Makeovers for museums

A boy learns to paint at a Yinchuan workshop. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Jiang Youming from Shanghai's Long Museum says originality is always at the heart of its educational programs.

The museum that has two display spaces in Shanghai was founded by the mega-collector couple Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei.

Its West Bund space features the Chinese artifacts in their collection.

Jiang says one of the strengths of the museum's education program is its focus on Chinese cultural traditions.

When an 18th-century painting album of 100 species of peonies was on show earlier this year, a reading session was organized at which participants read poems, essays and letters about peonies.

And a Chinese painting course was offered at which people learned to paint one of the peonies featured at the show on handheld traditional Chinese fans.

Jiang says besides the onetime workshops, they also organize five-day youth camps that help people understand how a museum or an exhibition is run.