Keep Calm and Exhibit On
In conjunction of the closing ceremony for the “2016 Venerable Master Hsing Yun One-Stroke Calligraphy International Tour Exhibition” on the 29th of October, Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery Christchurch hosted a tea session entitled “Keep Calm and Exhibit On”. Around 50 local artists gathered and were joined with Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) New Zealand (NZ) members such as Senior advisor Dolly Tsai that added up to around 60 participants at the event.
The art gallery curator, Venerable Abbess Manshin gave gratitude to the presence of the artists and felt that this art gallery gave an importance to art, hoping it could give Christchurch a new platform especially after the earthquake, where it needs more joy and lively activities to be injected in for a warmer Christchurch. The abbess explained that Venerable Master, with an old age and poor vision, could finish a piece of calligraphy in 6 seconds. This proves his perseverance and meditation has reached a certain level; with Venerable Master writing 7,000 pieces of calligraphy in 40 days for the benefit of education for others and to promote the beauty in positive media, hoping that it could bring encouragement to the society.
Later on, short films of Venerable Master Hsing Yun and Taiwan’s Buddha Memorial Centre with a few more documentaries that were broadcasted in the Fo Guang Yuan Christchurch were shown to the audience. Artists Gale Bachelor and Carole Harnett also thanked the art gallery for having them in exhibiting their art pieces previously. They’ve praised the elegant environment, cordial services, well organized systems and professionalism shown by Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery Christchurch which have given them a pleasant and far more memorable experience. Carole expressed, with the encouragement from the art gallery’s side, she completed a lot of artwork in 3 months and these wonderful process gave her the power of joy in life and she hopes that she could work out more surprises from it.
The artists were then given a tour to the details of venerable master’s calligraphy and the design of Fo Guang Shan South Island temple. The group is deeply touched by the perseverance and compassion of the master. Although the meaning of each word couldn’t be clearly understood from the perspective of an English-speaker, the strength and charm of the ink gave them an extensive feeling.
Artist Judy Roger responded with thanks to the enthusiasm of the host and it touched her with sincerity, hoping that in the future there will also be a chance for her to exhibit on such a platform; as for many of the other artists, they too hope to have cooperation with Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery Christcchurch. In the end, curator Venerable Abbess Manshin given a books authored by the master to all that came into the event entitled “366 Days With Wisdom” with the event getting a complete finishing.