加拿大東方藝術協會
Canadian Association of Oriental Fine Arts

CAOFA-Objectives

Dating back into the Tang and Song Dynasties (618AD), the four arts of the Chinese scholar, qin (music) , qi (chess or go), shu (calligraphy), hua (painting) are taken as a basis for the direction of CAOFA.

Founded in 2005, the Canadian Association of Oriental Fine Arts (CAOFA) aims to promote a greater understanding and awareness of oriental fine arts in Canada, focusing on traditional and contemporary art forms through performance, exhibition, presentations, workshops and general education.

Starting from an initial base of instrumental music, calligraphy and painting, the federally-registered association works towards creating an infrastructure that will allow greater public presence reflecting the vitality and diversity of Chinese and other oriental fine arts as practiced in contemporary Canadian society.

Short and medium term goals include the continued growth of an artistic, cultural and educational presence in the Montreal region and the development of informal connections with individual artists, supporters and associations which share these goals across the country.

Through concerts and small arts exhibits, CAOFA has started to coordinate exhibitions and concerts that bring together artists of diverse backgrounds and interests. These broader public activities are complemented by the connection to a number of student associations in Montreal colleges and universities, through the development of a number of small ensembles, coordinated through the Gu-zheng Ensemble of Montreal (GZEM), and collaboration with traditional visual artists (calligraphy and painting) and the contemporary visual arts including video and web production.

CAOFA also works to support the growth and presentation of emerging artists while working with established artists in presentation, creation and commissioning of new work.

16 years experience in music performance and organizing concerts and events. Chih-Lin Chou, the artistic director of Canadian Association of Oriental Fine Arts (CAoFA) and Gu-Zheng Ensemble of Montreal (GZEM), is a Chinese-Canadian virtuoso of the gu-zheng, the 21-string Chinese zither. Ms Chou's CV attests to her status as a virtuoso performer and for the past years she has worked to present traditional and contemporary music to a mixed, but largely Chinese-Canadian audience in a concert environment.

For over a decade, Chih-Lin Chou has wished to find venues and ways of promoting a greater awareness of Chinese culture and her instrument, the gu-zheng, and this activity has found its first fruits through her dedication to teaching and public presentation. The last three years have been a time for the next steps to be planned and their implementation to begin in earnest.