Dr. Paul Thompson, the Vice Chancellor of the Royal College of Art, Delivering Keynote Speech

OLYMP'ARTS 2023, the first presentation of OLYMP'ARTS, opened in October at the Zappeion in Athens, Greece. The location of the Zappeion, implies a profound metaphor of retrospection, remembrance, and inheritance and development, and the Olympics originated in this very land, which is a retrospection of the art of Ancient Greece, as well as a response to the spirit of the modern Olympics. The theme of OLYMP'ARTS 2023 is “environment, climate and energy”, which is closely related to Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. OLYMP'ARTS is a world-class artistic festival and celebration organized every four years and opens to artists from all over the world. Artists from all over the world, representatives of art organizations, government dignitaries, entrepreneurs, and representatives of WOAC were invited to participate in the conference, which included the opening ceremony, themed exhibitions, themed forums, charity dinners, awards, etc. The video of holy spring collection ceremony at Delphi, Greece, and OLYMP'ARTS anthem were released for the first time.

Paul Thompson, the Vice Chancellor of Royal College of Art; Andre Zlattinger, Deputy Chairman of Sotheb's and Director of the Modern and Post-War British Art Department; Xikun Yuan, the first “Patron for Arts and Environmental “of UNEP and sculptor; Wallace Chan, jewellery artist and visual artist; and Francisco Córdoba, Italian famous artist; Marc Verrier, founding president of the WOAC; Rachel Qin, executive president of the WOAC and Michele Genovese, president of WOAC Advisory Committe shared their speeches at the Opening Ceremony, speeches at the Keynote Forum, and interviews. Focusing on the story of art, the development of art, the future of art, and the themes of art and culture, art and environment, art and science and technology, we will publish the main relevant content, welcome to pay attention. This issue brings the Keynote Speech from Paul Thompson, the Vice Chancellor of Royal College of Art（RCA）, at the opening ceremony.

Dr. Paul Thompson, the Vice Chancellor of the Royal College of Art, Delivering Keynote Speech

Dr. Paul Thompson began his opening speech by describing the history of the Royal College of Art, a research university where 2,800 postgraduate students from 65 different countries around the world now study. In Paul Thompson's opinion, it is also the largest research community of artists, designers and architects in the world. The Royal College of Art, founded in 1837, is nearly 200 years old, which shows its antiquity as a university of art and design, “For Athens and Greece this is only a moment in a long history, if when you art and literature are measured in this country.” Paul spoke.

Based on the cooperation between OLYMP'ARTS and the Royal College of Art, the award-winning works of the Academy's master's graduates will be unveiled in the OLYMP'ARTS 2023 theme exhibition "RENEWAL: Journey through Time and Spacee", including 8 majors in painting, architecture, animation, photography, ceramics, jewelry, textiles, and sculpture. Through their respective art forms, they highlight the thinking and artistic realization in the fields of information technology, ecosystem, industrial structure, individual thinking, etc., and also show the extensive attention to the theme of "Environment, Climate and Energy" in this year's OLYMP'ARTS. "I can tell you that our students are passionately trying to understand this topic." Their average age is 26, and Paul thought this generation of students as the one most affected by climate change, biodiversity collapse, and more, so it is all the more necessary for them to make an artistic response to nature. "The arts and humanities help to explain and illustrate the state of humanity, the actions we take and the choices we face when confronted with themes such as the environment, climate and energy."

OLYMP'ARTS 2023 art exhibition “RENEWAL: Journey through Time and Spacee” scene

“RENEWAL: Journey through Time and Spacee” scene, Alba Rates《The Orbit》

“RENEWAL: Journey through Time and Spacee” scene, Tima Rabbat and Xuan Lin《Sticky Volumes》

Paul Thompson praised the theme of "Environment, Climate and Energy" and the spirit and purpose of this year's OLYMP'ARTS. In his speech, he thanked the gathering and emphasized that "it is a reminder of the centrality of art in our lives, as well as a reminder of our age-old sporting traditions and artistic spirit." As the most important part of the OLYMP'ARTS 2023 Charity Dinner, WOAC awarded five awards: Environmental Cultural Promoter Award, Outstanding Contribution Award, Artistic Luminary Award, Artistic Design Master Award, and Hexastar Brilliance Honor, aiming to encourage individuals and institutions that have made great contributions to the cause of art. The RCA won the Artistic Luminary Award, and Paul Thompson accepted the award on behalf of the RCA. It is believed that with the opening ceremony of OLYMP'ARTS 2023 as an opportunity, WOAC and the RCA will carry out long-term cooperation in the future, including global art exhibitions, international cultural exchanges, and art school linkage, so please look forward to it.

the Vice Chancellor of the Royal College of Art Dr. Paul Thompson Won the Artistic Luminary Award

About Royal College of Art

Founded in 1837, the Royal College of Art (RCA) is one of the world's most prestigious colleges of art and design and the only one in the world where all students are postgraduates. It consists of three campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, and has four colleges, namely, the School of Architecture, the School of Media, the School of Design and the School of Arts and Humanities, where it extends and integrates the disciplines of art, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, with professors of the courses being internationally renowned artists, practitioners and theorists. For nine consecutive years we have been ranked as the world’s leading art and design university by the respected QS ranking. and has been awarded the Best Commercial Fashion Award in the 2019 Best Fashion Design Overall Rankings report.