On 28 October 2025, Colorful Brushstrokes upon the Earth: The 2025 Chinese Farmers' Painting Exhibition jointly organized by the Department of Public Services of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Museum of China, opened at the National Museum of China.
Farmers' paintings are a unique art form created by Chinese farmers through their agricultural labor in the fields. Accompanying the P.R.C., from its founding to its prosperity, from ruins to peace and bountiful harvests, these works—with their distinctive artistic language and vibrant pictorial atmosphere—serve as visual representations, records, and artistic carriers of rural development in our era.
The exhibition presents 278 works selected from across the country and reviewed by a panel of experts, along with more than 70 classic pieces and archival materials. Centered on the theme "Rural Vitality, Spirit of the Times," the exhibition is organized into three sections: "Folk Narratives," "Agricultural Life," and "Renewed Landscapes." The works range from festive scenes of dragon and lion dances celebrating the Chinese New Year to vivid depictions of autumn harvests and winter fishing, together sketching a fresh tableau of rural revitalization. Approaching the subject from the perspectives of daily customs, productive labor, and contemporary development, the exhibition highlights the creative landscape of farmers' painting in the new era and reflects the transformation of China's countryside and the lives of its people today.
Rural life is the fertile ground and wellspring of inspiration for farmers' painting. The simplicity and optimism of Chinese farmers are distilled into the art form's unadorned shapes, vibrant colors, and heartfelt expressiveness. Through painting, farmers create a bond that links the individual to their hometown and to the nation, conveying their affection for their native land, their love for the country, and their hopes for the future in a world of rich and vivid imagery. It is our sincere hope that visitors will, through this exhibition, personally experience the uplifting and forward-looking spirit of the times embodied in these boldly colored works, and be inspired to contribute to the comprehensive advancement of rural revitalization.