Inspiring Others to Make the World a Better Place

We believe that when you combine a curious mind, a tenacious will and an industrious spirit
with a caring heart you have the power
to transform your life and the world around you!

[ DCADP giving back project ]

[ project objective ]

defined by the DCADP Team

We hope to spark interest in and curiosity about

the meanings and stories behind Chinese historic objects.

We would also like to provide an engaging learning opportunity to celebrate the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

We aim to help students develop visual literacy through examining and discussing specific objects and their stories, and looking closely at body language to identify important ideas conveyed by the works of art.

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On May 17 and 28, 2023 the team of the Center for the Art of East Asia have visited the Robert Healy Elementary school in Chicago and conducted a lesson using virtual resources, including images and videos from the CAEA Digital Collections, and other media.

The project engaged approximately 125 second-grade students. The school has over 70% of students who are of Asian descent, mostly Chinese. It provided a unique opportunity for these students to explore the richness of Chinese cultural heritage through interacting with high quality and visually stimulating materials.

Coffered Ceiling from Wanfo Pavilion (Wanfoge,
Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion), 3D reconstruction of still image

Students are looking at photographs of sculptures from Beijing Zhihua Temple

Students sketching mudras

[ students' quotes ]

What do you think you will remember about this lesson?

What did you find especially fun or interesting?

[ teachers' quotes ]

Students sketching mudras

Professor Wei-Cheng Lin, director of the CAEA’s Dispersed Chinese Art Digitization Project (DCADP) sharing a bit about his personal journey to becoming an art historian, and talking about and why it was important for him to study Chinese dispersed artifacts

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“For the students in this community, the project engaged them in learning about their own cultural heritage in deep, personal, and meaningful way. Understanding the iconography and its ideals also helped all students who participated in the project develop important visual literacy skill, so that they can make close observations about the artifacts, ask questions about what they see, and generate new interest in the broader cultural context of the artifacts.”