Superb arts festivals are not only a city’s best calling card, but also an ever-evolving bridge connecting the international arts-loving communities throughout time and space. Now in its 21st year, The China Shanghai International Arts Festival is China’s leading international platform for the promotion of artistic innovation and cultural diversity. This year’s festival coincides with the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. 

The 21st China Shanghai International Arts Festival forums, which will run from October 18 to November 17, 2019, include one keynote forum, 10 sub-forums, and one workshop. Today we live in a multi-polar, economically, and culturally globalized, and digitally connected world. Academics claim that this social informatization has transformed economic and social relations to such an extent that cultural and economic barriers are minimized, allowing increased openness, inclusiveness, and reciprocity in cultural contacts. Our forum will thus address the resulting opportunities for creative transformation and innovation that worldwide artists now enjoy. Such artistic developments in our multicultural world will promote mutual understanding and harmony.