Every year, between July and August, three judges of the Tian Hong foundation, including myself, allocate our time to review and score the submissions for the contest. Afterward, we meet to discuss and determine the final list of award winners. The evaluation focuses on how well the works align with the theme, as well as the creativity and technical maturity of the pieces. Among these, creativity and unique personal touches of the works are very important factors.
This year, we received 150+ entries, including English poems, drawings, photographs, and some art crafts, all centered around our theme "When Dreams Take Flight."
The participants ranged in age from as young as 5 to as old as 21. They came from diverse cultural backgrounds: native-born American, as well as those of Chinese, Indian, African, Mexican, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese descent. We even received submissions from contestants as far away as the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Many of their works reflected the uniqueness of their respective cultures, often surprising us and broadening our perspectives.
The Tian Hong small-scale cross-cultural art contest has now been held for seven years. Many contestants have participated for multiple years, and witnessing their growth and progress has been a source of joy for us.
The Tian Hong contest has no entry fee, as we aim to lower the barrier to participation as much as possible. Our main goal is to encourage young art enthusiasts to fully express themselves through poetry and art, to share their life experiences and cultural elements, and to enjoy the creative process. At the same time, they can appreciate the beauty of different cultures and appreciate the commonalities across cultures under a shared theme.
Every year, we are pleasantly surprised by the limitless creativity of young people. Their submissions are diverse, colorful, and as varied as a hundred flowers in bloom and a chorus of birds in song!
Children in the 4-12 age group brought us vibrant colors, sometimes naive lines, compositions and light-and-shadow effects, and ideas that often broke conventional boundaries. Their poems were fresh and delightful, with many praiseworthy aspects. Among the submissions from the 13-21 age group, which had the most entries this year, we saw participants' observations and reflections on society and life, as well as their search for self, feeling their intense joy or sometimes confusion.
Some participants shared with us the challenges of getting along with their parents, the conflicts and reconciliation they experienced between their parents' dreams and their own. Perhaps, at this age, they might not express these feelings to their parents directly, but through their submissions, they chose to share with us, which makes us truly grateful for their trust.
Many participants shared their most passionate hobbies with us, whether it be baseball, long-distance running, music, and more. These hobbies are tied to their dreams, and it's clear that participating in these activities helps them build a bridge between reality and their dreams. Several participants also shared their dream professions, showing us how they envision their future relationship with society.
One 17-year-old participant wrote in his poem that his most important dream is to make good friends, while another 17-year-old participant said that she and her dream are still on a journey to find each other. 😊
Although we have never met these participants, we can clearly feel the emotions and thoughts they have experienced through their works, experiences that everyone encounters as they grow. I believe that for these participants, entering the contest is not just about winning awards, but also about seeking ears that will listen, hearts that will resonate, and channels through which they can safely and freely express themselves through poetry and art. We hope that Tian Hong can provide such a platform for them.
This year's winners have already been announced on the Tian Hong website www.tianhongfoundation.org. There, interested friends can view some of the winning works and share in the pride and joy of the winners. This year, in addition to the usual first, second, and third awards, as well as encouragement awards, we have introduced new awards such as "Most Noticeable Fun With Process Award," "Most Noticeable Progress Over Last Year Award," "Judge's Favorite Award," and the "Tian Hong Founder's Award." The winners will receive either cash PayPal or Amazon gift cards.
Awards are limited, but every young person is a unique existence, leaving us with deep impressions from different angles. Each one is growing, full of life, with souls, thoughts, joys, as well as pains and conflicts. If there were an award for "love," then every one of them should receive it, because they all deserve it!
Here, I wish all young poetry and art enthusiasts, no matter what cultural background they come from, the best in their continued exploration and practice in the fields of poetry and art. May they feel joy, beauty, and record the pulse of their growth along the way!
有感于2024天鸿跨文化青少年诗歌绘画比赛 “当梦想起飞时”
每年七到八月，包括我在内的三位天鸿基金会评委，会各自安排好自己的时间，用来审阅参赛者
提交的作品，然后开会讨论，决定最后的获奖名单。评选围绕主题的契合度，作品的创造性，和
技术的成熟度展开，其中作品的创造性和作品中传达的个人特色是非常关键的因素。
今年我们共收到了150多件作品，其中包括英语诗，绘画，摄影，还有一些手工艺作品，都围绕着我们今年的主题 “当梦想起飞时”而展开。
参赛者中年龄最小的只有5岁，最大的21岁，他们来自不同的文化背景，有土生土长的美国孩子，也有华裔，印度裔，非裔，墨西哥裔，日本裔，韩裔，越南裔，等等，还有几个孩子的作品发自大洋彼岸的菲律宾和斯里兰卡。他们的作品中大多都带着他们各自文化的特色，经常让我们眼前一亮，觉得开了眼界。
天鸿基金会这个小规模的跨文化艺术比赛办了也有七年了，不少孩子跟随我们的比赛多年，看着他们每年的改变和进步，对我们来说也是十分愉悦的事情。
天鸿比赛没有参赛费，我们把门槛降到最低，主要目的是鼓励年轻的艺术爱好者们，通过诗歌和绘画这样的媒介来充分表达自己，分享各自的生活经历和文化元素，享受艺术创作和实践的过程，同时也欣赏到了不同文化的特色，并在同一个主题下，感受到不同文化之间的共通。
每年，我们都会发现惊喜，青少年群体的创造力是无限的。他们提交的作品，风格各异，五彩缤纷，如百花竞放，百鸟争鸣。
4-12岁年龄组的孩子们给我们带来了极其丰富的色彩，有些稚嫩的线条，构图和光影，和常常打破框界的构思，他们的诗歌也是清新可人，可圈可点。而在今年收到最多的13-21岁年龄组的作品中，我们看到了参赛者对社会，对生活的观察和思考，对自我的追寻，感受到他们强烈的快乐或是迷茫。
有些参赛者对我们诉说了和父母相处的挑战，他们在父母的梦想和自己的梦想之间所经历的冲突和协调，想来也许这个年龄段的孩子不一定和父母说的话，却能通过作品的提交，和我们分享，想想真是感谢他们所给予的信任。
有很多的参赛者，和我们分享了生活中最热衷的爱好，有棒球，有长跑，有音乐，等等，这些爱好中寄托了他们的梦想，可以看出，参与这些事情，帮助他们在现实和梦想之间搭建了桥梁。也有不少参赛者分享了自己的梦想职业，这里我们看到了他们绘就的，将来自己和社会之间的关系。
有一位17岁的参赛者在他的诗里面说，他最重要的梦想是交到好朋友，同样一位17岁的参赛者说她和她的梦想还在寻找彼此的道路上。😊
这些参赛者和我们素昧平生，但我们从他们的作品中，清晰地感受到了他们各自所经历的情感和思想，这些每个人成长过程中都有过的经历。我想，他们的参赛，不仅仅是争取奖项，更是寻找能够倾听的耳朵，共鸣的心灵，和能够放心和自由地通过诗歌和绘画来表达自己的渠道。我们希望天鸿这样一个平台，能够给他们提供这样一个渠道。
今年的获奖名单已经在天鸿网站上发表 www.tianhongfoundation.org，在那里，有兴趣的朋友们可以看到一部分得奖的作品，分享得奖者的骄傲和快乐。今年，除了和以往同样的一，二，三等奖和鼓励奖之外，我们还设立了“最明显有乐趣的创作过程奖“，”比去年最大明显进步奖“，和”评委特殊奖“，以及”天鸿创办人奖“。得奖者会收获现金或是亚马逊现金卡。
奖项是有限的，而每个年轻人都是独一无二的生命存在，他们都从不同角度给我们留下了深刻的印象，一个个在成长着的，有血有肉，有灵魂，有思想，有欢乐，也有痛苦和矛盾的年轻人。如果有一项奖是“爱”的话，那么他们每个人都应该得到这个奖，因为他们值得！
在此，祝福所有年轻的诗歌绘画爱好者们，无论他们来自什么文化背景，祝愿他们在诗歌和艺术的领域中继续探索和练习，感受到乐趣，感受到美好，感受和记录自己一路走来成长的脉搏！
雨程
天鸿基金会联合创办人
天鸿年度跨文化青少年诗歌绘画比赛组织者
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