Along with the Olympics came the sculpture games—the International Olympic Sculpture Symposium in Beijing 2008. One of numerous activities held in conjunction with the Olympics this year, the symposium was sponsored by the Beijing Municipal Government and administered by the Beijing Urban Sculpture Office (BUSO) and the China Sculpture Institute (CSI).
One of the few events for sculpture held in China for the Olympic year, the symposium’s goal was to respond to the slogan of the games: “People’s Olympics.” In contrast to other exhibitions, the selected works were added to the city’s permanent collection—an honor for the artists that also promoted the field of sculpture. Perhaps most importantly, this convening of the field encouraged interactions among different cultures while giving international artists a chance to come to Beijing and gain an understanding of Chinese life and culture.
