the 10th shenzhen creative december was launched yesterday, with 30 key activities in innovative design to be held during the monthlong event.
initiated in 2005, the annual gala aims to boost shenzhen's cultural industries and encourage the public to participate in cultural events and be more creative in general.
the activities cover nine categories: creative design, industrial arts, calligraphy and painting, theatrical performances, film and television, press and publication, animation and games, tourism and leisure, and tangible and intangible cultural heritages.
a highlight on the agenda this month is the shenzhen creative design award, an initiative that falls under the umbrella of projects aimed at helping the city live up to its recently awarded unesco city of design title. the award, funded by the city's special fund for cultural development, will be given out every two years. this year's award will feature competitions in six categories of design: visual communication, architectural space, fashion, interactive design and other innovative ideas.
three levels of prizes will be given: two top prizes each worth 500,000 yuan (us$81,967), six prizes each worth 300,000 yuan, and 60 prizes each worth 20,000 yuan. candidates can log on to scda.shenzhendesign.org for more details about the awards.
philippe kern, a member of the strategic advisory committee of shenzhen international city construction, said that shenzhen is, to a very large extent, contributing to the efforts to transform china into a creative economy with its numerous design, fashion and animation fairs.
"my goal is to create more coherence between all these initiatives to achieve better results so that shenzhen will look attractive to talents, both homegrown and foreign, who can become creative resources to shenzhen," kern said at the launch ceremony. "i call on the city to make shenzhen a city of possibilities, characterized by design-centric thinking in city planning and management to foster innovation."
french architect and designer micheal patte, founder of a local culture company, said that more expats are organizing and participating in innovative programs in the city, such as music, art and charity events that are reaching the global stage.
he said it's a good sign that the local and expat communities are joining together in the creative campaign, but added that the gap remains between the communities and what’s happening in the city.
"i think the expats' connection with creative december is not yet well-established, so it needs to be expanded to a larger scope. more work can be done to build a link between ordinary citizens and the government so that all levels of society can be involved in the event, not just the few professionals at the top level," he said.
(source:shenzhen daily)
