'Paper Dialogues - The Dragon and Our Stories'

About

‘Paper Dialogues – The Dragon and Our Stories’ explores the stories that transcend language: connecting two psaligraphy specialists from two distinct cultures as they chase the myth of Dragons. In both Scandinavian and Chinese culture, dragons have loomed large, and this exhibition probes the nature of their cultural legacies and the reincarnation of papercutting. 

To raise awareness of this significant art form, the exhibition, which will take place within the Assembly Rooms of the St. Helier Town Hall on Jersey in the Channel Islands, will include a strong educational element.  It has travelled to Jersey from Beijing (Today Art Museum), Shanghai (Liu Haisu Art Museum), Oslo (Vigeland Museum) and Trondheim (National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design), but in Jersey, Tom Dingle, Director of the Jersey Arts Trust, has asked Xiaoguang Qiao and Karen Bit Vejle to lead an ambitious educational programme. Xiaoguang and Vejle will hold a cascading Masterclass: teaching local artists how to papercut who will, in turn, work with local residents and school children. A second exhibition, ‘Paper Talks’ will be held in St. Helier in 2017, where a selection of the papercuts will be displayed. Together, the two exhibitions will provide a perfect opportunity for Jersey students to connect with Jersey’s partner schools in China as a form of art exchange and dialogue.