The John Hay Library's steps were lined with Chinese lanterns and its lobby was filled with the smell of dumplings Monday. The phrases "may everything go your way" and "may you be prosperous" were displayed on papier mache Chinese dragons to welcome guests to the Chinese Lantern Festival Gallery Walk, a special celebration of the Chinese New Year at the University. The decorations included this year's Chinese zodiac sign of the dragon, which is considered the most powerful and wisest animal of ancient China, appreciated for its strength and good luck.
The gallery walk was the result of a collaborative effort by the Hay, the List Art Center and the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.
The different exhibits will remain open to the public, but Monday night's walk was a special showcase.
"It was a nice way to celebrate and connect the Lantern Festival to everything on campus," said Shana Weinberg, the coordinator of the Year of China initiative.
The gallery walk consisted of a three-stop tour at each of the different venues. The tour began at the Hay with an exhibition called "Divine Land, Civilization and People." The goal of the first exhibition is "to present China though a touching approach," said Li Wang, veteran curator of the East Asian Collection. By showcasing books, paintings and artifacts, the exhibit should "bring the visitor in contact with Chinese culture and the people of this divine land," he said.
Within the exhibit are a handful of Wang's personal items from when he lived in Beijing. In addition, attendees can view a collection of 100 award-winning books donated by Bing Ling, chairman for the association of Chinese Writers in the United States.
Many unique items in the exhibit serve to establish a connection between China and the University. Beyond books, the exhibit features bamboo slips of Confucian classics, New Year folk paintings, a Qing emperor's calligraphy scrolls, delicately decorated chopsticks and award-winning paintings by an 11-year-old Chinese girl, a crowd favorite.
The List Art Center is home to the second exhibit, "The Shape of Good Fortune," which was designed and built by students in a seminar taught by Maggie Bickford, professor of history of art and architecture. The exhibit stresses wishes for abundance, luck and protection, themes that often accompany the Chinese New Year, a time of change and vulnerability.
"The goal of the exhibit was to make the visual dimensions of the celebration of the New Year in China accessible to anybody," Bickford said.
The final stop on the Gallery Walk was the Haffenreffer, where participants can view two side-by-side exhibits — "Crafting Origins" and "Taoist Gods from China." Christy DeLair GS, who curates the exhibits, accumulated the showcased items on a funded trip to Taiwan. The crafts were handmade by indigenous tribes in Taiwan, seeking to tell the stories of their origins through art. The latter exhibit featured Mien Taoist paintings that aim to give a recognizable face to the Tao, an East Asian metaphysical concept of the mechanism behind everything that exists.
The exhibits in the Haffenreffer will remain up until the end of the semester. "Shape of Good Fortune" runs through Feb. 16 and "Divine Land, Civilization and People" is open in the Hay until March 31.
