of Fine Arts was founded on October 29, 2020. Numerous branches of College of Fine Arts’ Alumni Association are in progress.
