GUANGZHOU ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS

The predecessor of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA) was Central South College of Fine Arts, a fine arts school established in Wuhan, Hubei Province in 1953 in response to the then national higher education plan. It represented the merger of the Central South Institute of Art and Literature in Wuhan, South China Institute of Art and Literature in Guangzhou and Guangxi Institute of Art. The first president of the College was Hu Yichuan, a famous revolutionary artist who participated in the renowned Yan'an Literature and Art Symposium in 1942, and the first vice presidents were famous oil painter Yang Qiuren, and famous painters of Chinese painting Guan Shanyue and Yang Taiyang. In 1958, the College was moved from Wuhan to Guangzhou and renamed Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA). In 1981, GAFA became one of the country’s first institutions authorized to confer master’s degrees; in 1987, it began to recruit international students and students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. In 2005, it was approved as one of the first pilots in China to launch Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program. In 2021, it was authorized by the State Council Academic Degrees Committee to confer doctor’s degrees in two first-level disciplines (Fine Arts, Design). Currently GAFA is also authorized to confer master’s degree in three first-level disciplines (Theories of Art Studies, Fine Arts, Design) and four majors (Art, Landscape Architecture, Cultural Heritage and Museology, Education). GAFA adheres to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in its education undertaking, and implements CPC’s education policies in fulfilling the fundamental task of nurturing talents with morality. Upholding the education philosophy of “being upright and innovative with an open and inclusive mindset, an insight into the reality and an aspiration for serving the society”, GAFA has developed its own educational characteristics following over six decades of evolution. Specifically, it focuses on developing students’ innovative ability in fine arts and design to meet the needs of the era and the society, and, based on the theories of art studies and humanistic education, promotes multidisciplinary integration, enables interaction between professional practices, education and research, and actively serves the social and economic development. The motto of GAFA is thus established as “learn morality before art”. In the new era, GAFA is determined to develop high-caliber talents and boost academic research and artistic creation at a higher starting point through new initiatives. To make this happen, it will leverage the strengths of Guangdong Province as the pioneer, pilot and experimental field of the reform and opening up policy and those of the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in historical, geographical, economic, cultural and intellectual resources. In this way, GAFA will better serve the social development in the new era, play an active role in implementing the national strategies like GBA development, and work towards a more promising future as driven by the country’s Belt and Road” initiative.