When Chinese painting meets musical theater

When thick history meets youthful aspirations

A Red Culture Feast Across Time and Space

Warm performance in the art museum

On the evening of September 27th, Guan Shanyue Art Museum welcomed the fifth themed event of "Art Night Boat" - "New Sound of Starfire". The Shenwai Drama Troupe brought the classic red IP musical "Wang Er's Long March" into the art museum, which complemented the ongoing exhibition of Guan Shanyue's anti Japanese themed art exhibition "Flames Casting Bones", bringing the audience a soul stirring artistic journey.

Integration of Sound and Painting: Leading the Audience Back to the Era of Flames

As a night culture brand carefully cultivated by Guanshan Yue Art Museum, the 2025 Art Museum Night series with the theme of "Art Night Boat · Entering the Boundless Art Museum" has reached its fifth phase. It breaks the time and space limitations of traditional art museums, based on the regular nighttime delayed opening on weekends, integrates diverse cross-border art, and upgrades the art museum into a cultural space that can be experienced 24/7. A series of cultural feasts that immerse the soul, it has won the love and praise of citizens and friends.

As the National Day approaches, the "Night of the Art Museum" is linked by red culture, closely linking the commemoration of history with the blessing of the motherland, allowing the audience to inherit the red genes in an immersive experience and celebrate the birthday of the prosperous era together.

80 years ago, mountains and rivers were shattered, and the nation was in danger. In that war-torn era, the young Guan Shanyue used a pen as a gun and resolutely embarked on the journey of artistic resistance against Japan. He used passionate brushstrokes to record the hardships and struggles of the Chinese nation, creating breathtaking anti Japanese war paintings that became visual witnesses of the national spirit. Today, 80 years later, at a historical milestone commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti Fascist War, a group of energetic students from Shenzhen Foreign Language School reinterpreted that passionate and burning era with the voice of youth.

New Echoes: Youth Performance Awakens Red Memories

On the evening of the event, students from the Shenzhen Foreign Language School (Group) Drama Troupe appeared in simple costumes, instantly taking the audience into that war-torn era. As a "gold medal team" that has won national, provincial and municipal awards multiple times in various drama competitions, the Shenzhen Foreign Studies Drama Troupe, under the leadership of its instructor Zhang Yitian, opened a dialogue between youth and history for the "Night at the Art Museum" with the classic red musical "Wang Er's Long March". This original musical, directed by renowned Chinese artist Huang Kai, composed by Sanbao, and written by Guan Shan, tells the touching story of an ordinary long-term worker named Wang Er, who carries a letter from the Red Army and embarks on a journey to pursue his faith.

On the stage, the long worker Wang Er, who didn't recognize big characters, chased after the large army with firm steps. Students vividly depict the difficulties and resilience, beliefs and hopes of the Long March with their tense body language and surging emotions. When the lyrics of "ideal" and "perseverance" resound, the audience in the audience seems to be walking alongside the characters on the Long March, and applause and resonance intertwine and echo in the circular hall.

I feel like I'm not just portraying a Red Army soldier, in a deeper sense, I've 'become' them, "said actor Cai Zhixian." When the melody of 'The Internationale' plays, tears fill my eyes. It's a soulful dialogue that gave me an unforgettable experience of the power of faith

The first performance in the art museum also gave the actors a brand new experience. Li Yujin said in an interview, "It was an extraordinary experience, not standing on stage and under the spotlight as usual, but breaking the boundaries of the stage with the works in the exhibition hall. The audience walked into the story of Wang Er with us, and the deep integration of art and drama allowed us to truly understand the noble thoughts and great spirit of revolutionaries

The performance came to an end with the passionate melody of 'Singing the Motherland', and the entire audience spontaneously sang along, feeling emotional and pushing the event to its climax. After the performance, the audience moved to the second floor exhibition hall to pursue historical imprints in the special exhibition "Flames Casting Bones - National Spirit Atlas in Guan Shanyue Art".

Cross border innovation: museums and schools join hands to provide services for the benefit of the people

The mutual reflection between musicals and exhibitions gives rhythm and warmth to static paintings, and also provides a more profound historical support for the narrative on stage. As the leading teacher, Jiang Meng, the director of the Art Center of Shenzhen Foreign Language School (Group), is both pleased with the growth of students and excited by the tremendous energy of innovative cooperation models. She said, "Performing in a public space full of aesthetic atmosphere like an art museum, actors and audiences have gained an immersive experience different from traditional theaters. This itself is a vivid and flowing aesthetic education class, which perfectly fits the original intention of the 'Huimin Aesthetic Education' project. It can be said that this is a successful connection and win-win between school aesthetic education and social public cultural service resources

That evening, this cross-border feast reached an important moment, as Guan Shanyue Art Museum and Shenzhen Foreign Language School (Group) officially formed a "cooperative unit for co building, sharing, and benefiting the people". Chen Junyu, the director of Guan Shanyue Art Museum, presented the special invitation team certificate for the "Art Night Boat · Entering the Boundless Art Museum" series of activities to Shenzhen Foreign Language School (Group), marking that both sides will carefully cultivate the seeds of art benefiting the people and open a new chapter of cross-border innovation in public aesthetic education services.

Art should not only be hung on the wall, but should enter people's hearts; art museums should not be just a place for internet celebrities to check in, but also a place for cultural nourishment. The practice of activating red classics from the perspective of youth by students from Shenzhen Foreign Studies University has shown us the infinite possibilities of the collision between art and education, "said Chen Junyu, director of Guanshan Yue Art Museum." The deep integration of art education will also set sail tonight. May the light of aesthetic education illuminate the way forward and bear fruitful fruits of art benefiting the people

Moving 'Wang Er's Long March' into the art museum allows students to understand red culture through the integration of ink and stage, which is more vivid than any podium. 'Fan Yongquan, the principal of Shenzhen Foreign Language School (Group), also stated that in the future, the school will continue to deepen cooperation with the art museum, extend the classroom to the exhibition hall, let art enter the campus, guide more students to experience the beauty of art and inherit the power of spirit in practice, and truly achieve the two-way empowerment of art and education.

This event also presented the audience with an L-shaped folder customized based on the excellent works of the exhibition "The Flames Casting Bones", allowing the warmth of ink fragrance and art to continue in daily life.

On this night, Guan Shanyue Art Museum continued to explore new paths for art to serve society and nourish the soul with an open attitude and diverse expressions, lighting up the city with the light of aesthetic education and passing on the spirit of culture from generation to generation. The organizers expressed their hope to use art as a bridge to connect the past and present, history and future, and inspire people's deep patriotism and national confidence on the occasion of National Day.