A group photo of the forum participants and the12 student artists selected as finalists.[Photo by Wen Yi/chinadaily.com.cn]

Fu, the other prize winner, is a postgraduate pursuing a master’s degree in experimental art at CAFA. One of her works, Fantasia of the Sky, constitutes 16 watercolor paintings with frames she made herself from PLA integrated materials. “Every painting here was drawn at the most inspiring moment of that day. You can't repeat any one of them. I find a normal frame boring and old-fashioned and practically speaking, round frames are too expensive for me. A friend suggested that I change the frame’s forms. Some contemporary artists consider the frame a part of the artwork. Thus I used a 3D printing pen to do the spontaneous creation,” Fu said.

Cayol, who also is a philosopher and writer said Yishu 8 helps young Chinese artists to find their own path and to be more free in terms of the market. In a certain way, one of the big problems for artists in China is linked with the market for art. “But we all know that big names do not care about money. They just care about their art. I think a way to help Chinese artists now is to promote the dialogue between two civilizations-western civilization and Chinese civilization,” she said.

Since 2012, as a way of supporting young artists, Yishu 8 has organized an open competition each year for advanced students in their final year of studies at CAFA. The Yishu 8 Young Artist Award is supported by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermes.