Woodcut-printed artworks by students at the Experimental Primary School of Tongzhou district in Nantong. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Art education in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province was recently placed in the spotlight at the seventh provincial art show for primary and middle school students.

The works of four local art workshops as well as 15 artworks by local students were on display at the show. 

Among them was a workshop of woodcut-printed pictures at the Experimental Primary School of Tongzhou district.

Xingren town in Tongzhou district has been famous for woodcut-printed New Year pictures. Taking this advantage, the primary school has invited local craftsmen to teach students this traditional art form.

According to the school principal Wang Xiaomei, the students first started learning using foamed plastics because they were not strong enough to perform the woodcutting. Foamed plastics have since become the basis of the school's woodcut-printed pictures.

The works by the students were once presented as gifts when Nantong delegations visited Japan and South Korea.

Students learn how to painting birds during a class at Jing'an Primary School in Rudong county, Nantong. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

In addition, several rural schools in Nantong showcased their art education pedagogy during the provincial art show.

Jing'an Primary School in Rudong county, for example, has taken advantage of the fact that the county is a habitat for migratory birds to introduce bird painting classes.

Through observing and painting birds, students have learned the importance of protecting birds and the natural environment, said Feng Haidong, a fine arts teacher at the school.

According to Wang Aichun, a fine arts researcher in Nantong, the city boasts a large number of fine arts teachers due to the emphasis on art education.

Over the past few years, local schools have recruited teachers from across the country and even Taiwan, and this has in turn diversified and injected vitality into art education in Nantong, said Wang.