According to the "Capital Education" official Wechat account, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission has promulgated recently "The Work Plan for the Comprehensive Implementation of Aesthetic infiltration education in Schools" which will be carried out across all campuses in Beijing. 

The plan aims to "fully implement aesthetic infiltration education". Focus on improving students' aesthetic perception, artistic expression, creative practice, cultural understanding and other core qualities, the plan is expected to facilitate students' physical and mental well-being and to improve the aesthetic education consciousness and quality of all teachers. At the same time, cultivate aesthetic education feelings and shape personal charisma. In addition, the plan will help creating an environment for aesthetic education, integrating aesthetic education into every field of campus life and providing all teachers and students with a whole process of discovering, feeling and creating aesthetic education.

Aesthetic infiltration education needs to exchanges and mutual appreciations in daily art education. The exhibitions may build exchange platforms for young artists while encouraging them to create art works.

On September 28th, 2024, the opening day of Songzhuang Life Aesthetics Exhibition in China, an individual exhibition named "Shelter and Comfort" opened in Songli Art Technology Garden. Designed by Shen Houxi and organized by Zhang Hualin, it gathered individual art works of young artist Shen Houxi.

Shen Houxi's individual exhibition "Shelter and Comfort" opened on September 28th 2024. [Photo by Shen Houxi]

Aesthetic infiltration education needs to strengthen the integration with other subject. It focus on the relation between art and nature, life, society and technology. We should explore and use more elements of aesthetic education in various disciplines.

The individual art exhibition "Shelter and Comfort" takes "witch and magic" as its metaphorical core. The exhibition area was elaborate arrangement. Visitors could deeply explore the close relation between female's image and civil wisdom. It was a surreal comfort zone - the "magic matrix" was suspended, the cat sculptures on walls were vivid - all elements brought visitors to a magic world. Shen Houxi said: "Through these art installations, I hope that visitors could see an art exhibition in an unconventional manner, and rethink details and complexity in their daily life in an renewed aspect."

Her ingenuity can not be separated from creative thinking, which is proposed by youth art education guidelines. The guidelines encourage teenagers to break common practise in their art expression to build unique art context.

Shen Houxi's "Shelter and Comfort" exhibition site. [Photo offered by Shen Houxi]

Whether a huge flower as big as a tent or a disorganized wardrobe, these seemingly casual elements have deep connotations. They are art expressions of the new generation after continuous accumulation and precipitation in the process of art cultivation.

Shen Houxi's "Shelter and Comfort" exhibition site. [Photo offered by Shen Houxi]

In the exhibition, Shen explained her recent research and interests in art. Using "new era spirituality in internet culture" as clue, she exploited the connotations. On the basis of the "inverted science education film", She thought about how magic could return "right of express" to women and she applied the core of folk wisdom in her art works. Her individual exhibition showed the result of teenagers' aesthetic education, which encourages teenagers to think deeply and to express bravely.

As the organizer of the exhibition, Zhang Hualin said: "As like Ursula K. Le Guin wrote in 'Earthsea Cycle', the essence of magic is the real naming of everything." In this exhibition, Shen Houxi observed the world in an unpredictable aspect and showed things that one can hardly describe in languages.

Under a unique theme, the exhibition expressed deep connotations by using multiple forms of art. From exhibition area design to art work creation, every details were full of concepts and skills endowed by aesthetic infiltration education.

Nowadays, aesthetic infiltration education more and more needs to strengthen the five kinds of education simultaneously while every type should be attached importance. The work plan mentioned above required that aesthetic education shall combined with moral, knowledge, physical and practical education. This educational philosophy will certainly benefit to students’ development both in physical health and mental health.