To my amazement I was invited to Beijing, (accommodation and expenses paid), to be present at the Opening Ceremony and Symposium of this huge exhibition, which represented artists from 98 countries. I received my Chinese visa only the day before I travelled, and I flew to Beijing on 22nd September. It has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life and I am currently writing about it on my blog (link is on this site) and also an article about the exhibition for THE JACKDAW.

The Opening was on 24th September and it was very well attended. I was somewhat disappointed that there was no representative from my own embassy or from the BBC (though I had contacted them far in advance of the event), because many other artists had this representation. The exhibition fills 21 rooms, some extremely large, and a very wide range of styles are included. It is very impressive and I absorbed a lot of new influences, which can only be good! I also met artists and made new friends as there were about 200 invited artists. It is an experience that will forever be with me, and the impact on my work will I believe be long lasting.