Year of Dog to take bite of Big Apple

The Year of the Dog is about to have its run of New York.

To celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, which falls on Friday, Feb 16 this year, a celebration from Feb 13 to 20 will take place at iconic venues and landmarks across the city.

The celebration, called Fantastic Art China, is co-hosted by the Committee of 100 and its US-China Cultural Institute, along with China's Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA).

"As one of the most important parts of Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in New York, we hope that Fantastic Art China can enter mainstream America and make more people understand the Chinese Spring Festival and its culture," said Yu Ding, chief curator of Fantastic Art China and dean of the Institute of Arts Administration and Education at CAFA.

Themed Year of the Dog, Leap Into Happiness, a series of arts and cultural events will include performances, exhibitions and concerts. In the process, traditional culture, modern discourse and innovative visual arts and creative design will meet.

Four themed exhibits will showcase works from outstanding contemporary artists along with emerging young artists from China and the US.

"Through this platform, we not only bring the latest Chinese art to New York but also showcase new art from young American artists. Fantastic Art China is using art to build a bridge connecting people in the US and China. We will continue to make an effort to become a role model for cultural exchange between China and the US," Yu said.

Since 2016, New York public school students get a holiday in observance of Lunar New Year, which means 1.1 million students in New York will be able to join the festivities this year.

"With Chinese New Year a holiday for all public school children, New York City again highlights its embrace of diversity and inclusiveness," said Shirley Young, governor of the Committee of 100 and chair of the US-China Cultural Institute, at a press conference on Tuesday at Lincoln Center in New York on Tuesday. Young is also the US co-chair of Fantastic Art China.

To highlight "Students Day" on Feb 16, a 40-foot-long scroll of illustrations featuring New York's five boroughs, inspired by China's most renowned painting, Qing Ming Shang He Tu, will be on display in the lobby of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. The scroll was created by city schoolchildren and CAFA.

Other festivities for "Student Day" include live performances and an interactive group dance with audience participation by the National Dance Institute and China's Dance Into the Future program; an exhibit featuring 150 award-winning children's artworks from a national contest in China conducted by CAFA; live performances by musicians from the New York Philharmonic and its Very Young Composers program; and a live performance by Lang Lang International Music Foundation's Young Scholar Program,

Other highlights of the festivities will include an Empire State Building Light Show on Feb 13 and Feb 15; a fireworks spectacular over the Hudson River at Pier 84 on Feb 14; the Lunar New Year Dragon Dance & National Dance Institute Year of the Dog Dance at Lincoln Center Plaza on Feb 20; and the New York Philharmonic Lunar New Year Concert and Gala at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center on Feb 20.