The 2024 “Great Los Angeles Taiwanese-American Cultural Week” series of activities successfully concluded on June 8th (Saturday) with the award ceremony for the “Children’s Creative Painting Competition” held at the Taiwanese Hall in Los Angeles. Several popular artworks garnered likes on online platforms, competing for the “Best Popular Award”.
The competition was divided into the toddler group, elementary school Group A, and elementary school Group B, with the top three winners in each group receiving certificates and scholarships. This year, Chen Baihan, who won third place in elementary school Group B, was awarded for his artwork themed on Taiwan-US cooperation to help the earthquake-stricken Hualien area on April 3rd.
About to enter sixth grade after summer vacation, Chen Baihan, who grew up in Los Angeles, expressed his shock upon hearing the news of the Hualien earthquake, as he visits his grandparents in Yilan, Taiwan almost every year. Therefore, during the traditional week’s painting competition, Chen Baihan focused on depicting the shared assistance of the US and Taiwan in the disaster area’s recovery. His painting featured the symbols of the American eagle and the Taiwanese black bear, with the Taroko Tunnel and Hollywood as landmarks, symbolizing the mutual support and cooperation between the two locations with love. Apart from expressing his longing for his family and friends in Taiwan, he also hoped for the safety and speedy reconstruction of the disaster-affected individuals.
The Deputy Director of the Overseas Chinese Center, Fang Qiongyi, also attended the award ceremony. She introduced the “Longing for Taiwan” program organized by the Overseas Community Affairs Council to encourage overseas Chinese in Los Angeles to bring their children aged 6 to 15 back to Taiwan. By allowing them to learn together with children or teenagers of the same age in Taiwan, they can appreciate the beauty of Taiwan’s scenery and people, thereby strengthening their emotional connection to Taiwan.
Ran Ruiyi, the head of the Taiwanese-American Cultural Week Committee, mentioned that the artworks in this painting competition showed bold and rich use of colors, as well as being full of storytelling elements. Some kids depicted participating in the traditional week carnival with their grandparents, while others used hugs to represent comfort. Each painting exhibited unique characteristics. In addition to trophies and certificates, the Taiwanese-American Cultural Week Committee also provided scholarships, with the champion receiving $300, the runner-up receiving $200, the third place receiving $100, and the popular award winner receiving $100. These award-winning works will be displayed at the Taiwanese Hall in Los Angeles for a year, allowing more people to appreciate them and encouraging and attracting young Taiwanese-American participants.