Artist's Statement
The Salt Lake Eastern Art Club, Utah Chinese Association of Sciences and Technology (CAST-UT), and the University of Utah Asia Center jointly hold the 2026 Utah Tradition Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Exhibits. The exhibits celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, the most important holiday for family reunion in Chinese culture.
Traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting are two major art forms in Chinese cultures. Both of them are fine and folk arts, and enjoyed by diverse populations in several East and Southeast Asian cultures. The youth artists in the exhibits are K-12 students from many schools in several counties in Utah. They use special Chinese brushes, ink, colors and water to draw lovely animals, beautiful flowers, mountains, and harmonious scenarios. They write Chinese calligraphy in poems, verses, famous sayings or words in Chinese. All of the submitted students’ artworks are displayed online at easternart-sl.org. Among them, the 34 award-winning art pieces are presented in Children’s Gallery.
The artists in the adult exhibit are Utah residents. The majority of us are amateur artists who have learned and practiced these art forms for many years. Practicing Chinese calligraphy and painting are popular among Chinese Americans, since the practice not only brings artistic enjoyment but also has a health function - meditation. Many of us practice brush calligraphy or painting daily as one of our routine healthy activities. Several of them are 70 years old or above; the most senior artist in the exhibit is 94 years old.
We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to share our artworks with all of you, especially during the Chinese New Year holiday session. Our artworks display beauty, present joy and love, share blessings, and express our good wishes to you, your families and communities for prosperous, safe, and happy lives in Utah in the Year of Horse, that is from February 17, 2026 to February 6, 2027.
This project is partially supported by the Salt Lake County’s ZAP Program.
