It was a rural decline gradually, but a group of artists came and changed it completely. Caijiagou Village is a small village at the foot of Changshan Mountain in the south of Zhucheng City. Thanks to the rural revitalization, the village was activated creatively by art . Nowadays, the poverty has become the Caijiagou Art Pilot Ground. The art not only refreshed the villagers in mind, also help to fulfill their wallets.
Sunlight is pouring into the painting studio in Caijiagou Village. Several old people are sitting in front of easels, carefully mixing colors and sketching with paintbrushes, depicting the familiar living environment.
74-year-old Wang Maogui is drawing an adorable owl sitting on a branch. As she said that she had been learning painting for half a year and had never touched a paintbrush before. When the artists came to their village, they began to teach them how to paint. "There is no young people in the village, every day to stay at home is bored. it is better to learn painting." At the beginning, she could not even hold a pen, but now she can finish a painting on her own and paint in good shape. " sometimes since fascinated to forget cooking." Wang Maogui said with a smile.
Caijiagou village issued a reward system to encourage paint learning. Any qualified come to the studio to learn paint, who can be awarded 30 yuan per day. Villagers are thrilling to learn skills and earn pocket money simultaneously.
In December 2017, Weifang Local Art Organization, founded by Zhang Bao (formerly known as Zhang Tonglei) and six artists, moved into Caijiagou Village, brought a big change to the village. Art museums, artists' studios, hundred workers' study halls and so on have been completed one after another, forming an art gathering in the village.
Zhang said they have painted exquisite art paintings on the walls of the houses. He also operated an "art and creative market" in the village, invited traveled arts and crafts talents to "set up stalls and studios", which attracted more and more tourists. The villagers all benefited from rural tourism.
They are plan to set up a traditional arts and crafts culture community in Caijiagou Village, and gradually build a cultural market integrating art, craft teaching, production, sales and tourism , so that people can really benefit from the rural reconstruction.
