Poland's Fair Play crew will perform mime Seriously Funny at Tsinghua University on May 12. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org]

Promoting art among the public

Appreciating art at theaters may be considered a luxury due to the sometimes costly tickets.

To benefit a larger number of people, Meet in Beijing organizers said they've taken a series of measures such as lower prices, free outdoor performances, workshops, seminars and art activities at schools and universities.

"Benefiting the general public has been an eternal theme for Meet in Beijing. With funding from the government, we provide a lot of high-quality shows with low prices at Beijing's mainstream theaters," said Wang Xiuqin, general manager of China Arts and Entertainment Group, one of the organizers of the festival.

According to organizers, people will also have opportunities to talk face-to-face with famous artists and scholars from both China and abroad, including drama talks in the Ju Yin Theater with artists from Beijing People's Art Theater and National Theater of Northern Greece, a musical workshop with the US' Philadelphia All-State Wind Ensemble in OWSpace bookstore, and a public benefit talk on Chinese and Italian jazz.

What also highlights the public benefit activities is a special performance of János Háry Puppet Play for children with autism and cerebral palsy at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center on May 1. The performance was produced in cooperation with the World of Art Brut Culture to enrich the artistic lives of autistic children.

Meet in Beijing is an annual arts festival sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, State Administration of Radio and Television and the Beijing municipal government, and organized by China Arts and Entertainment Group and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture. Over its 18–year existence, the festival has invited more than 32,000 artists from across the world, attracting more than 4.2 million audience members to the capital.