Jie Qi's DragonBefriend the climate with art!
In 2024, in the beautiful PEI during the Year of the Dragon, what represents the diverse artistic forms of PEI? "Jie Qi's Dragon" （Dragon of Solar Terms）might be the best answer. This unique art project is personally guided byLEO, an internationally acclaimed creator and artist who is devoted to PEI's local themes. The project aims to create a multicultural feast by blending local culture with elements of Eastern mystique. We will invite 24 outstanding and promising young artists to participate, encouraging them to unleash their creativity and collectively paint a dragon brimming with vitality and cultural richness.
Initially motivated by Hurricane Fiona, which swept across the Atlantic Ocean in September 2022, the contrast between extreme weather and fragile ecosystems prompted the artist's reflections, and in 2023 Leo organized his first solo exhibition of paintings in Canada, "The story of Fiona", (click to download the exhibition catalogue). record). Subsequently, his thoughts turned to how to use art to awaken people's attention to the environment and climate, and Jieqi's Dragon（Dragon of Solar Terms） was born.
It is a fusion of cultures, where young artists express the subtlety and mystery of Eastern culture, the warmth and stability, as well as the beauty and brilliance of PEI's local culture through their unique creativity. We welcome your attention to witness this flowing cultural feast.
Let's together create an unforgettable artistic experience for children! By participating in "Jie Qi's Dragon" （Dragon of Solar Terms）children will not only gain valuable experience in artistic projects but also open doors to endless possibilities for their future. Supporting children in engaging with the art that combines PEI's local culture and Eastern culture is about creating a vibrant and colorful journey of growth for them.
Jie Qi‘s Dragon: Keep going！
“Jie Qi’s Dragon” began as an art and education initiative grounded in the traditional Chinese calendar of 24 solar terms. It was designed to inspire awareness of climate change, environmental shifts, and cultural continuity, using the structure of dragon scales as a visual format to connect seasonal concepts with children’s drawings and multicultural imagination.
We once thought it was a creation. But its core visual structure was, in fact, drawn from something deeper — the unique surface patterns formed along the winter roads of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Shaped by cycles of freezing and thawing, human activity, and plant growth, these natural cracks closely resemble the traditional Chinese motifs of dragon patterns: linked beads, spirals, and the layered rhythms seen in ancient architectural ornamentation.
In this moment of recognition, a dramatic convergence of aesthetics and philosophy occurred:
What we believed we were painting was already being written by the earth.
What we called Jie Qi was always there — a pattern etched by time onto the skin of the land.
Jie qi's Dragon: Keep going! Since its release in the Chinese New Year, Leo and the small group of artists represented by YL have continued to update and revitalize the project from early spring to high summer and into the golden fall!
Special thanks to MCF Family Office for their support of the initial development of Jie Qi’s Dragon.
