Information on Loughborough

First for Loughborough based Charnwood Arts

Posted on 23/08/2008

Great wall of China

In what is understood to be a first for any arts organisation in the UK, Charnwood Borough Council backed Charnwood Arts has a new web address - in Chinese!

Following last years highly successful cultural exchange visits to Chengdu and Chongqing in South West China, Charnwood Arts has maintained links with a number of artists and other cultural leaders. Both cities are interested in longer term collaborations. Charnwood Arts was also invited back to China to work with the British Council on a creative community consultation project following their first visit last year. Now with the assistance of André Schappo and Max Chen of Loughborough University, they have both a Chinese name and a Chinese web address: http://查恩伍德艺术.com/  This translates as Charnwood Arts, where 查恩伍德 reads as cháēnwǔdé and 艺术 reads as yìshù, which means art(s).

This development is significant for many reasons and is part of the continuing international profile of Charnwood Arts. The Chinese address makes it more accessible to Chinese people who will now be able to find Charnwood Arts by its Chinese name. Charnwood Arts will also be visible in search engines under this address.

André Schappo said:

The new web address opens up many possibilities for dynamic adaptation of the website, enabling content to be presented in Mandarin and to highlight subjects of more relevance to a Chinese audience. As a borough, Charnwood’s links with China are extensive, through the University, local schools and through business and the arts. This new development will help to extend awareness of Charnwood across China and the Chinese speaking world.”

Charnwood Arts is now developing a range of ideas to run Chinese themed workshops and activities in Charnwood and creatively support arts and cultural projects with China. The most recent of these was a visit by artist Paul Gent to meet Chinese artists and cultural leaders in Chongqing through an Arts Council funded programme. There is also an ongoing dialogue with the Sichuan Institute of Fine Art in the same city.

Charnwood Arts is also involved in another University linked project to stage a major exhibition in Taiwan which will link to community projects in Loughborough over the next two years.

For more details, contact Kevin Ryan at Charnwood Arts on 01509-822558 or by e-mail to kevr@charnwood-arts.org.uk.