Chinese artist to Auckland for New Year Festival

Media Release
January 2010
(For Immediate Release)

Chinese artist to Auckland for New Year Festival

International artist Yuming Mu will be among the 20,000 people taking part in the Chinese New Year Festival & Market Day 2010 hosted by the Auckland Chinese Community Centre Inc at the ASB Showgrounds on Saturday 13th February. Mu and New Zealander Keith Lyons will be demonstrating the Naxi pictograph language at the festival.

Mu, a multimedia artist, will be in New Zealand in February and March to work on two projects nationwide honouring the descendants of the early Chinese settlers and celebrating Chinese identity in New Zealand.

The contemporary award-winning artist, who spent more than a decade in Europe, is interested in the history of Chinese in New Zealand, as well as current profile of Chinese in society. Mu, of Han and ethnic Naxi (related to Tibetan) descent, studied in Norway and was artist in residence at the prestigious Rijks Academy in Amsterdam. His paintings and works have been exhibited throughout Europe and North America.

As part of the Family Portrait project, he will paint portraits of Chinese New Zealanders whose ancestors were among the first settlers to New Zealand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. “As well as painting their portraits, I will video interviews with each person to help capture not only the person and character, but their stories.” Mu says.

Mu is excited about attending the Festival and to showcase the Family Portrait project, “The event has been running for more than 20 years, and it should be a great opportunity not just for me, or for Chinese New Zealanders, but for all Kiwis to celebrate new beginnings and diversity,” says Mu.”This is the first time I've been in the Southern Hemisphere, and I am looking forward to being in such a vibrant place as Auckland, particularly around the time of the Chinese New Year.”

Mu will be using the Auckland Chinese Community Centre facilities to paint portraits late February. He will also be working with school children, art students and Chinese New Zealanders on a collaborative, multimedia 20-Day Project, already successfully completed in four other countries, using art to connect with audiences and providing a vehicle for community expression. More information is available at www.mu-art.com.

The event will start at 9.30am and finishes at 4.00pm. For more information visit www.aucklandchinese.org.nz.

ENDS

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