Keelung calligrapher brings childlike joy to students’ brushwork

A five-year-old child who spontaneously picked up a brush and began writing became one of the clearest signs of what Keelung’s new calligraphy program hopes to achieve.

The Keelung City Cultural Foundation launched the Rain Ink City: Words on an Adventure children’s project this year for the first time. Local calligraphy experts led students through brushwork, the recognition of different scripts, art appreciation and creative practice. The program focuses on students aged 9 to 12, while the younger child also contributed work to the exhibition.

The foundation held the project’s results exhibition at Keelung Hospital on Sept. 3, inviting local calligraphers Tao Qing-shan and Zhao Hui-fen to demonstrate their writing. The exhibition features 60 works by elementary and middle school students and runs through Sept. 20 in the hospital’s history and culture corridor.

Keelung’s director of cultural tourism, Jiang Ting-mei, said many schools no longer offer calligraphy classes, even though the city has deep roots in the art. The program brought together calligraphy artists and educators, with Tao serving as an adviser and Zhao, Chen Li-xue, Ma Shui-cheng and Xu Su-han among the participating instructors.

Lessons moved beyond technique. Students drew on Keelung’s sea, port, rainy-city scenery, urban memories and personal feelings, using ink to explore their relationship with their hometown. The foundation said it plans to continue the project and develop it into a long-term program for children’s calligraphy, aesthetic education and the transmission of Keelung’s cultural heritage.