Art

Bridges Mural

Portland-Suzhou Bridges Mural

We celebrate with a “Big Thanks!” and share this beautiful mural created by the Woodstock Elementary third graders, from both the Mandarin Immersion Program and the Neighborhood Program, under the guidance of Cooperating Artist - Sarah Ferguson.

Click to enlarge

 

Woodstock Elementary third graders, from the Mandarin Immersion Program and the Neighborhood Program, all collaborated and contributed to the Portland-Suzhou Bridges Mural.

Sister Cities, Portland and Suzhou, are both known for their beautiful bridges and gardens. In the Portland-Suzhou Bridges Mural, the bridges span cities, time, and culture.

The concept for this mural originated with the students and teachers. Each of the third grade classes identified a theme to develop for the mural. Liduan Laoshi’s class worked on bridges; Ms. Hillenberg’s class chose animals; Ms. McAdam’s class explored modes of transportation; and Ms. Engstrom’s class contributed the landscape and dwellings.

Students started with painting papers, while learning about collages. They then used the papers to cut into shapes and designs, glueing the parts together to create the individual representations for the mural.

The student work was then composed on a background panel to unify the themes of the mural.

To complete the project, students revisited their collective work to see how the different parts of the two cities come together to create a unifying work of art.

Suzhou Bridges Represented:
Xinshi
Precious Belt
Sutong Yangtze

Portland Bridges Represented:
Freemont
Burnside
Hawthorne

Classes of Contributing Young Artists:
Liduan Laoshi
- Mandarin Immersion Teacher

Ms. Hillenberg
- English Immersion Teacher

Ms. McAdams
- Neighborhood Teacher

Ms. Engstrom
- Neighborhood Teacher


Suzhou Poster Design Exhibition, “Innovative Suzhou, Great Journey”

Portland City Hall - July 27, 2018 to August 3, 2018 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of sister city relations between Suzhou and Portland and also the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up.  iSuzhou, part of Suzhou Daily, organized a poster design competition to highlight Suzhou’s journey in the past 40 years and to promote international exchanges in culture and cultural innovation.  Over 3000 entries were submitted into the competition by Suzhou citizens. The best 50 entries were selected as part of the “Innovative Suzhou, Great Journey” exhibit in Portland City Hall for the Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association’s 30th Anniversary Celebration festivities.

A ribbon cutting ceremony took place in the afternoon on July 27th in the North Atrium of  Portland City Hall. Ms. Chido Dhilwayo, Director of International Relations for the City of Portland, served as Master of Ceremony.  The event was organized by the Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association in collaboration with iSuzhou, Suzhou Foreign Affairs Office, and the Office of Government Relations of City of Portland.

Five Royal Rosarians warmly welcomed the Suzhou Delegation led by Mr. Gu Jie, Secretary General of Standing Committee of Suzhou Municipal Peoples’ Congress to Portland with welcome greetings and a commemorative certificate.   Mayor Ted Wheeler of City of Portland and Secretary General Gu Jie of Suzhou both gave remarks. Mayor Wheeler exchanged gifts with Mr. Jie, also accepted a seal with his name from the exhibit curator and signed a commemorative certificate.  

The ribbon cutting ceremony was performed by Secretary General. Gu Jie, Mayor Wheeler and representatives from both Cities of Portland and Suzhou.  A group photo was taken to mark this special occasion and everyone enjoyed looking through the beautiful poster exhibit before the event ended. 

Original link here (note Chinese language)

2017 Jiangsu International Youth Art Contest

WP_20170224_11_39_31_Pro-e1489868965114.jpg

Principal Julie Rickman of the Hope Chinese Charter School accepted the invitation from PSSCA President Lynne McIntyre and her VP Robert Fraser to participate in the 2017 Jiangsu International Youth Art Contest sponsored by the Jiangsu Provincial Government and Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation.

The purpose of this Contest was to highlight the friendship between the young generation of Jiangsu’s 13 cities including Portland Sister City to Suzhou and those in their sister cities around the world. This Contest encouraged the participation of children aged between 6 and 12 to introduce their hometown by painting in the universal language of art.

The theme of this Contest was “Painting Your Home, Dreaming Your Future”. The selected works will be exhibited in China, and the young artists will be awarded a certificate to celebrate their participation in this Contest. All students participating in the contest from Hope Chinese Charter School will receive a Certificate of Friendship with the City of Suzhou from PSSCA.

Yuan (Yuri) Liu Lead Chinese Teacher & Curriculum Coordinator, coordinated the project with the able assistance of Third Grade Mandarin Teacher Sara Li, Third Grade English Teacher, Carrina Schindler and Kindergarten English Teacher Kelly Matsushima. Approximately 40 students in total from both classes participated. Samuel William's artwork (right) from the Hope Chinese Charter School was one of three drawings submitted from the third grade for the competition.

Suzhou Week July 29 to Aug 1 2014

The City of Portland celebrated its 26 year of friendship with our Sister City of Suzhou, China during July 29 to August 1, 2014. The Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association (PSSCA) organized an exhibit at the City Hall of Portland with a ribbon cutting ceremony by Mayor Charles Hales and attended by a group a children from the Skybridge International school and other guests and friends.  

Suzhou Week 2014 Ribbon Cutting

Suzhou Week 2014 Ribbon Cutting

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Introducing the newly published book, "In Suzhou" - Wednesday, July 30 3:00pm, 1st Floor, Portland City Hall

The City of Suzhou donated copies of their new book, "In Suzhou", to Portland to be introduced during Suzhou Week celebration.

Front-of-In-Suzhou-book-web

Front-of-In-Suzhou-book-web

"This is Suzhou, an ancient city with 2,500 years’ history. Suzhou is called The City of Gardens in China, and is enjoying a reputation as “The Paradise on Earth.” In the 13th century, Suzhou was hailed as “Oriental Venice” in Travels of Marco Polo. Charles Montesquieu, the French enlightenment thinker, praised Suzhou ancient city for its uncanny workmanship." This book is jointly produced by the Information Office of Suzhou Municipal Government, the Suzhou Education Bureau and the Suzhou Daily Group.  Mayor Hales accepted the books on behalf of the City of Portland.

Hongyu-presenting-to-Mayor-Hales.jpg

Drink in the Beauty of Suzhou - Photography Exhibit ( 醉美苏州-傅静中摄影作品展) July 29 to August 1, 9am to 5pm daily, Portland City Hall

Tianping-Mountain-web

Tianping-Mountain-web

The works by famous Suzhou Photographer, Mr. Jingzhong Fu, have been published in great number of China and international magazines and have been selected to several international renowned photography exhibitions, including French Art International Photography Exhibition, Britain Southern Devonshire International Photography Exhibition, Greek Circuit International Travelling Photography Art Exhibition, Austrian Trierenberg Super Circuit, Iranian Khayyam International Photography Exhibition, Indian PSI International Digital Photography Exhibition, US Washington International Photography Exhibition, Hong Kong Grace International Photography Exhibition, etc.  We were honored to be able to exhibit Mr. Fu's work in Portland in celebration of Suzhou Week 2014.

Mt-Jefferson-vertical-web

Mt-Jefferson-vertical-web

Majestic Mountains and Shimmering Water, Oregon Scenery Art Exhibition July 29 to August 1, 9am to 5pm daily, Portland City Hall

In honor of the Suzhou Week 2014, an art exhibit by Portland artist and PSSCA Board member Maihwa Frances Li has been created using acrylic to provide for a series of colorful paintings depicting memorable Oregon sights in all four seasons.  While Ms. Li traveled all over Oregon, she found much natural beauty, similar to Chinese landscapes, majestic mountains, cascading waterfalls, lush forests, scenic beaches, and abundant wild¬life which inspired her for the creation of this exhibition.  For more information, please visit the art exhibit page.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Both the photography exhibit of beautiful Suzhou scenery and the new book "In Suzhou" were contributions from Suzhou as symbols of the long and strong Sister City relationship between Portland and Suzhou.