Cultural creative activities bring great changes to West Island

A number of Chinese and foreign artists started a cultural practice themed around environmental protection with support from local villagers, international volunteers, as well as college teachers and students on West Island of Sanya, Hainan province.
Under the support of many professionals, such as artists from Canada, Poland, South Korea, and other countries, teachers and students of Hainan University, as well as local artists, the cultural creative activity has been carried out for two years, producing a series of eye-catching works.
"All these works have a common feature that the raw materials used were taken from domestic garbage on the island. They are created together by Chinese and foreign artists, college teachers and students, as well as local villagers," said Qin Jiayi, a leader of the cultural creative team. With help from the local government, Qin's team established an environmental protection center on the island to encourage villagers to collect garbage and earn points for daily necessities. Through this, people's enthusiasm increased and more waste was collected and sorted, which has become excellent raw materials for artistic creation.
Great changes were brought to West Island through the cultural practice. Abandoned fishing boats have been transformed into a bookstore, making what has been an ancient fishing village for centuries a public cultural space for the first time. The cultural creativity has given vitality to waste items, as artists turn them into exquisite costumes and tourist souvenirs. The cultural atmosphere also enables villagers to actively participate in artistic creation, consciously love the island, protect the sea, and improve the living environment.