On the evening of August 12, the awarding ceremony of the 8^th China Changchun International Ceramics Symposium & the 1^st “Yatai•Lotus Mountain Prize” International Ceramics Contest was held at Yatai Longda Hotel. The ceramist Zanger Dora from Israel and the ceramist Miadzvedzeva Hanna from Belarus won the gold award in this contest, and each won a prize of RMB 100,000. Five ceramists won silver award, and each won a prize of 50,000 yuan. Ten ceramists won bronze award, and each won a prize of 20,000 yuan. In addition, six ceramists won the nomination award and 27 ceramists won the excellence award.

With the theme of “uniqueness, innovation, and fusion”, the event was hosted by the Management Committee of Changchun Lotus Mountain Ecological Tourism Resort, Changchun Foreign Affairs Office (CCFAO), CCPIT Changchun Sub-Council, Changchun Publishing House, co-hosted by the Design Department of Jilin University of Arts, the Art Gallery of Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, and undertaken by the Culture, Sports, Tourism, Science and Technology Bureau of Changchun Lotus Mountain Ecological Tourism Resort and Changchun International Ceramics Gallery. It is aimed at promoting the Chinese culture and tradition, facilitating the communication of Chinese and foreign art, improving the cultural taste of the city, and enriching the life of the mind.

In the 20-day event, in addition to the on-site creation of ceramic works,50 ceramists from 29 countries and regions also participated in a series of activities including the Changchun International Ceramics Forum, Open Day for the Citizens, and Changchun in the Eyes of Ceramists. The event is unprecedented in terms of content, form, scale, participation, internationality, and influence. The earth closely related to people is endowed with simple, deep and varied natural beauty by the ceramists. Ceramics becomes more beautiful and full of changeable charm in the baptism of fire.

At the awarding ceremony, Zhou Guangzhen, chairman of the jury and director of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC), representative of IAC China region, read out the “list of winners”. He said that 50 ceramists from 29 countries and regions had offered more than 150 works, including the works created in Changchun and works sent to Changchun from their studios, within 20 days. Their ceramic and sculpture works with diverse culture and different styles have been presented to the audience. The seven judges and one observer are professors, scholars, curators and independent artists from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and China. The jury selected winners of 2 gold awards, 5 silver awards, 10 bronze awards, 6 nomination awards and 27 excellence awards. The symposium not only adds the glory of summer to the ski resort of the Lotus Mountain, but also becomes an important model for the promotion and development of ceramic culture in Northeast China.

On behalf of all contestants, Zanger Dora, the gold award winner, expressed thanks to the organizing committee of the contest. She said that ceramics is the result of the combined mental and physical strength and it requires enthusiasm for hard work, and knowledge or technology. “In the past 20 days, we have worked hard to create the best works. Each of us is a winner! I hope that the organizing committee can hold more activities in the future, so we can meet again in Changchun! ”

International observer Josh Green spoke highly of the whole process of this contest in his speech. In his view, the awards announced that night are a commendation for each contestant. He hopes that every ceramist who was invited to participate in this event will cherish the precious experience in Changchun. “No matter where we are in the future, the free and open ideas brought to us by this contest will continue to resonate with us in our lives and work.”

Shao Daming, Director of the Management Committee of Changchun Lotus Mountain Ecological Tourism Resort, made a closing speech on behalf of the organizing committee. He said: “This contest is a successful event. Ceramists from different countries and regions have different skin colors and different languages, but the goal of creating brilliant works is the same. It is our honor that their hard work brings Changchun Lotus Mountain more than 150 excellent ceramic works of international standards. This is the eighth time the China Changchun International Ceramics Symposium is held, and we want to continue to hold such a good symposium in the best season of every year. We are working on establishing an international modern ceramics gallery in Lotus Mountain and an international modern ceramics park. We will also build a ceramics village in the picturesque Lotus Mountain and establish studios for ceramics masters from different countries. We want to cultivate ceramics workers, train ceramics teachers and students here, let the works of artists enter thousands of households, and let ceramics works improve the aesthetic sentiment of the people. When this ceramics symposium is about to end, I formally invite you and other artists who will be invited by you to come to Changchun to create works and communicate, making Changchun an important member of the world family of ceramics.”

Attachment:List of winners of the 1^st “Yatai•Lotus Mountain Prize” International Ceramics Contest

1. Winners of goldawards (2 winners):

Zanger Dora from Israel

Miadzvedzeva Hanna from Belarus

2. Winners of silver awards (5winners):

Iryna Radkevich and Yauheni Adzinochanka from Belarus

Luciano Ariel Polverigiani from Argentina

Byero Georgiy from Ukraine

Ms. Janina Myronowa from Poland

3. Winners of bronze awards (10 winners):

Zholud Oleksandr and Biero Olena from Ukraine

Tashima Hirotsune from Japan

Roos, Stephanie Marie from Germany

Jin Sik Hong from Korea

Sripaiboon Mr. Yutdanai from Thailand

Jolanda Verdegaal • van Rooijen from Netherlands

Zhao Lin, Jin Zhenhua, and Nong Bangmin from China

4. Since the outstanding individual works of some ceramist were unanimously praised by the judges, six nomination awards were added. The list of winners is as follows (6 winners):

Kalin Luy Ken from Peru

Mr. Marko Galenko from Ukraine

Delia Maxim from Romania

Mr. Hasan Numan SUÇAĞLAR from Turkey

Hsieh Chia-Heng from China Taiwan

Bai Xuefeng from China

5. Winners of excellence awards (27 winners):

Sobolev Mikhail, Slastnikova Elena, Aleksandra Stvora, Vera Bakastova from Russia

Hyun Moon Shin from Korea

Christos Tsimpourlas from Greek

Lynn Frydman Kuhn from Switzerland

Eugenia Loginova from Latvia

Alessandro Canu from Italy

Koutsellis Diamando from Australia

Debashis Pal from Bangladesh

Ong Kok Peng from Singapore

Cristina Rocha de Souza Pinto from Brazil

Shanyar Abdullah Salman Algarad from Iraq

Portela Ortiz Maria Isabel from Mexico

Kyianytsia Andrii from Ukraine

JŪRAA.VAŠKEVIČIŪTĖ from Lithuania

Yuri Fukuoka from Japan

Oh Eunyoung from America

Xu Ju from China Taiwan

Huang Xiulin, Yang Zhi, Zhou Xiaobing, Wang Qun, Guo Weizheng, Yang Ming, and Yu Wenlong from China