Porsche China's young artists program encourages aspiring talent

Franz Jung, president and CEO of Porsche China, gives a speech at the event on May 25,2017.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

German premium carmaker Porsche kicked off its new program with the ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair on May 25 in Shanghai, as part of efforts to encourage young, innovative artists in its largest market.

The program, called Young Chinese Artist of the Year, aims to find the most innovative artists in China and encourage their artistic exploration, according to Porsche China.

A five-member nomination committee composed of artists, curators and critics has been established. Each member will nominate no more than five artists, whose works will be displayed later this year. Three winners will be announced in November.

The event is a professional platform for pioneering artists who are bold rule breakers, challenge takers and independent thinkers.

"With our future-oriented sustainable development strategy, we not only seek today's success, but also aim for future development," said Franz Jung, president and CEO of Porsche China.

"With the first Porsche Young Chinese Artist of the Year, Porsche China has taken an important step towards offering long-term support to young Chinese artists. I sincerely hope that it becomes a platform for these artists to exchange and showcase their talents."

Cultivating and supporting young artists is one focus of Porsche's corporate social responsibility program, called Empowering the Future.

In 2009, Porsche China launched the program to improve education and the integrated early development of disadvantaged rural children, and to support promising young artists in the country.

From 2010 to 2016, the company held art contests with Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, giving young Chinese artists an opportunity to exhibit their artwork.

Porsche China is now working with UNICEF on three projects that focus on education for rural children and their early childhood development.

By the end of 2016, the automaker had donated more than 60 million yuan and 10 Porsche Cayenne SUVs to programs in collaboration with UNICEF, benefiting 915 schools in western China.

Porsche entered the Chinese market in 2001, which has been its largest market worldwide since 2015. The company delivered 18,126 new cars in the first quarter of this year, representing 10 percent growth year-on-year.