Art bridges Beijing and Antwerp through exchange exhibitions between academies

How much chemistry would be created between one of the oldest art schools in the world and the top art academy of the most populous country? The answers are to be found at Art Bridges: from Antwerp to Beijing and back again, an exchange program to connect students at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, founded in 1663, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

Opened on Nov 2, the event marks the first collaboration on students exchange between the two schools, and is part of RAFA's celebrations of its 360th anniversary this year.

Works by students of the RAFA are currently on show at CAFA Art Museum through Nov 12. They were done in the A4 paper size and are displayed on several wooden frameworks. Young artists were required to complete their works in a brief period of time, and thereafter their art output shows no intricacy, but a straightforward and yet vigorous style.

Works done in the same way by CAFA students will be on show at RAFA from Nov 30 to Dec 8.