Located on the western side of Beijing’s central square, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA)—one of Beijing’s “Sixteen Scenic Highlights”—features a striking semi-elliptical structure. The complex consists of the main building, underwater corridors on the north and south sides, and an artificial lake. It houses an opera house, concert hall, drama theater, as well as art galleries, restaurants, audio-visual shops, and other supporting facilities.
In September 2023, the NCPA Art Gallery collaborated with the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) to present Nurturing Aesthetic Spirit: A Heritage Exhibition of Figurative Art from CAFA. Centered on the theme of aesthetic education, the large-scale exhibition features more than 200 works by generations of CAFA artists—spanning traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, printmaking, sculpture, and drawing. The exhibition highlights CAFA’s century-long journey in cultivating aesthetic values, and showcases its enduring legacy in research, innovation, and education within the field of figurative art.
The exhibition is divided into east and west halls. The East Hall, titled The Art of Virtue: Works by Senior Artists and Educators of CAFA, presents over 100 works by senior artists and pioneering art educators, emphasizing the establishment and dissemination of CAFA’s academic and pedagogical system.
