Taiwan schoolchildren’s artwork bought by companies and turned into arts scholarships

Twelve children from Ruifeng Elementary School in Hsinchu County have turned their paintings and calligraphy into arts scholarships after companies bought every piece on display at a corporate celebration.

The students’ work had previously attracted attention at an arts exchange in Kumamoto, Japan. A year later, Ruifeng Semiconductor invited the collection to an exhibition marking its listing on Taiwan’s emerging stock market. The children’s vivid, energetic work impressed business leaders at the event, who purchased all 12 pieces for NT$6,000 each.

The money became an “arts scholarship” and was presented to the students at the school’s opening ceremony. Principal He Songyu said the school had spent years developing calligraphy and aesthetic education, with long-term financial support from Ruifeng Semiconductor.

Six calligraphy works featured New Year blessings and passages from Lu You, Wang Wei and Laozi’s Tao Te Ching. The six paintings recorded local life and cultural traditions, including a ceremony to honor ancestral spirits before a tribal hunting expedition, monkeys in the countryside, worshippers at Guanghui Temple, gardening, traditional iron-hoop games and Hakka people worshipping the Earth God.

The school described the purchases as an unexpected affirmation for the children, many of whom come from rural areas. The scholarship support gives their creative work practical recognition as well as a place in private collections.