An artwork at the exhibition Photo: Courtesy of Yishu 8

Auriol solo exhibition

French artist Thomas Auriol kicked off a solo exhibition at the Yishu 8, a place dedicated to art in central Beijing, on Friday. The exhibition, Xiehua Yuanhang, which means "sailing away with art," reveals life in Beijing as seen through the artist's eyes. 

Auriol transformed his two months of living in Beijing into paintings. A fan of sports, he traveled through the streets of Beijing on his bicycle, feeling the colors and lights that are unique to the capital city and trying to find inspiration from them.

Born in 1987 in France, the artist used to be a photographer for the world kiteboarding championships.

Auriol learned some simple Chinese phrases during his stay in Beijing, which he used while visiting the Palace Museum and the Great Wall and enjoying exhibitions of Chinese artists.

It's a special opportunity to start over in a place that is completely strange with a completely new language, said Auriol.

Painting is a means to capture one's surroundings, Auriol said. There's no fixed mode of creation beyond simply recording the light, color and shape of the city in the artist's eyes.

Second round of the Global Young Chinese Elites Project of Theatre Directors Photo: Courtesy of the YEP

 Young elites project

A competition for young directors, the Global Young Chinese Elites Project of Theatre Directors, or YEP, recently wrapped up its second round in Beijing.

The competition aims to find and cultivate the most talented young Chinese directors globally and give them a platform to reach for their theater dreams. 

The second round of the competition has reviewed a total of 84 works from young competitors. Topics varied from observations toward life and society to their thoughts on history and culture and their understanding of philosophy.

Among the 84 works, 20 moved on to the next stage of the ­competition. These candidate works include dance and children's dramas, and focus on topics such as the contemporary world and women.