Secondary: Art and Adventure on Gulangyu 中学生鼓浪屿艺术之旅

Last week, students from AP Art, Pre-AP Art, Ceramics, and Photography enjoyed a sun-filled trip to Gulangyu to see Selected Works from the Ludwig Collection—an exhibition made possible by a remarkable act of artistic generosity.

The Ludwig Collection was assembled over decades by German art collectors Peter and Irene Ludwig, who began acquiring artworks in the 1950s and eventually amassed more than 14,000 works spanning centuries and continents. Their vision was not to keep these treasures to themselves, but to share them with the world. In 1996, they donated 117 works by 82 European and American artists to the National Art Museum of China. This generous act opened a window for generations of visitors to encounter works by Picasso, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Hockney, and many other influential artists.

We were incredibly fortunate to see these original artworks firsthand on Gulangyu, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Xiamen. It was a wonderful opportunity to walk through history while experiencing the work of artists who helped shape it.

The weather was sunny and breezy as students boarded the ferry, taking in the beautiful views of Xiamen Island and Gulangyu. We wandered through the Gulangyu’s charming lanes before climbing the hill and passing beneath an arch formed by the branches of an ancient banyan tree.

We then entered the cool, well-organised exhibition space. Students were captivated, eagerly asking whether the Picassos really were originals. After admiring these historically influential works, we headed to a grassy area for our picnic, where students enjoyed socialising and worked up a healthy appetite after an exciting morning.

We then split into groups for an open-ended scavenger hunt. Rather than searching for fixed answers, students were challenged to look at their surroundings in new ways—photographing something they had never seen before, finding a natural picture frame, capturing something mysterious, or even spotting a possible portal to another dimension!

Each group took a different route back to the ferry, capturing creative responses along the way. The activity encouraged curiosity, creativity, and fresh perspectives. Some of the students’ photographs are featured in this article, with more to be shared in upcoming newsletter posts about the trip.

(Article by Ms. Rosie, Secondary Art Teacher.)

上周，我们AP艺术、Pre-AP艺术、陶艺及摄影课程的学生们迎着明媚的阳光，踏上了一场充满艺术气息的鼓浪屿探索之旅，参观了 “路德维希收藏精选作品展”。这场精彩的展览，源于一份跨越国界的慷慨艺术馈赠。

“路德维希收藏”是由德国艺术收藏家彼得·路德维希（Peter Ludwig）与艾琳娜·路德维希（Irene Ludwig）夫妇历经数十年精心建立。自20世纪50年代开始收藏艺术作品以来，他们逐渐积累了超过14,000件跨越不同历史时期、涵盖世界各地的艺术珍品。然而，他们的愿景并非将这些珍贵作品据为己有，而是希望与世界分享艺术之美。1996年，路德维希夫妇向中国美术馆捐赠了82位欧美艺术家的117件作品，让一代又一代观众有机会近距离欣赏毕加索、安迪·沃霍尔、利希滕斯坦、霍克尼等众多艺术大师的作品。

能够在厦门的这座联合国教科文组织世界文化遗产地——鼓浪屿，亲眼欣赏这些艺术原作，对学生们而言是一次难得的机会。大家仿佛穿越时光，沉浸式感受一件件影响艺术发展历程的作品。

当天阳光明媚，海风轻拂。学生们乘坐渡轮前往鼓浪屿，沿途欣赏海上的美丽风光。登岛后，大家穿行于幽静迷人的小巷中，爬上山坡，从一棵古老榕树枝干交织形成的天然拱门下走过，感受这座小岛独特的自然与人文魅力。

随后，走进凉爽舒适、布置有序的展览空间，学生们立刻被眼前的艺术作品深深吸引。看到毕加索的作品时，大家更是兴奋地一直确认：“这些真的是毕加索的原作吗？” 在近距离欣赏了这些具有重要艺术史意义的作品后，大家来到一片草地上进行野餐。经历了一上午丰富而精彩的艺术探索，学生们一边享用美食，一边与伙伴们愉快交流。

野餐结束后，大家分组开启了一场别开生面的创意摄影探索挑战！这一次，没有标准答案，也没有固定的寻找目标。学生们需要用全新的视角观察周围的世界：拍下自己从未注意过的新奇事物，寻找大自然中的天然画框，捕捉充满神秘感的画面，甚至发现一扇可能通往另一个维度的“神奇传送门”！

各小组选择了不同的路线返回渡轮码头，一路捕捉各自独特的富有创意的发现。这项活动鼓励学生们保持好奇心、创造力和全新视角。部分学生摄影作品已在本文中呈现，更多精彩照片也将在后续的校园简讯中与大家分享。

(文章由中学部艺术老师 Ms. Rosie撰写)