The China Artists Association (), originally the China National Art Workers' Association (), is the official national association of Chinese artists, with its headquarters in Beijing. It was established in July 1949, with Xu Beihong as its first chairman.
The China Artists Association is under the leadership of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party, and managed by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party. It previously operated provincial-level branches in all of China's provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, but in 1990 the provincial branches were reorganized into provincial artists associations and admitted into the national association as group members. The national association oversees many specialized subordinate committees, including those for Chinese painting, oil painting, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, print, fresco, animation, ethnic art, and children's art.
The association organizes the national art exhibition, China's largest art exhibition, every five years. Ten sessions have been held as of 2011. Regional artists associations would select works from artists in the local area and submit them to the higher level for consideration. For individual artists, having works selected for the national exhibition brings fame and improves prospects for promotion. Many of them become heads of lower-level artists associations.
The association's headquarters are located in the National Agricultural Exhibition Hall in Beijing. Its official publication is Fine Arts, a monthly magazine.
The China National Art Workers' Association was established on 21 July 1949 in Beijing's Zhongshan Park. The association's inaugural meeting elected Xu Beihong as its first chairman, with Jiang Feng and Ye Qianyu as vice chairmen. After Xu's death in 1953, a special meeting was held on 4 October, which elected Qi Baishi as the new chairman, and Wu Zuoren and Cai Ruohong è¡èÂ¥è¹ as vice chairmen, in addition to Jiang and Ye. Hua Junwu Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂæ¦ was elected general secretary. The representatives also passed a resolution to change the organization's name to China Artists' Association.
The second general meeting was held 30 July 1960 in Beijing. The meeting elected He Xiangning as chairwoman (Qi Baishi had died in 1957), with Cai Ruohong, Liu Kaiqu Ã¥ÂÂå¼Â渠, Ye Qianyu, Wu Zuoren, Pan Tianshou and Fu Baoshi as vice chairmen. Hua Junwu was re-elected general secretary.
After the interruption of the Cultural Revolution and the death of He Xiangning in 1972, the third general meeting was held on 3 November 1979 in Beijing. Jiang Feng was elected chairman, with Wang Chaowen çÂÂæÂÂé», Ye Qianyu, Hua Junwu, Liu Kaiqu, Guan Shanyue 堳山æÂÂ, Li Shaoyan æÂÂå°Âè¨Â, Li Keran, Wu Zuoren, Huang Xinbo é»Âæ°波 and Cai Ruohong as vice chairmen. After Jiang Feng's death in 1983, the association's standing committee elected Wu Zuoren as chairman in March.
On 6 May 1985, the fourth general meeting was held in Jinan. Wu Zuoren was elected chairman, and Wang Chaowen, Ye Qianyu, Gu Yuan å¤å Â, Guan Shanyue, Liu Kaiqu, Hua Junwu, Li Shaoyan, Li Keran, Zhou Sicong å¨æÂÂèª, Qin Zheng 秦å¾Â, Huang Yongyu é»Âæ°¸ç and Cai Ruohong as vice chairmen. In October 1990, Wang Qi () was added as executive vice-chair.
The fifth general meeting was held on 11 September 1998 in Beijing. Jin Shangyi é³å°Âè° was elected chairman, with Liu Dawei Ã¥ÂÂ大为 (executive vice-chair), Liu Wenxi, Liu Boshu Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂèÂÂ, Xiao Feng èÂÂå³°, Li Huanmin æÂÂçÂÂæ°Â, Lin Yong æÂÂå¢Â, Yang Lizhou æ¨åÂÂèÂÂ, Hazi Aimaiti Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ÷è¾买æÂÂ, Chang Shana 常æ²Âå¨Â, Cheng Yunxian ç¨Âå Âè´¤ and Zhan Jianjun 詹建俠as vice chairs.
The association held its sixth general meeting on 1 December 2003 in Beijing. Jin Shangyi was re-elected chairman, with Liu Dawei (executive), Wang Mingzhi çÂÂæÂÂæ¨, Wang Mingming çÂÂæÂÂæÂÂ, Wei Ershen é¦å°Âç³, Feng Yuan å¯è¿Â, Nima Zeren å°¼çÂÂæ³½ä»Â, Xu Jiang 许æ±Â, Wu Changjiang å´é¿æ±Â, Yang Lizhou, Yang Xiaoyang æ¨æÂÂé³, Lin Yong, Zeng Chenggang æ¾æÂÂé¢ and Pan Gongkai as vice-chairs. Shi Dawei æ½大ç and Luo Zhongli ç½Âä¸Âç« were added as vice-chairmen in July 2005.
In December 2008, the seventh general meeting was held in Beijing. Liu Dawei was elected chairman, with Wang Mingming, Wei Ershen, Feng Yuan, Xu Jiang, Xu Qinsong 许é¦æ¾, Yang Xiaoyang, Wu Changjiang, He Jiaying ä½Â家è±, Fan Di'an èÂÂ迪å®Â, Luo Zhongli, Shi Dawei, Huang Gesheng é»Âæ ¼èÂÂ, Zeng Chenggang and Pan Gongkai as vice-chairs. Jin Shangyi was named honorary chairman.
The eighth general meeting was held in November 2013 in Beijing. Liu Dawei was re-elected as chairman, with Wang Mingming, Wei Ershen, Feng Yuan, Xu Jiang, Xu Qinsong, Li Xiang æÂÂç¿Â, Yang Xiaoyang, Wu Changjiang, He Jiaying, Fan Di'an, Shi Dawei, Huang Gesheng and Zeng Chenggang as vice-chairs; Xu Li was re-elected as Secretary-General, and Tao Qin and Du Jun as Deputy Secretaries-General.
Since its founding in 1949, the China Artists Association has admitted more than 14,000 members, including 6000 current members.